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For Immediate Release
Media contacts:
Jane Turnis
(719) 389-6138
JTurnis@ColoradoCollege.edu
Leslie Weddell
(719) 389-6038
Leslie.Weddell@ColoradoCollege.edu
COLORADO COLLEGE SUMMER MUSIC FESTIVAL
PRESENTS 24th SEASON
Festival Orchestra Concerts to be showcased
in new Edith Kinney Gaylord Cornerstone Arts Center
Who: The Colorado College Summer Music Festival; Susan Grace, Music Director, Virginia Barron, Associate Music Director
What: The 24th Annual Festival including the first series of concerts to be held in Colorado College’s new Edith Kinney Gaylord Cornerstone Arts Center
When: June 9 to July 1, 2008
Where: Packard Hall, 5 W. Cache La Poudre St., and the Edith Kinney Gaylord Cornerstone Arts Center, 825 N. Cascade Ave. – both on the Colorado College campus in Colorado Springs, Colo.
Tickets: $20 each for three Festival Orchestra Concerts; $25 each for five Festival Artist Concerts – tickets available at all TicketsWest outlets; by calling (866) 464-2626 (toll free); or online at www.ticketswest.com. Free admission to Music at Midday, Honors Concert and Concerto Readings presentations.
Details: http://artsfestival.ColoradoCollege.edu/MusicFestival
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – April 22, 2008 – Concertmasters and principals from the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, The Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, The Colorado Symphony, The American Ballet Theatre Orchestra, The New York City Ballet and Opera Orchestras, the Orchestra of St. Luke’s and The Cleveland Orchestra; distinguished faculty from the Juilliard School and Eastman Schools of Music, McGill University, The University of Colorado, and The Cleveland Institute of Music; members of The Ying Quartet, The American Brass Quintet and the Quattro Mani Piano Duo: These are the affiliations of the musicians who comprise the faculty artists of the 24th Annual Colorado College Summer Music Festival.
Each summer, musicians of this caliber have converged upon Colorado Springs to produce superb performances of chamber music masterpieces while teaching and coaching a select group of American and international student musicians in the ways of superior chamber and orchestral performances. This year’s festival will be held from June 9- July 1 on the Colorado College campus and will include five Festival Artist Concerts, three Festival Orchestra Concerts and myriad free chamber and outreach concerts presented by the students.
“We feel that our festival offers a special experience for everyone involved,” said Susan Grace, music director and one of the faculty pianists at the festival. “Our audiences are so passionate and appreciative of the excellence and intimacy of our performances; our students bring us an incredibly high quality of musicianship and have an opportunity to coach and perform with a dream roster of faculty; our faculty get to do what they love most for three-plus weeks every summer and revel in the chance to dig into seldom-performed chamber music masterpieces.”
Clarinetist Jon Manasse, who is principal of the American Ballet Theater and Mostly Mozart Festival Orchestras and on the faculty of the Eastman and Juilliard Schools of Music, has been a festival regular for seven years. “There’s a sense of ownership in the audience that’s not like any place else,” he said describing the magical energy that is always present at the festival’s Packard Hall performances.
Over the years the festival has been known for having consistently packed houses – especially for its Festival Artist Concerts. “It’s true that we have great attendance,” Grace said. “But somehow we manage to find seats for everyone who shows up for our performances. We urge anyone who wants to experience our festival to come and hear us.” Packard Hall is the facility where all concerts have historically been held. It also houses the faculty and student rehearsals. The hall was recently lauded for its superb configuration in the newly published book “Architecture as Teacher.” It is here that the Festival Artist Concerts and Student Chamber Recitals will be held.
Over the years, the Festival Orchestra Concerts have grown to be as popular as their faculty counterpart. “We’ve always had fine performances from our student orchestra,” Grace said. “But since Scott Yoo (music director and conductor of the Metamorphosen Chamber Orchestra and San Luis Obispo Music Festival) became our regular conductor four years ago, their level of accomplishment has been truly astounding. These concerts have become the hottest ticket in town.”
And this season, the orchestra has a new performing home in the Edith Kinney Gaylord Cornerstone Arts Center.The new building’s south theater seats 433 people, 134 
more than Packard Hall’s auditorium. The cutting-edge “tuned” theater with the latest acoustical and amplification technology will provide the musicians and their audience with a great setting as they offer the first series of concerts in the newly-minted space designed by renowned New Mexico architect Antoine Predock. The Edith Kinney Gaylord Cornerstone Arts Center will receive its orchestral christening with a performance of Beethoven’s 9th Symphony on Monday, June 16 at 7:30 p.m. in a concert that includes a performance of Samuel Barber’s “Knoxville: Summer of 1915” featuring internationally renowned soprano Measha Brueggergosman.
Although audience and critical acclaim abounds for both Festival Artist Concerts and Festival Orchestra Concerts, the essence of the festival emanates from the relationship between the 25 faculty artists and the 47 students who attend the festival on a full scholarship. Violist Phillip Ying of the Ying Quartet and Eastman School of Music has been a part of the festival for four years. He calls it “fantastic … outstanding for the depth of experience for the students, the thoughtful and comprehensive musical activities offered to them, and of course, the great faculty.”
Tickets for Festival Artist Concerts are $25 each, and include reserved seats on Packard Hall’s main level. Festival Orchestra Concerts are $20 each, with all reserved seating. Tickets are available at TicketsWest outlets by calling (866) 464-2626, or online at www.ticketswest.com.
Complete information including festival artist bios: http://artsfestival.ColoradoCollege.edu/MusicFestival
About the Colorado College Summer Festival of the Arts
Colorado College’s Summer Festival of the Arts features four major festivals within it, as well as additional world-class film, theater, literary readings, comedy and art events throughout the summer. The Summer Music Festival, a teaching festival in which young musicians from around the world learn from and perform with professional musicians who also present their concert series, runs June 9-July 1. The Extraordinary Dance! Festival runs June 30-July 18, with dance education opportunities open to the public, and gala performances on July 12 and 13. The New Music Symposium, featuring contemporary composers and their music, runs July 10-July 12, with concerts each day, plus complementary Pikes Peak Young Composers concerts on June 6 and July 13. The Vocal Arts Symposium runs July 20-Aug. 8, with opera, jazz and musical theater performances. See http://artsfestival.coloradocollege.edu for details on all four major parts of the Summer Festival of the Arts. For details on the entire summer’s offerings, see www.ColoradoCollege.edu/News_Events.
About Colorado College
Colorado College is a nationally prominent, four-year liberal arts and sciences college that was founded in Colorado Springs in 1874. The college operates on the innovative Block Plan, in which its 1,945 students study one course at a time in intensive 3½-week blocks. For more information, visit www.ColoradoCollege.edu <http://www.ColoradoCollege.edu>.