Donna Briggs has been the president and CEO of the Britt Festival for five years. With her education in Communications and Organizational Development, Briggs heads 13 full-time employees in an organization which (during the season) goes up to 65. We met at her office in downtown Medford.

EH: Who was Britt?

DB: Peter Britt was an explorer, a photographer, a wine maker, a builder, a renaissance man. He came here in the mid-1800s. He left the Britt hill to Jackson County.

EH: How did the Britt Festival begin?

DB: In 1961, John Trudeau, a conductor of the Portland Symphony, came in search of the perfect venue for classical music, and found the Britt hill. He got together with the mayor and the city council, and by 1963, they had their orchestra put together. Basically the stage was a lean-to. Now, we have a 90-piece professional orchestra from all over the world. Continue reading Britt festival taking show on the road to Crater Lake →