Each season the Billings Symphony Orchestra and Chorale presents eleven outstanding concerts to the community.
Offering a wide variety of works, composers, and soloists, the yearly program of the 70-member orchestra includes seven regular concerts with at least two including the 80-member chorale, two free children’s concerts, an annual free concert in the park, a family concert, and the Nutcracker Ballet. Every other year the Symphony presents the Young Artist Award concert which has been of great benefit to many talented musicians in the region.
One of the most successful groups that sponsor live performances in the city is the Billings Community Concert Association. Over the years, concerts have reflected a variety of musical styles from folk to chamber music and jazz to classical symphony. Noted performers have included Jascha Heifitz, Marion Anderson, Yehudi Menuhin, Peter Nero, Nelson Eddy, The Boston Pops, the Metropolitan Opera tenor Enrico di Guiseppe, and Marion McPartland, to name a few.
Billings Studio Theatre is a major producer of live theater in Montana. Each season, six productions are offered to audiences, which include everything from Shakespeare to Neil Simon. Productions include Camping with Henry & Tom, Our Town, and The Wizard of Oz. The Billings Studio Theatre also offers three children’s theater productions each year.
The Alberta Bair Theater for the Performing Arts is the only major performing arts center in the region. Formerly the Fox Theater, the four-million-dollar renovation project has provided Billings with a theater that offers a wide range of programs from children’s programs to country music to local amateur productions to symphony concerts, including such artists as the Ahn Trio and flutist James Galway.
The Yellowstone Art Museum is in a beautifully renovated historic building in downtown Billings. Accredited by The American Association of Museums, the Art Museum annually mounts 16 to 20 exhibitions of national and regional art, from contemporary to historic. Drawing its audiences from a four-state region, the Art Museum’s dynamic program also includes a lecture series featuring nationally known artists, critics, and art historians; film and video programs; literature readings and writers’ workshops; chamber concerts; and an extensive children’s education program. Of pride is the Art Museum’s growing collection of regional contemporary and historic art which constitutes a living heritage, capturing the spirit of the ever-changing northern Rockies region.
The Western Heritage Center is a non-profit regional museum of history that strives to preserve the past through changing exhibits, educational programs, and special events illustrative of the rich cultural heritage of this area. Fascinating relics of pioneer and Indian life may be seen at the Peter Yegen Jr. Museum. Specimens of birds, animals, rocks, and fossils native to this region are also on display.
That’s not all. Over a dozen local art galleries feature works of all types by regional and national artists. Montana State University – Billings and Rocky Mountain College further enrich the community with concerts, plays, and art exhibits. The MetraPark building, with up to 12,000 seats, regularly schedules concerts, stage performances, rock groups, orchestras, ice shows, and much more.