"We are enormously excited and gratified," Eugenia Zukerman, artistic director of the 18-year-old festival, told the paper. "The New York Philharmonic has engendered a lot of excitement and curiosity in part of our audience, and our audience has grown." The Philharmonic's visits have also boosted business for local restaurants and shops, Zukerman said.

The Philharmonic musicians have taken to the festival and its setting, she added. "Artistically, they are very happy, and these New Yorkers are very fit," she said. "[They] have gone white-water rafting and mountain biking more than any other orchestra we've had."

This year's festival, which runs June 26-August 4, also includes residencies by the Dallas Symphony and the Rochester Philharmonic.