By | May 13, 2026
The Colorado Symphony has enjoyed several defining moments over the past several months, most notably its New York tour, featuring critically acclaimed concerts at Radio City Music Hall and Carnegie Hall.
The orchestra added further notoriety on May 9 when Jon Batiste headlined the 2026 Symphony in the City Gala, a dinner and concert expected to raise $1 million.
Batiste, the former bandleader/music director for The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, has more Grammy, Academy, Golden Globe, BAFTA, NAACP Image and Critics’ Choice awards than you can shake a songbook at, joined the symphony for a performance that had the Boettcher Concert Hall audience clapping, smiling and on its feet for multiple standing ovations.
The concert hall had barely emptied before Facebook and Instagram feeds started blowing up with pictures and congratulatory posts that ranged from “Wow. Wow. Wow!” to “We got to witness a genius.”
Which made it perfectly OK for Daniel Wachter, the symphony’s president and chief executive officer, to brag. The night, he said, was the perfect occasion “To celebrate how this arts organization inspires and unites humanity through live symphonic music, connecting communities across Colorado and beyond, and expanding the access and impact that defines us today.”
The symphony, Wachter added, “Is the living heartbeat of our state, expressing its beauty, creativity, vitality, and inclusive spirit.”
Denver Mayor Mike Johnston, in videotaped remarks, noted that the evening “Is about supporting something that connects everyone, the Colorado Symphony. It moves the city forward, and when it thrives, Denver thrives.”