Selva Val Gardena Music Band Concerts (Bürgerkapelle Wolkenstein)

The village band beneath the Dolomites

Every summer, the Town Square (Gemeindeplatz) in Selva di Val Gardena, in the province of Bolzano, becomes the open-air stage for the Selva Music Band, known by its German name, Bürgerkapelle Wolkenstein. In the heart of the Ladin Val Gardena, at the foot of the Sella and Sassolungo massifs, a group of about forty musicians in traditional costume offers a series of evening concerts that have become a fixed ritual of the summer season.

A century of music

The Bürgerkapelle Wolkenstein was founded in 1925, and in 2025 it celebrated its centenary with a grand jubilee festival. In one hundred years of activity, the band has become a pillar of the village's cultural life: it accompanies religious processions, civil anniversaries, and patronal feasts, participates in band competitions and festivals in South Tyrol, and keeps alive a musical tradition deeply rooted in Ladin and South Tyrolean culture.

The repertoire

The concerts span various genres and styles, in a program designed for a broad and diverse audience of tourists and residents:

• Marches traditional to the Alpine band tradition;
• Classical pieces and transcriptions for wind orchestra;
• Original compositions for band and light music.

Evenings in the square

The concerts are generally held at 9:00 PM in the village's central square, in the intimate and convivial atmosphere typical of mountain villages. Admission is free: simply find a spot among the Ladin houses to enjoy the music beneath the Dolomite peaks. In case of bad weather, the venue may be moved indoors, according to the organizers' instructions.

Selva di Val Gardena

Selva di Val Gardena/Wolkenstein in Gröden is the last of the three Ladin municipalities of Val Gardena, a famous tourist resort in the UNESCO World Heritage Dolomites. In summer, the village thrives on hiking, via ferratas, and traditions, and the band's concerts represent one of the moments that best express the community's identity, blending Ladin language, South Tyrolean culture, and Alpine hospitality.