Festival artistic director Linda Chesis saw Cooperstown as an ideal location for a music festival. The Cooperstown Summer Music Festival began with three events in 1999, and since then has offered the region more than 100 performances, from classical to contemporary, jazz to bluegrass, cabaret to kids' concerts.

The Festival has featured: Midori, Hank Jones, the American String Quartet, the Tokyo String Quartet, the St. Lawrence String Quartet, Tim Fain, Bill Charlap, Hilary Kole, Simone Dinnerstein, and Mark O'Connor. Check out our Festival Artists page for a complete list. Festival concerts have been featured on Performance Today, America's most popular classical music radio program, with more than 1.3 million weekly listeners. Concert highlights also can be heard on WCNY, WMHT and WSKG.

The Festival, a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization, is a member of Chamber Music America, the Cooperstown Chamber of Commerce, Cooperstown/Otsego County Tourism, and the Council of Community Services of New York State, Inc.