Bowdoin festival gala in Brunswick to fund student scholarships

A June 30 gala at Bowdoin College’s Mills Hall will raise money for scholarships that help determine which young musicians can afford to study at the Bowdoin International Music Festival.

The evening is set to begin with a reception at 6 p.m., followed by dinner from 7 to 8:30 p.m. Tickets cost $200, and $125 of each ticket is tax-deductible. Festival organizers say the proceeds directly support the Scholarship Fund, a pitch that places access to summer music training at the center of the event rather than the social calendar.

That matters in Brunswick because the festival is not a one-night attraction. Its 2026 summer season runs June 29 through Aug. 7, and the summer institute runs June 27 through Aug. 8. Each summer, the festival brings 275 students together with 80 faculty and guest artists drawn from more than 20 leading conservatories. The season also includes 20 faculty and guest artist concerts and more than 200 Young Artists Series performances, community concerts, masterclasses, studio classes and lectures.

The gala program will feature violinist Daniel Dastoor, a 2023 and 2024 fellow, and the Dōnum Quartet, the 2026 fellows. Organizers also say the night will include a mystery wine pull and a photographer, underscoring its role as both fundraiser and showcase for the students the money supports.

Underwriting options point to the scale of the fundraising effort. Gold underwriting is set at $3,500 and silver underwriting at $1,750. The festival also lists a 2026 season pass for all 20 faculty and guest artist concerts at $920, a reminder that even regular attendance at the summer series carries a meaningful price tag.

The festival’s fundraising push comes as donor support has become central to its recent growth. A major gift in 2024 was described as the largest in the festival’s 60-year history and helped establish a fund to support student scholarship. A separate bequest from Patricia Crawford Brown’s estate, valued at $3.7 million, was also described as the largest donation in the festival’s history and is intended to create a fund that supplements scholarships valued at about $600,000 in total.

Founded in 1964, when Bowdoin music department chair Robert Beckwith invited violinist Lewis Kaplan to create a concert series, the festival has become one of Brunswick’s most visible summer institutions. More than six decades later, the question behind the gala is still practical: who gets to be in the room, and what it costs to keep that door open.