For summer 2026, the Festival is collaborating with the American brand Bode. The new partnership is marked by a concert celebrating both the collaboration and America’s 250th anniversary. The August 8 concert, in addition to American themed works by Copland and Dvořák, will include an original work by composer and Yale School of Music student Nahre Sol, made possible through the generous support of the Desai Family Foundation. The work is the latest installment of the Festival’s Musical Bridges project, in which new works are commissioned that place classical chamber music within a broader musical and cultural context.
Each of Bode’s seasonal collections starts with a personal narrative and explores a particular aspect of American history and craft. Their Fall 2026 collection, Rodeo Bodeo, is dedicated to designer Emily Adams Bode Aujla’s childhood pony Checkers, a retired barrel racer, and explores the history of American rodeo and cowboy culture. Research for the collection investigated regional music and key figures from Western history—especially the “singing cowboy” Jules Verne Allen, a working cowboy-turned-musician who recorded much of the early Western songbook.
Nahre Sol’s new piece will be inspired by American cowboy song and Bode’s research. A conversation between Emily Adams Bode Aujla, Nahre Sol, and a member of the Yale faculty will precede the concert program. A selection of references and pieces from the Rodeo Bodeo collection will be on view in the Festival’s Music Shed throughout the weekend.
All events on August 8 will take place at the Music Shed:
6 PM: Panel discussion
7 PM: Complimentary drinks on the patio
8 PM: Concert
Bode has also designed and produced original Norfolk Festival merchandise available beginning August 3, 2026 at all Bode retail locations, bode.com, and the Festival’s store inside the Music Shed. Bode and the Festival will continue to work together in the coming years, and we envision an expanded annual collaboration.