Colorado Symphony readies for centennial season

BY CHANCY J. GATLIN-ANDERSON SPECIAL TO COLORADO COMMUNITY MEDIA

On Sept. 12, 2001, legendary cellist Yo-Yo Ma was scheduled to perform Antonín Dvořák’s Cello Concerto with the Colorado Symphony. e day prior to the performance, the United States was shaken by the events of 9/11, one of the most tragic losses of life in American history.

Colorado Symphony cellist, Margaret Hoeppner, vividly remembers Ma’s performance that night. Instead of playing the planned Dvořák piece, Yo-Yo Ma decided to play Edward Elgar’s Cello Concerto, a composition written in the aftermath of World War I. As the Colorado Symphony’s longest tenured member with 62 seasons under her belt, the performance after 9/11 is Hoeppner’s most powerful, moving memory as a part of the orchestra.

“Ma’s performance brought the audience and the orchestra a sense of solace and some comfort during that terribly di cult time. For me it was a sense that life will go on and that we will recover from this horrible tragedy,” said Hoeppner. “Because of the beauty of his performance, it gave us all hope. It gave me hope that we would survive and that this is something we would recover from.” e Colorado Symphony is celebrating 100 years of symphonic music in Colorado. e 2023-2024 season is highlighted by a trio of must-see performances featuring Audra McDonald, Renée Fleming and, of course, the legendary Yo-Yo Ma. Led by Principal Conductor

For the 2023-2024 Centennial Season of the Colorado Symphony, Yo-Yo Ma will return to Denver to play Elgar’s Cello Concerto, the same piece that brought comfort to concert-goers in the wake of 9/11. Ma will perform along with the Colorado Symphony at 7 p.m. on May 5 at Boettcher Concert Hall at the Denver Performing Arts Complex. is is one of more than 150 performances o ered by the Colorado Symphony throughout the season.

Peter Oundjian, Colorado Symphony patrons will be treated to a schedule teeming with incredible programming, renowned guest artists and revered symphonic works all season long. To kick o the Centennial Season, the Colorado Symphony will perform Beethoven’s Fifth along with several other works on Sept. 15-17.

“ is centennial season will highlight the best of the Colorado Symphony,” said Oundjian. “We’re doing some really huge projects. We will keep doing programs that I think will engage people enormously. We are going to keep people excited with every performance.”

History of the Colorado Symphony e Colorado Symphony has a rich history that dates back to 1922 when its predecessor, the Civic Symphony Orchestra, formed in Denver. Prior to 1922, there were several semi-professional music acts scattered across Denver, but no formal orchestra. At the height of the Great Depression, Helen Marie Black, publicist for the Civic Symphony Orchestra, helped form the Denver Symphony Orchestra in 1934. Her goal was to consolidate the local musicians, boost audience attendance and guarantee union wages. e orchestra held its rst concert at the Broadway eater in Denver on Nov. 30, 1934, led by Conductor Horace Tureman.

After a 55-year run, the Denver Symphony Orchestra disbanded in 1989 as the result of nancial hardship. It led for bankruptcy on Oct. 4 of that year. Musicians left the Denver Symphony Orchestra for the newly-formed Colorado Symphony, which played its rst concert on Oct. 27, 1989. e following year, the two groups merged to form one organization. e current principal conductor, Oundjian, has served in the role since 2022.

Since its inception in 1989, the Colorado Symphony has had ve recorded principal conductors, beginning with Marin Alsop in 1993.

One hundred years ago, the symphony in Colorado was di erent than it is today. From a small group of semi-professional local musicians, the Colorado Symphony has grown in size and in the diversity of its members. e Symphony currently has 80 full-time musicians, representing more than a dozen countries around the world.

The Colorado Symphony today

Denver is a vibrant city full of people who yearn to experience the arts. From taking in contemporary paintings at the Denver Art Museum to seeing hip hop concerts at Red Rocks, and from watching classic works performed by the Colorado Ballet to laughing at stand-up acts at Comedy Works, locals love to get out and experience the best of Colorado arts.

“Twenty years ago, people said Colorado was just a great place for the mountains — a great place for sport. at is what people were interested in. I feel there has been a huge shift in what people in Denver want,” Oundjian said. “We had the biggest crowds ever at Boettcher Concert Hall last year. Nobody moves to Denver to just sit inside and watch TV. Colorado is all about getting out there.” roughout the 100 years of symphonic music in Colorado, performances and o erings have shifted and grown to meet the needs and wants of the changing audience. e Colorado Symphony not only performs classical works from composers like Mozart, Brahms and Tchaikovsky, but it also performs contemporary pieces, pop songs and soundtracks from fan-favorite lms. is year the Colorado Symphony will have several performances outside of the classical genre. ese include “Star Wars: A New Hope in Concert,” “Disney in Concert: Time Burton’s e Nightmare Before Christmas” and “Home Alone in Concert.” ere will also be performances for children like the “Halloween Spooktacular,” “Elf in Concert” and “Peter and e Wolf & e Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra.”

“In the last 10 years, there has been a tremendous shift from the Colorado Symphony. It is one of the great leaders in the evolution of programming. ey collaborate with musicians from every possible musical genre and from lm,” said Oundjian. “We have absolutely cutting-edge music, world premieres and also the beautiful performances of the great classics. Sometimes we perform these classics juxtaposed to a contemporary piece. We try to keep the program very alive so that the people are attracted to as much of it as possible. You’re not going to appeal to every person in Denver, every night. We try to present, over the course of the season, all of the great elements of the musical art form.”

Oundjian said the Colorado Symphony’s milestone could not have been reached without the longstanding and overwhelming support of the community.

“ is season carries special signi cance as we celebrate 100 years of music and look ahead to the next century of music making in Colorado,” said Oundjian. “ is celebration belongs as much to you and our state as it does to our orchestra, and we can’t wait to share the excitement with you all season long.”

As fall comes into view, Weekly said the sheri ’s o ce is also preparing for a new school year. Weekly said they held active threat training with school resource o cers and are having more conversations about how to increase deputy presence on campus.

“We are better prepared in Douglas County than in other places around our state,” said Weekly.

Agency relationships

Kellner and Weekly agreed that relationships outside of Douglas County and the 18th Judicial District are important in identifying trends in major crimes, gangs, drugs and more.

Douglas County is part of the e Regional Anti-Violence Enforcement Network, a multi-jurisdictional regional network of task force o cers and federal partners focusing on violent crimes, gangs and drug trafckers.

Among the 16 agencies included are the United States Attorney’s Ofce District of Colorado, Homeland Security Investigations, Colorado Air National Guard and multiple police agencies.

“We have great relationships with our federal law enforcement partners,” said Weekly. “ ey o er us a great deal of resources that we would not normally have and I’ve got a lot of those resources at my ngertips.”

As o cer-involved shootings have received more national and local scrutiny over the last few years, Kellner and Weekly talked about the importance of transparency in following state laws where an independent third-party agency investigates the details of the shooting.

Kellner said the 18th Judicial District has created a Critical Incident Response Team to investigate whether o cers are justi ed in their use of force.

Once their investigation is complete, the team makes a presentation to the district attorney where they determine whether the use of force was lawful or criminal.

“If I decline to le charges,” said Kellner. “I’m required by law to post my reasoning on my website.”

Due to the high volume of calls Douglas, Elbert and Lincoln counties have begun to form their own Critical Incident Response Team that will still report to the 18th Judicial District.

To be part of the response team, Douglas County deputies must go through persons crime training and will become the lead detective.

“We can send any detectives to do peripheral witness interviews or to gather evidence from di erent locations,” said Weekly. “ e leads and the co-leads, those are detectives that handle felony crimes against persons to include homicide.”

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