The Symphony Summer Soirée is a chance for the community to celebrate and support the Steamboat Symphony Orchestra’s concert programming and community collaborations, but for local bluegrass musician Jeremy Campbell, this Thursday’s event is about more.

“As you can imagine, it is an absolute dream come true for myself, and of course, the band,” Campbell said about playing the fundraiser with Little Moon Travelers, and being part of the orchestra’s bigger vision. “They approached us originally about just doing the fundraiser this summer… but they said they also wanted to chat about some kind of collaboration.”

The Steamboat Springs based Little Moon Travelers includes Von Wilson on banjo, Eric Baker on upright bass, Aaron VanWyk on mandolin and vocals, Kay McKenzie on the fiddle and Campbell playing guitar and vocals. The band, which Campbell describes as a songwriting band that plays bluegrass, will be the main feature at this year’s Symphony Summer Soirée. The annual event, which is slated to begin at 7 p.m. Thursday, is an annual fundraiser that celebrates and supports the Steamboat Symphony Orchestra’s programs and concerts.

Lara Craig, chair of the symphony board, said there were still a few tickets available for The Symphony Summer Soirée at SteamboatSymphony.org on Monday.

“This fundraiser supports the fall concert, and really the season,” Craig said. “We are focusing on the fall concert because of Little Moon Travelers. We’re writing scores for the orchestra to play Little Moon Travelers’ original music at the fall concert.”

As part of that collaboration, the full symphony orchestra will join the band on stage to perform original pieces as a part of the fall concert, “A River Runs Through.” It is scheduled for Sept. 26-27 at the Strings Music Pavilion.

Craig went on to say that the whole season is dedicated to local flavor and Little Moon Travelers will be highlighted in the September performance. Other concerts include the holiday concert, “Home for the Holidays” that takes place in December and features local artists as well as the Steamboat Springs High School Orchestra and then the winter concert where the orchestra will partner with the Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club to kick off the Winter Carnival and the 2026 Winter Olympic Games.

The Steamboat Symphony Orchestra, which was founded by Mary Beth Norris in 1991, also supports a number of educational programs including String Sprouts, Immersion and the High School Orchestra programs. The organization also provides financial assistance for students who may need help taking part in those programs.

“The Steamboat Symphony Orchestra is committed to making music accessible to all people from all walks of life. We are dedicated to collaborating with many different types of entities,” Craig said. “Sometimes those collaborations are not what you might think is a usual combination.”

Little Moon Travelers was originally slated to join the talented musicians from the Steamboat Symphony Orchestra for one piece. Campbell said the band had hoped to add an additional piece, but were concerned about the added work that music director and conductor Ernest Richardson would need to do to handle the additional arrangements.

“I said, ‘Hey, what if I brought my uncle, Russell Walden, in to help convert, write and compose the music for our originals for the Steamboat Symphony Orchestra — and they were all about it,” Campbell said.

Walden, who lives in New Mexico, has been the musical director and toured with singer songwriter Judy Collins for the better part of 30 years, and had written all the music for a symphony Collins performed a few years back at the Buell Theater in Denver.

While the music of Little Moon Travelers and the Steamboat Springs Orchestra may seem miles apart, Campbell believes the organization’s willingness to invite the group to be a part of the fall concert means there is plenty of common ground. His hope is the fall concert will bring more attention to both groups and what they bring to the local music scene. He also believes the collaboration of the different styles makes music more approachable for music fans.

“One one hand, me getting to play this music on stage with the Steamboat Symphony Orchestra is very intimidating,” Campbell said. “There are a lot of insane musicians in the Bluegrass world … it’s a bunch of geeks that like geek out on getting good at their craft. When you go to the symphony there is a standard for every single one of that sea of musicians — they are all just next level talented. They’ll get a piece, you know maybe a concerto, that they’re going to play for the next symphony less than a month before the performance.The amount of musicianship required to be in that group is just insane, so I feel very humbled by the fact that I even get to stand on the same stage with them.”