The Al Bustan International Festival of Music and the Performing Arts is an annual event taking place during the months of February and March. Each year the festival is structured around a theme. The festival programme includes operas, symphonic, choral and chamber music, sacred music as well as jazz, oriental music, dance and theater. The festival has invited to date more than 4000 international
artists. The venues for the Festival performances are mainly the Emile Bustani Auditorium and the Crystal Garden Conservatory of the Hotel Al Bustan on the hill of Beyt Meri, as well as old churches and halls around Lebanon. In keeping with its cultural vocation, the Festival organizes master classes and workshops, with the participating artists at the National Conservatoire in Beirut and other institutions across Lebanon. The Festival has commissioned works by contemporary composers such as John Taverner, Naji Hakim and Roxanna Panufnik. A Visual Art exhibition is organized each year during the Festival. The Al Bustan Festival is a member of the European Festival Association (EFA),the International Society for the Performing Arts (ISPA) & (IAMA) the International Artists Managers association.
