Verbier Festival

Two-week classical music festival, late July to early August

For two weeks each summer, Verbier hosts one of Europe's most respected classical music festivals. Performances are split between the purpose-built 1,700-seat Salle des Combins, the village church, and a series of small free concerts in mountain restaurants and chairlift stations across the resort.

The signature event is the Verbier Festival Orchestra — a student ensemble drawing top conservatory players from around the world, conducted across the festival by major names. Tickets for the orchestra and chamber concerts sell out months in advance; the free chairlift-station concerts and the masterclasses are open to everyone.

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Founded in 1994 by Martin Engstroem, the Verbier Festival pairs major classical soloists (Argerich, Ozawa, Pires, Buchbinder) with a youth orchestra recruited from conservatories around the world. The students live in shared chalets, rehearse in the village, and perform with the soloists they grew up listening to — one reason the festival has launched more careers than almost any other on the European summer circuit.

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