Colorado Music Festival facts for kids
The Colorado Music Festival is a special summer event in Boulder, Colorado. It's a place where you can enjoy amazing classical music. The festival brings together talented musicians from all over North America. They perform concerts at the beautiful Chautauqua Auditorium. The festival happens every year from late June to early August. It focuses on orchestral music (played by a big group of instruments) and chamber music (played by smaller groups).
The festival was started in 1976 by a conductor and violinist named Giora Bernstein. Today, its music director is Peter Oundjian.
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Festival History
How the Festival Started
The festival began in 1976. It was first called the Colorado Chamber Orchestra. Giora Bernstein started it. He was a new professor at the University of Colorado.
In 1977, the first concerts were held. They took place at Boulder's First Presbyterian Church. Famous musicians like Judith Raskin (a singer) and Leonard Rose (a cello player) performed.
Moving to Chautauqua Auditorium
In 1978, the festival found a new home. It moved to the Chautauqua Auditorium. This building is a national historic landmark. After moving, the festival won its first of many awards. These were called ASCAP Adventurous Programming Awards. They recognized the festival for its exciting music choices.
New Music Directors
Giora Bernstein retired in 2000. After him, Michael Christie became the music director. Under his leadership, more people bought tickets. He also added new and exciting music to the shows.
Michael Christie started something called "Intermission Insights." During the break, performers would talk about their music. They would also answer questions from the audience. This helped people understand the music better.
In 2014, Jean-Marie Zeitouni became the music director. Later, in 2019, Peter Oundjian took over this role.
Education and Growth
In 2009, the Rocky Mountain Center for Musical Arts joined the festival. It became the festival's Education Division. This helped the festival offer more learning opportunities.
First Performances
The Colorado Music Festival is known for playing new music. Sometimes, they perform a piece for the very first time anywhere in the world. This is called a "world premiere." Other times, they play a piece for the first time in North America or Colorado.
Here are some important first performances at the festival:
- William Thomas McKinley's Concerto for clarinet and orchestra (world premiere, 1980)
- Tōru Takemitsu's Dreamtime (North American premiere, 1983)
- Krzysztof Penderecki's Concerto for viola and orchestra (North American premiere, 1995)
- Mark Grey's Pursuit (world premiere, 2005)
- Terry Riley's Sun Rings (Colorado premiere, 2006)
- Mark Grey's Elevation (world premiere, 2006)
- Mark Grey's Enemy Slayer: A Navajo Oratorio (Colorado premiere, 2008)
- Behzad Ranjbaran's Seven Passages, part of his Persian Trilogy (Colorado premiere, 2009)
- Tan Dun's Pipa Concerto (Colorado premiere, 2009)
