“We’ve had a tremendous expression of generosity from donors,” said Susan Grace, Colorado College’s artist-in-residence, lecturer in music, music director of the Summer Music Festival and one of the festival’s faculty pianists. “We have a strong donor base, and many people doubled and tripled their gifts this year. We know we are in difficult economic times, but no one wanted to see this music festival end. There has been huge community interest in preserving this festival.”
The 26th season of the Summer Music Festival is scheduled for June 7-27, 2010, on the Colorado College campus, and will feature established as well as new festival artists. The 2010 schedule includes five Festival Artist Concerts and two Festival Orchestra Concerts, as well as children’s concerts and free chamber and outreach concerts presented by the students.The Colorado College Summer Music Festival brings professional artists of rare ability and international reputations together with talented and motivated students for three weeks of intensive performance and study. New faculty members for the 2010 festival include Daniel Phillips, violin, Orion String Quartet, Aaron Copland School of Music, Queens College; Stephen Rose, violin, principal, Cleveland Orchestra, Cleveland Institute of Music; and Eric Kim, cello, Jacobs School of Music, Indiana University.
Continuing faculty members include Scott Yoo, conductor and music director, Metamorphosen Chamber Orchestra and Festival Mozaic and Virginia Barron, festival associate director, viola, University of Western Ontario and associate director of the Sweetwater Music Weekend, among others. The complete list of festival faculty can be seen at: http://www.coloradocollege.edu/SummerPrograms/SummerFestivaloftheArts/MusicFestival/faculty.asp
“The enthusiasm at this festival is something special – both for the audience and for the musicians. The enthusiasm just comes off the stage. Everyone loves performing, and appreciates and supports each other,” Grace says. “You can feel it. Many loyal friends and donors plan their summer vacation around the concert dates.”
A special faculty artist concert – a pre-festival teaser, of sorts – in which the musicians are donating their services, will be held at 6 p.m. Friday, May 7th, in Packard Hall, 5 Cache La Poudre St., on the Colorado College campus. The program features Jon Manasse, clarinet; Jon Nakamatsu, piano; Scott Yoo, violin; and Susan Grace, piano. A dinner will be held following the concert at the home of Colorado College President Richard F. Celeste. Tickets are $25 for the concert, and $75 for the concert and dinner. Call (719) 389-6010 for more information.
"I feel privileged to have been working with the Colorado College Summer Music Festival since 2002. It has become one of the premier training programs for young orchestral musicians,” says Yoo, Summer Music Festival conductor. “Every year that I return I am stunned by the quality of the orchestra, the enthusiasm of the students and the energy of the faculty members."
Grace notes the long tradition of summer music events in Colorado Springs. “Chamber and orchestra music have always been important to this community,” she says. “The Summer Music Festival adds new breadth to Colorado College in the summer. It’s not only academic, but also cultural,” she says. “The festival covers the gamut of musical periods, offering something for everybody.”
The 2010 concert schedule: (also available at http://www.coloradocollege.edu/SummerPrograms/SummerFestivaloftheArts/MusicFestival/concertschedule.asp)
Festival Artists Concerts, Packard Hall, 5 W. Cache La Poudre St.
-- Thursday, June 10, 7:30 p.m. with a free pre-concert lecture at 6:15 p.m.
-- Sunday, June 13, 3 p.m.
-- Thursday, June 17, 7:30 p.m.
-- Tuesday, June 22, 7:30 p.m., with a free pre-concert lecture at 6:15 p.m.
-- Saturday, June 26, 6 p.m.
Festival Orchestra Concerts:
Edith Kinney Gaylord Cornerstone Arts Center South Theater, 825 N. Cascade Ave.; Scott Yoo, conducting
-- Tuesday, June 15, 7:30 p.m. with a free pre-concert lecture at 6:15 p.m. in the CAC Screening Room
-- Sunday, June 27, 3 p.m., with a free pre-concert lecture at 1:45 p.m. in the CAC Screening Room
Festival Orchestra Children’s Concert
Edith Kinney Gaylord Cornerstone Arts Center South Theater, 825 N. Cascade Ave.
-- Thursday, June 17, 11 a.m.
Student Concerto Readings
Edith Kinney Gaylord Cornerstone Arts Center South Theater, 825 N. Cascade Ave.
-- Saturday, June 19, 3 p.m.
-- Saturday, June 26, 3 p.m.
Music at Midday
Packard Hall, 5 W. Cache La Poudre St.
-- Monday, June 14, 12:15 p.m.
-- Wednesday, June 16, 12:15 p.m.
-- Friday, June 18, 12:15 p.m.
-- Monday, June 21, 12:15 p.m.
-- Wednesday, June 23, 12:15 p.m.
-- Friday, June 25, 12:15 p.m.
Community Outreach Concert and Programs
Made possible by a generous grant from the Colorado Council on the Arts
-- Saturday, June 12, 7 p.m.
Festival Orchestra Concert
Ute Pass Cultural Center, Woodland Park, 210 E. Midland Avenue
-- Friday, June 18, 10:30 a.m.
Village at Skyline, 2365 Patriot Heights
-- Tuesday, June 22, 1 p.m.
Hillside Community Center, 925 S. Institute St.
-- Thursday, June 24, 10:30-11:30 a.m.
Pikes Peak Library District East Branch, 5550 North Union Blvd.; an introduction to classical music for ages 0-100
Applications for 2010 have started to roll in, and Grace hopes to surpass the record 378 applications from last season. Participation is limited to 44 students, all of whom are receive full scholarships for tuition, room and board, making the program highly competitive. The advanced student musicians who are selected to attend the festival range in age from high school seniors to graduate students. They participate in small chamber ensembles, festival orchestra, master classes, auditioned concerto readings with the orchestra, and private lessons. Applications for the 2010 season must be received by March 1.
Grace, a member of the Quattro Mani Piano Duo and a 2005 Grammy nominee for her work on George Crumb’s "Ancient Voices of Children," was honored this fall by the Pikes Peak Arts Council for her continuing leadership of the Summer Music Festival, receiving their “Vision, Courage and Achievement Award.” Earlier this year, she received a Pikes Peak Arts Council “Force for the Arts” award, which celebrates Colorado Springs community members who contribute to the arts in education.
Tickets prices for the Summer Music Festival remain the same as last year. 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 will be available in mid-April; for more ticket information go to: http://www.coloradocollege.edu/SummerPrograms/SummerFestivaloftheArts/tickets.asp
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 1,975 students study one course at a time in intensive 3½-week blocks. For more information, visit www.ColoradoCollege.edu <http://www.ColoradoCollege.edu