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June 14, 2021

Colorado Symphony Announces Indoor 2021/22 Classics Season Schedule

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Media Contact:
Nick Dobreff, Manager of Publicity and Community Relations
616.485.3913 (m) – 303.308.2477 (o)
ndobreff@coloradosymphony.org

COLORADO SYMPHONY ANNOUNCES INDOOR 2021/22 CLASSICS SEASON SCHEDULE
Subscription Packages on sale now; Single Tickets on sale September 1

Jun. 14, 2021 – Denver, CO – The Colorado Symphony announces its 2021/22 Classics Season schedule taking place at downtown Denver’s Boettcher Concert Hall. This highly anticipated season offers a long-awaited return to normal concert operations, featuring 16 weeks of masterworks programming, renowned guest artists, and revered symphonic works that will be music to the ears of Coloradans eager for live concert experiences. Pops, Movie at the Symphony, Holiday, and other non-traditional programming for the 2021/22 Season will be announced in the coming weeks.

On the podium, audiences will be treated to a host of familiar faces throughout the season including five appearances by former Principal Guest Conductor Peter Oundjian as well as concert weekends with former Colorado Symphony Music Directors Marin Alsop and Andrew Litton and former Principal Guest Conductor Douglas Boyd. Resident Conductor Christopher Dragon will also lead the orchestra in two Classics concert weekends throughout the season.

The season also features a talented and diverse group of composers, conductors, and guest artists. The music of five women composers will be featured including Clarise Assad, Gabriela Lena Frank, Joan Tower, Jessie Montgomery, and Florence Price — the trailblazing female African American composer who was the first to have a composition played by a major orchestra. Among the notable guest artists audiences will see this season, five are women including violinists Karen Gomyo and Simone Porter, and pianists Natasha Paremski, Joyce Yang, and Ingrid Fliter. Additional featured soloists include two renowned African American artists in saxophonist Steven Banks and pianist Awadagin Pratt. The virtuosity of the Colorado Symphony’s own musicians will also be on full display as Principal Flute Brook Ferguson and Principal Bass Steve Metcalf perform as featured soloists.

Opening weekend will take place September 17-19 with GRAMMY-winning pianist Emanuel Ax joining Oundjian and the orchestra on Chopin’s Second Piano Concerto in a program that also features Barber’s Adagio for Strings and Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition arranged by Ravel.

“Well over a full calendar year will have passed since we have been able to entertain our patrons with live music in Boettcher Concert Hall,” said Jerome H. Kern, Colorado Symphony CEO & Board Chair. “While it feels like ages, we have by no means let the music stop, bringing dozens of virtual and socially distanced in-person performances to our community throughout the COVID-19 health pandemic. Now, as we emerge from 18 months of health and safety restrictions, we are elated to present a return season that showcases the virtuosity, skill, and musicianship of Colorado’s only full-time professional orchestra. This season will have been worth the wait, and we can’t wait to welcome patrons back into our home this fall.”

Additional highlights of the season include the Classics season debut of the Colorado Symphony Chorus on a special Easter weekend performance of Mahler’s Second Symphony under the baton of Oundjian on April 16, 2022. The orchestra will be joined by the Colorado Symphony Chorus and Oundjian once again for a monumental season finale featuring Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony on May 27-29, 2022. Audience-favorites including Brahms Symphony No. 1, Berlioz’s Symphonie fantastique, Dvořák’s “New World Symphony”, Holst’s The Planets, Respighi’s Fountains of Rome and Pines of Rome, Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 2, and Beethoven Symphony’s No. 5, 6, and 7 will also return.

“While the past 15 months have been remarkably difficult for so many including performing arts organizations around the world, I’m incredibly proud that when the need was most dire the Colorado Symphony rose to the occasion, providing virtual and physically distanced live performances throughout the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Anthony Pierce, Chief Artistic Officer. “As we look ahead to the return of normal in-hall operations, we’re excited to build on the successes we’ve enjoyed over the past decade by coming out of this pandemic with renewed energy and purpose. This season will be a true celebration for our musicians and patrons alike, providing live symphonic music and shared concert experiences that will be thrilling for people of all ages.”

Subscription tickets for the 2021/22 Season, which are pre-determined and customizable packages are on sale now. Flex Passes, which offer (6) ticket vouchers guests can use for best-available seats to any concert in the season, redeemable one week before the selected concert, are also available now.

Single tickets to all concerts go on sale September 1, 2021, with a separate announcement to precede the date. For concert descriptions and ticket information, please visit coloradosymphony.org/tickets or call the box office at 303.623.7876.

2021/22 Classics Season At A Glance:
September 17-19, 2021: Chopin Piano Concerto No. 2 with Emanuel Ax
October 1-3, 2021: Dvořák Symphony No. 9 “From The New World”
October 15-17, 2021: Brahms Symphony No. 1 conducted By Christopher Dragon
November 5-7, 2021: Beethoven Symphony No. 7
November 19-21, 2021: Prokofiev Piano Concerto No. 2 with Natasha Paremski
December 3-5, 2021: Elgar Enigma Variations
January 7-9, 2022: Marin Alsop Conducts
January 21-23, 2022: Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 5
February 11-13, 2022: Berlioz Symphonie fantastique conducted by Douglas Boyd
February 25-27, 2022: Beethoven Symphony No. 5
March 11-13, 2022: Respighi Pines of Rome
March 25-27, 2022: Holst The Planets conducted by Peter Oundjian
April 8-10, 2022: Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No. 2
April 16, 2022: Mahler Symphony No. 2 “Resurrection”
April 29 – May 1, 2022: Schumann Piano Concerto with Ingrid Fliter
May 13-15, 2022: Mahler Symphony No. 5
May 27-29, 2022: Beethoven 9 with Colorado Symphony & Chorus

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CONTACTS:  
For more information or to request interviews, please contact:
Nick Dobreff, Manager of Publicity and Community Relations
ndobreff@coloradosymphony.org – 303.308.2477 (o)

For high-resolution, downloadable images of the Colorado Symphony, contact: ndobreff@coloradosymphony.org

The 2021/22 Colorado Symphony Season is presented by Bonfils-Stanton Foundation. Support also provided by: The Scientific & Cultural Facilities District (SCFD), United Airlines, the Colorado Symphony Guild, and the Virginia Hill Foundation.

TICKETS:  
Tickets to Colorado Symphony events are available online at coloradosymphony.org/tickets or by phone at 303.623.7876. The Box Office is open for phone inquiries only, Monday – Friday, 10 a.m. – 6 p.m., and Saturday, 12 p.m. – 6 p.m.

ABOUT THE COLORADO SYMPHONY:
The Colorado Symphony Association is the region’s only full-time professional orchestra committed to artistic excellence and ensuring the future of live, symphonic music. Performing over 150 concerts annually at Boettcher Concert Hall in downtown Denver and across Colorado, your Colorado Symphony is home to eighty full-time musicians, representing more than a dozen nations, and regularly welcomes the most celebrated artists from all genres of music. During the COVID-19 health pandemic, we worked to safely produce over 50 concerts with and without audiences, including: 18 Red Rocks Park and Amphitheatre performances, two large scale virtual community benefit concerts, and dozens of small ensemble concerts performed in numerous outdoor venues like the Denver Performing Arts Complex Galleria, Denver Zoo, and Denver Botanic Gardens. Our virtual #PlayOn campaigns garnered 2 million views between our Virtual Music Hour, Weekly Replay, From Home Concerts, and MusiCurious Instrument Interviews. Recognized as an incubator of innovation, creativity, and excellence, your Colorado Symphony continually expands its through education, outreach, and programming. We partner with the state’s leading musical artists, cultural organizations, corporations, foundations, sports teams, and individuals to expose diverse audiences to the power of symphonic orchestral music. To learn more, visit coloradosymphony.org.