Osterfestspiele Salzburg

Dear American Friends of the Salzburg Easter Festival,

Let me introduce myself: I am a fellow American and since 1 August 2006 I have been the Intendantin (General Manager) of the Berlin Philharmonic. As the newly elected President of the American Friends Association of the Salzburg Easter Festival I am very much looking forward to meeting you, and it is my hope that together we will make the relationship between the Easter Festival and the American Friends more and more vital. The Easter Festival is one of the treasures in the festival landscape. Its identity is intertwined with that of the Berlin Philharmonic, and you as Friends of the Easter Festival are therefore also friends of the orchestra, so to speak.

Sir Simon and I wish you a stimulating and transforming experience in Salzburg – it should be a time apart from our daily lives. We look forward to sharing thoughts and impressions with you.

Pamela Rosenberg
General Manager of the Berlin Philharmonic and President of the Board of the American Friends Association

Dear American Friends of the Salzburg Easter Festival,

It is with tremendous gratitude that I note the reviving interest and commitment of the American Friends of the Easter Festival. I think we all agree that this festival is unique and offers us a very special opportunity to devote ourselves during the course of a few days to some intense and, we hope, blissful musical experiences.

The Berlin Philharmonic and I have a very emotional attachment to the Easter Festival. Ever since Herbert von Karajan founded this festival, it has been our second “home”, to which we return every year. This year marks the hundredth year of his birth and so we feel especially grateful to his memory for having started this wonderful tradition. As he founded this as a privately funded festival, we continue to this day to count on the help of passionate music lovers such as yourselves to enable this tradition to remain vibrant and alive.

Please accept my heartfelt thanks for your generous support and enthusiasm and I hope that you will find the coming years at the Easter Festival a rewarding experience.

Sir Simon Rattle

The Mission of the American Friends of the Salzburg Easter Festival

The Association of American Friends of the Salzburg Easter Festival has been formed to promote and assist the artistic objectives of this world-renowned festival and to serve as the link between the Berlin Philharmonic, the Salzburg Easter Festival and its American friends and patrons.

Among the projects that we support each year using the annual contributions from our members and revenue from our events is to enable an American artist to perform at the Salzburg Easter Festival.

A further aim of the American Friends is to maintain contacts between the Easter Festival, the Berlin Philharmonic and the friends and patrons in the USA throughout the year, independent of the festival season. Therefore some events will also be arranged to take place in the United States, particularly when the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra is on tour.

The Salzburg Easter Festival receives modest public funding and is therefore very grateful for the generous support given by the members of the Association.

Board

Sir Simon Rattle, Honorary Chairman
Pamela Rosenberg, President
Susan Bender, Treasurer
Dr. Raul Gutierrez, Director
Dr. Craig Henderson, Director
H. Alexandra Kauka, Director
Dr. Rüdiger Naumann-Etienne, Director
James Sitrick, Director
Stephen Stamas, Director

Benefits of membership

• The American Friends Association has been granted status as a 501-C3 organization by the Internal Revenue Service. Contributions are deductible to the extent provided by law.
• As a member you can attend the Salzburg Easter Festival every year, your ticket orders are guaranteed.
• You will be invited to participate in special events, dinners, lectures or gatherings arranged by the American Friends Association at other times of the year.
• You may attend the introductory lectures, before each opera performance during the Easter Festival. The lectures are in English which are offered exclusively by the American Friends for its members.
• Throughout the festival you will be invited to visit galleries, antique fairs and a variety of events.
• You will receive regular newsletters providing you with important and topical information about the Easter Festival and the American Friends.
• Patrons receive a free CD.

Additional benefits for donors

• Invitation to a dinner with the Festival’s leadership and artists of the Salzburg Easter Festival
• Invitations to social gatherings during the Easter Festival in Salzburg
• Exclusive guided backstage tours and exclusive guided tours through the Herbert-von-Karajan Archive
• Listing in the annual American Friends brochure and on the homepage
• Listing in some publications of th Salzburg Easter Festival
• Additional benefits available upon request

Program – American Friends

Coming up...

Become a member of the American Friends Association

It is only possible to attend performances at the Easter Festival by means of a patronage system. If you choose to become a member of the American Friends of the Salzburg Easter Festival (which means that you pay your membership fee in the U.S. instead of Austria), please submit your declaration of membership to the American Friends Association using one of the following options:

• Online using our order form
• Request a brochure which contains information about the American Friends (including an membership order form which you can fill out and mail back to us)

Please note that all contributions are deductible to the extent provided by law.

After having sent us the order form, please make a check payable to the American Friends of the Salzburg Easter Festival and send it to our Secretary Treasurer Susan Bender (address below).

Please note that tickets are to be purchased only from the Salzburg Easter Festival ticket office in Salzburg as usual so your customary seats reservations are guaranteed.

• Ticket orders

Contact the American Friends