Sunriver Music Festival selects local artwork for 2026 season
Spencer Sacks
SUNRIVER, Ore. (KTVZ) — The Sunriver Music Festival has selected Bend artist Michele Michael’s acrylic painting “Strawberry Skies” as the featured artwork for its 2026 season.
The 18-by-24-inch piece will appear on the cover of the festival’s program magazine and will be auctioned July 18 during the annual Raise the Baton fundraising party. The event helps support the festival’s Young Artists Scholarship program.
Now entering its 49th season, the Sunriver Music Festival runs Aug. 10–20 with performances in Bend and Sunriver, including concerts at the Tower Theatre and Sunriver Resort’s Great Hall. Artistic Director and Conductor Brett Mitchell will lead the orchestra alongside guest soloists.
A free community concert highlighting scholarship recipients is scheduled for June 5 at 7 p.m. at Community Bible Church in Sunriver.
Featured artist
Michael, who lives in Bend, said her path to becoming a full-time artist wasn’t immediate. Raised in rural Ohio, she studied photojournalism before moving west in 2009 and eventually settling in Central Oregon.
Her artistic career took shape after a year of international travel with her husband.
“I did not feel compelled to capture the beauty of the natural world in art until Jeff and I spent a year traveling the world,” Michael said. “With the rise of social media and being exposed to artists of all kinds, I felt inspired to finally paint and draw again.”
She began sharing sketches online, landed her first commission while living in New Zealand — a drawing of the Three Sisters — and launched her business after returning to Bend. Her work is now sold in local shops and featured in seven national parks.
“In 2022, I made the leap to pursue art full-time,” she said. “I feel like the luckiest gal in the world to make art for a living.”
Michael lives in Bend with her husband, two children and their dog.
Supporting young musicians
The Raise the Baton event plays a key role in funding the festival’s Young Artists Scholarship program, which has awarded more than $750,000 to nearly 200 Central Oregon students over the past 31 years.
Each year, more than 15 musicians ages 11 to 24 receive scholarships to support tuition, music camps, conservatories and private lessons. Past recipients have gone on to schools such as the Cleveland Institute of Music, San Francisco Conservatory of Music and the Eastman School of Music.
Many scholarship recipients also perform in festival concerts and participate in local school outreach.
Event details
Free Young Artists Concert: June 5 at 7 p.m., Community Bible Church in Sunriver
Raise the Baton fundraiser: July 18 at 5 p.m., Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Central Oregon; $150 per person, includes dinner and performances
Festival dates: Aug. 10–20 in Bend and Sunriver
Tickets, merchandise and more information are available at sunrivermusic.org or by calling 541-593-1084.