“Elevate your joy” – this season’s Colorado Music Festival theme – doubles as a poignant abstract of the festival’s artistic contributions within and beyond Boulder County since its founding in 1977 by Giora Bernstein.
“Elevate your joy” – this season’s Colorado Music Festival theme – doubles as a poignant abstract of the festival’s artistic contributions within and beyond Boulder County since its founding in 1977 by Giora Bernstein.
“We’re always looking for new ways to be relevant to our community,” says, Brandi Numedahl, Director of Marketing, of the six-week summer festival at Chautauqua Auditorium and other local venues. “As we celebrate our 40th anniversary, we continue to grow and change and evolve in ways that are positive for the orchestra, and that benefit our community.”
Since the beginning, the festival – a grantee of the Community Foundation – has consistently showcased a roster of world-class soloists and a topnotch orchestra comprising musicians from orchestras around the country, and beyond. In recent years, the festival has also branched out in new directions.
“We’ve seen the birth of incredibly exciting mini-festivals within the festival to focus on one composer or one style of music, like World Music, for a week at a time,” explains Brandi. Specifically, the festival features a first-rate chamber music series, Happy Hour series, and Fresh Fridays – a reimagined musical experience comprising short, hour-long concerts that feature some of the world’s greatest musical gems.
“We aim to be relevant to a broader audience by offering a variety of musical experiences in a short amount of time,” says Brandi, further referencing the influences of Michael Christie and Jean-Marie Zeitouni, who succeeded Bernstein.
Bernstein will return to the “barn” at Chautauqua to conduct the festival’s “Magnificent Mozart” concert on July 2. Closing the 40th anniversary season on Aug. 4, Zeitouni will conduct a Beethoven symphony and the composer’s Violin Concerto in D Major, featuring virtuoso Gil Shaham. On July 14, Beethoven’s Ninth – its beloved “Ode to Joy” the inspiration for this season’s theme – also promises to be a blockbuster.
“People love it,” Brandi says. “And there’s always new people who haven’t heard it live. For us, it represents what we as an organization offer our community: joy!”
This season also marks the end of Zeitouni’s tenure as music director. Peter Oundjian of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra will step in as artistic advisor for 2018.
“From his work with the Colorado Symphony, Peter knows Colorado, he knows Boulder, and he gets our community,” Brandi continues. “And that’s incredibly important for a festival like ours. He brings the expertise and experience the Colorado Music Festival deserves.”
The festival is also in its ninth year providing a range of quality musical education offerings. “We merged with the Center for Musical Arts in 2009,” recalls Brandi. “Since then, we’re always refining what types of classes, workshops, and programs the community is interested in.
“As we look ahead to the next 40 years, the education and performance opportunities we offer are crucial to how we’ll shape what the next chapter looks like.”
Indeed, from music lessons, music theory, and music therapy, to musical social clubs, camps, and composition, the CMA offers rich and diverse opportunities for musical engagement to fit any musical palette.
