Colorado Music Festival is back in Boulder starting June 29 to celebrate its 40th anniversary during an annual six-week music festival that will take place at Chautauqua Auditorium. Returning for a 3rd straight season as music director is Jean-Marie Zeitouni, who has an exciting roster of world-class musicians lined up to take the stage. Here is a brief overview of what CMF has in store for audiences this year:
- Concerts will be held on Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday evenings at 7:30 p.m. (except for “Fresh Fridays” – an hour long highlight of Thursday night’s performance, which will begin at 6:30 p.m.).
- Kicking off the summer season and back by popular demand is world-renowned pianist Olga Kern, who will be performing Rachmaninoff’s famous “Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini” and Prokofiev’s “Piano Concerto No.1”. Don’t miss her performance this June 29.
- Back again this year is the “Music Mash-up” series, with the new name “Happy Hour @Chautauqua”. These performances offer exciting, intermission-free concerts that begin with complimentary food and drinks provided by local restaurants.
- On July 5, CMF founder and conductor Giora Bernstein is back to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the festival by entertaining the audience with magnificent renditions of Mozart (including the ever-loved “Prague” Symphony).
- Jean-Marie Zeitouni is set to conduct Grammy-winning mezzo-soprano Michelle DeYoung and former University of Colorado football player/Metropolitan Opera singer Keith Miller, and others, as they perform Beethoven’s “Ninth Symphony” followed by the North American Premiere of Betsy Jolas’ “A Little Summer Suite” on July 13.
- The popular festival within a festival known as “French Mini-Fest” returns featuring Van Cliburn competition medalist Benedetto Lupo, performing beloved French masterpieces by composers such as Debussy, Ravel, Faure and more. French Mini-Fest begins July 20 and ends July 23.
- Set to a choreographed and visually striking animation, Gustav Holst’s “The Planets” is reimagined by the CMF Orchestra for a magical evening not to be missed (July 27).
- Funk and jazz take the night on August 3 with former CMF principal clarinet and current LA Philharmonic principal clarinet, Boris Allakhverdyan. Allakhverdvan will perform Aaron Copland’s jazzy and lyrical “Clarinet Concerto,” as well as Leonard Bernstein’s funk-inspired “Prelude, Fugue and Riffs”.
- Bringing the Colorado Music Festival to a close on August 4 is one of the most prominent and influential violinists of our time, Gil Shaham. This Grammy Award-winner will play with the CMF Orchestra for a special one-night only performance.
Did you catch all of that? 😉 Here’s a full schedule of events to guide you through this special anniversary of the Colorado Music Festival.
If that’s still not enough music to satisfy your hunger, consider checking out open rehearsals, where you can watch these world-class musicians perfect their performances.
Last but not least, don’t forget to purchase your tickets for the concerts you most want to hear. Let us know which you’ll be attending in the comments below.