The Colorado Symphony’s Concertmaster, Yumi Hwang-Williams, discusses her return to the concert stage this summer at Red Rocks, quarantine activities, filming Colorado Symphony education content alongside her daughter, and much more.

“When there’s a point where circumstances get too much to bear, emotions be they high or low, music can step in to fill the gaps and allow our brains and hearts to process, release, transport, and transform. We intend to keep forging ahead to continue providing as much live music as possible safely and responsibly until this pandemic subsides.”

The impact of COVID-19 has affected millions of people around the world. But despite the enormous challenges, the Colorado Symphony has continued to #PlayOn. However, with no way to know when we’ll be able to perform again with our full ensemble, or when we’ll be able to fill a concert hall with patrons again, the immediate future of the organization is being threatened. In response to this threat, we've started the Play On Recovery Fund to help bridge the financial gap until we can perform in full again. Now more than ever, your investment can make a huge difference in our community. We ask you to consider joining this mission by making your own investment in music, helping to preserve the future of live symphonic music for generations to come. 

The Colorado Symphony’s Resident Conductor Christopher Dragon has navigated a busy schedule of late, conducting nearly 20 summer performances at Red Rocks as part of the Acoustic on the Rocks series. We talked to him about the challenges of quarantining, newfound cooking recipes, his percussion debut at Red Rocks, and much more. 

“I don’t think I can put into words how much I needed these concerts at Red Rocks. It had been over five months since my last time on the podium and each performance was special as I was just so thankful to be back making music with my colleagues.”

The Colorado Symphony has been a cultural cornerstone in Denver for nearly 100 years, and the 2019/20 season expanded the orchestra's presence to projected record-breaking numbers, as 276,466 patrons enjoyed live symphonic music, despite COVID-19 shuttering performance capabilities for nearly 25% of the operating year. Read on to look back on some of the highlights from the past concert season.

With the help and support of Colorado Symphony donors, the Community Education Department managed to generate record-stetting numbers for their 2019/20 Youth Education Programs, tallying a total of 30,645 participants from September 2019 through mid March 2020. Despite completing only 75% of the season due to the onset of COVID-19, the Colorado Symphony still welcomed nearly 25,300 students to Youth Concerts at Boettcher Concert Hall alone, compared to 16,436 during the 2018/19 season. An additional 5,000 students were scheduled to attend April Petite Musique concerts, Open Rehearsals, In-School performances, In-Community programs, and Link Up, which would have brought the yearly total to 35,645.