Saturday, September 30, 7:30pm
Community Concert Hall
Durango
Sunday, October 1, 3:00pm
Henderson Performance Hall
Farmington
Saturday, November 4, 7:30pm
Community Concert Hall
Durango
Sunday, November 5, 3:00pm
Henderson Performance Hall
Farmington
From the time he was a little boy, my father played the piano and had a lifelong love of most music, but classical was his favorite.
As I grew up, Rachmaninoff or Beethoven would sometimes show up in my childhood home through Dad’s piano or an LP, but there was no money for concerts, so it was a real treat to go with him as an adult. On the way home from the venue, he’d tell me stories about the lives of the composers and reference other works of theirs I might be familiar with. To illustrate, sometimes, he would sing. I loved our musical adventures.
During almost every performance, there would come a time when I would tell myself that closing my eyes would help me hear more deeply. It was true, and once I reached a certain depth, I would drift into another realm. Some might call it sleep. I preferred to call it soul-spelunking. (To my knowledge, no snoring disturbed my neighbors.)
My father never closed his eyes while listening, even when he was near his end. It was like he was visiting with a very dear old friend whose very countenance brought him comfort and happiness.
And now I find my eyes stay open too. I’m listening for instructions. To what, I’m not sure. How to live, how to die, how to feel, how to cry? I know it when I feel it. Every concert I learn a little more.
There’s no right or wrong way to listen to this music. We show up. It’s enough. I’m glad you’re here.
Nancy Stoffer President San Juan Symphony, Board of Directors
Welcome to the San Juan Symphony!
On behalf of our entire organization, thank you for being part of the experience. We would not be who we are without our community of audiences, supporters, musicians, students, and staff. Every day, I marvel at the many ways the SJS brings us all together: as two communities, Durango and Farmington, united in one mission; as musicians gathering on the same stage, playing the same notes in harmony. Audiences from all ages and walks of life gather to hear these concerts and share the same applause, and we are buoyed by the optimism of it all. As your Music Director, I am humbled and grateful, every day.
The four subscription concerts of the San Juan Symphony orchestra will be truly phenomenal. Each program is designed to impress and inspire, with a blend of the familiar and the very new. The first half of our season is marked by the SJS debut of the wonderful pianist Kara Huber; music by the beloved Russian masters Tchaikovsky and Rachmaninoff, as we celebrate the 150th anniversary of Rachmaninoff’s birth; plus the first SJS performances of rarely-performed works by Amy Beach, Elizabeth Maconchy, and Maurice Ravel. With every rehearsal and concert, the orchestra gains momentum, and you won’t want to miss a moment of the action!
Now that our offerings have expanded “Beyond the Concert Hall,” there are opportunities to hear both the full Symphony orchestra as well as chamber music, solo recitals, Festival events, and holiday programs, plus the ethereal voices of the SJS Chamber Singers. Taken all together, we are offering more music than ever before, and as we embark on these New Horizons, we hope you will join us and invite your friends to be part of the extraordinary experience.
Thank you so much, and enjoy every minute of music at the San Juan Symphony!
See you soon,
Dr. Thomas Heuser Music Director, San Juan Symphony
American conductor Thomas Heuser has been widely recognized for his stirring leadership and energetic presence both onstage and in the community. He has served as Music Director of the San Juan Symphony since 2016, and is entering his 13th season as Music Director of the Idaho Falls Symphony, a regional professional orchestra that serves southeast Idaho and western Wyoming. Thomas lives in scenic Durango with his wife, violinist Lauren Avery, and their son Theodore.
Dr. Heuser was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship for Orchestral Conducting in Germany while serving as a Conducting Fellow with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra. His Fulbright residency at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater München included orchestral performances in Munich and Berlin and his European operatic debut with Jeunesses Musicales Deutschland. Moving from Munich to San Francisco, Thomas enjoyed three seasons as the Principal Guest Conductor of the San Francisco Academy Orchestra, working alongside members of the San Francisco Symphony.
Coming up in November 2023, Thomas makes his debut performance with the Santa Fe Symphony Orchestra and Chorus with performances of Handel’s Messiah. He has appeared as a Guest Conductor and Cover Conductor with the Grand Teton Music Festival Orchestra, and with Durango’s Music in the Mountains Festival Orchestra. Among a variety of diverse engagements, Thomas has given subscription concert performances with the Lexington Philharmonic, Symphony New Hampshire, the Boise Baroque Orchestra, and the Pittsburgh New Music Ensemble, as well as the Winston-Salem, Illinois, Wyoming, Bozeman, Missoula, Flagstaff, Vallejo, Grand Junction, and Portsmouth Symphony Orchestras, among others. He was the conductor of the 2020 All-State Festival Orchestras in New Mexico and Alabama.
The son of two molecular biologists at Washington University in St. Louis, Thomas began violin lessons at an early age and studied piano at the St. Louis Symphony Music School. He graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Vassar College as a piano performance major and earned his Masters in Instrumental Conducting (MM) from Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music. In 2013 he completed his Doctorate in Orchestral Conducting (DMA) from the University of Cincinnati’s College-Conservatory of Music. His primary conducting mentors include Paavo Järvi, Bruno Weil, Mark Gibson, Thomas Baldner, David Effron, Marin Alsop, David Robertson, Gustav Meier, and Larry Rachleff.
With great excitement and anticipation, I welcome you to Season 38 of the San Juan Symphony – “New Horizons.” As we embark on this new musical journey, I am filled with gratitude for your support and enthusiasm that have made the San Juan Symphony a beacon of artistic excellence in our community. This season promises to be a captivating blend of classical masterpieces, innovative contemporary works, and collaborative ventures that will ignite your imagination and stir your soul.
Throughout the years, the San Juan Symphony has been a testament to the power of music to connect, inspire, and uplift. Our orchestra, comprised of talented musicians from diverse backgrounds, brings together a wealth of experience and passion to create performances that leave an indelible mark on our hearts and minds. But our journey would not be complete without you – our cherished patrons, donors, volunteers, and music enthusiasts. Your presence in the concert hall, generous contributions, and unwavering dedication fuel our artistic endeavors and enable us to bring worldclass music to our region. I am excited to see our community continue to come together to celebrate the beauty of sound and the joy of shared experiences.
In addition to our captivating concerts, we are committed to nurturing the next generation of musicians and music lovers. Our Youth Orchestras, educational outreach programs, workshops, and camps, ensure that the magic of music reaches young minds, igniting their passion and shaping their futures.
I invite you to join us for a season of discovery, inspiration, and artistic exploration. Let us journey together as we set sail toward “New Horizons.” Thank you for being an integral part of the San Juan Symphony family. I eagerly anticipate the moments we will share and the memories we will create in the coming months.
With warmest regards,
Chandra Stubbs
Executive Director, San Juan Symphony
Sponsored by
Saturday, September 30, 7:30pm Community Concert Hall Durango
Sunday, October 1, 3:00pm Henderson Performance Hall Farmington
Kara Huber, piano soloist Thomas Heuser, conductor
Piano Concerto in C-sharp Minor, Op. 45 Amy Cheney Beach (1899) (1867-1944)
I. Allegro moderato
II. Scherzo (Perpetuum mobile): Vivace
III. Largo
IV. Allegro con scioltezza
Kara Huber, piano
INTERMISSION (20 minutes)
Symphony No. 5 in E Minor, Op. 64 (1888) Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840-1893)
I. Andante - Allegro con anima
II. Andante cantabile con alcuna licenza
III. Valse: Allegro moderato
IV. Finale: Andante maestoso - Allegro vivace
The San Juan Symphony dedicates the first concert of our 38th Season to the memory of the late, great Walter Dear, who died in August 2023 at the age of 91.
When our Music Director, Thomas Heuser, first moved to Durango in 2016, he was listening to live music at the Farmer’s Market and happened to notice an elegant gentleman standing nearby, engrossed in the performance. The two struck up a conversation, and Walt announced, “Oh! I recognize you, you’re the new guy!” From that point on, Walter and Thomas shared many laughs and hugs, and when introducing the Maestro to his friends, Walt would say, “This guy really knows how to dance!”
According to his obituary, Walt moved to Durango at age 68 and thrived in the community as a lover of card games, bike rides, and of course, the Durango music scene. He would repeatedly insist: “Durango is the Music City of the West!” And in addition to providing hugely generous financial support for the performing arts, he was a zealous concert-goer, often sitting in the center seat of the front row and howling in praise of the musicians even before they had played a single note. His love of music was infectious, and if there was a piano in the room, you can bet he had his eye on the instrument, waiting for his chance to sit down and let the music flow.
Before he died, Walt committed to sponsoring the San Juan Symphony at the generous $10,000 level for the next three seasons. His gift will be recognized as the Walter Dear Music Director’s Chair, supporting our Conductor and his artistic vision.
In addition to this historic Chair Sponsorship, the Walter Dear Family listed the SJS as a place where donations could be made in Walt’s honor. We are extremely grateful to the family for this generous gesture. Any donations made in this way will be recognized as honoring Walter Dear, and will be put towards student scholarships and performances of popular music, jazz, and world music, which he so enjoyed. We will greatly miss Walt Dear at the San Juan Symphony, but his legacy will continue to have an impact on the music for years to come, and the memory of his smiling face will always stay with us.
Grammy nominated Canadian-American pianist and conductor Kara Huber is quickly establishing herself as a celebrated member of the new class of concert pianists. Hailed as “absolutely dazzling…in a word, flawless” (New York Concert Review) in her Carnegie Hall debut, Ms. Huber combines the polish and warmth of an old-school soloist with the charisma and flair of the new generation of piano virtuosi.
Ms. Huber has performed across North America, Europe, and Australia, including lauded solo appearances at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, the Piano Virtuoso Series at the Canadian Opera Company, the Rising Stars Piano Series in Southampton, New York and Steinway Series at the Smithsonian American Art Museum. An in-demand recitalist, Ms. Huber seeks to excite and delight diverse audiences through her creative and engaging programming.
On the orchestral stage, Ms. Huber’s past seasons include appearances with the Louisville Orchestra, Oakville Symphony, Scarborough Philharmonic, and York Symphony Orchestra. She has worked under the baton of Charles Dutoit, Gerard Schwarz, Teddy Abrams, Denis Mastromonaco and Michael Roháč, in addition to a performance conducting and performing with the Canadian Chamber Orchestra.
Ms. Huber has received numerous prizes and awards for her performances, including the Audience Favorite Award in the Cincinnati World Piano Competition. She received training from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music with Awadagin Pratt and The Glenn Gould School of The Royal Conservatory of Music with John Perry and Leon Fleisher. Dr. Huber recently completed a DMA in piano and conducting at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, taught at the University of Louisville School of Music, and is currently instructor of piano at the Interlochen Arts Academy.
What a fascinating story we have in the composer and pianist Amy Cheney Beach (1867-1944). Born in Henniker, New Hampshire, Amy Marcy Cheney was a gifted child. The stories of her early life include shocking musical acuity and intelligence; after her first recitals at age six and seven, agents attempted to organize concert tours for the wunderkind. Instead, the family moved to Chelsea outside Boston, and Amy pursued serious piano lessons and studied composition. As a teenager, she was able to translate Hector Berlioz’s French treatise on orchestration for herself, and shocked the critical public with recitals at Chickering Hall and as a piano soloist with the Boston Symphony.
All that changed when, at 18 years old, Amy was married to Dr. H. H. A. Beach, a Boston surgeon, Harvard lecturer, and amateur singer twenty-four years her senior. She referred to herself thereafter as Mrs. H. H. A. Beach on publications and performances. Not only that, she agreed to only study composition privately, without any male tutors, to never teach piano, and, according to her husband’s conditions, “to function as a society matron.” Looking back in 1942, Amy recalled of her married life: “I was happy and he was content … I belonged to a happy period that may never come again.” That may have been the case, but clearly her career was impacted as a woman in the 1880s.
Beach’s major works were an immediate success, and her career was marked by historic firsts. By the 1920s, she was renowned across the U.S. and in Europe as America’s premiere woman composer. The Piano Concerto in C-sharp Minor (1900) showcases Amy Beach at her most Romantic. The influence of Russian masters like Tchaikovsky and Rachmaninoff are palpable, especially in the contrast of deeply affected moods and sublime melodies. Virtuosity in the piano part reflects Beach’s technical prowess, but also serves as an homage to the concerto’s dedicatee, the famed Venezuelan pianist, composer and conductor María Carreño (1853-1917). Modern critics have learned to love the Concerto, which has only recently enjoyed a return to popularity, but when it debuted with the Boston Symphony with the composer as soloist, the praise was off the charts.
Adding biographical depth to the concerto, some of the most vivid and captivating melodies are derived from her own early songs. The second theme of the first movement, for example, is based on Beach’s song Jeune fille et jeune fleur, her Op. 1, No. 3; and similarly, the somber third movement Largo theme is based on Beach’s song Twilight, Op. 2, No. 1. In these connections, critics have found the composer struggling to reconcile her
blossoming career with the restrictions placed on her by her mother and husband, those who championed her but also held her in check. Maybe the energetic finale of the Concerto signals that the Amy composer has emerged triumphant from the confines of her early life, full of personality and ready to take on the world. Regardless, the arc of the concerto is broad and captivating, with incredible rhythmic drive and abundant passion.
“Passion in music” should probably be the trademark of Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840-1893). After a heavily conservative upbringing that only included music as an afterthought, he earned a degree from the School of Jurisprudence and was enlisted in the Ministry of Justice, serving a threeyear civil service career. Around that time, the Russian Musical Society (RMS) was founded by Anton Rubinstein, with the goal of nurturing native Russian talents and nationalist trends. Piotr Ilyich began attending RMS classes in 1861 before they morphed into the Saint Petersburg Conservatory in 1862, where Tchaikovsky was a member of the first-ever class of students. He graduated in 1865 and was promptly appointed Professor of Music Theory at the Moscow Conservatory.
Tchaikovsky conducted the premiere of his Sixth Symphony only nine days before he died in 1893. Five years before that, his career as a conductor became established through performances of his Symphony No. 5 in E Minor, Op. 64 (1888); he conducted the work’s debut in Saint Petersburg at the Mariinsky Theatre. Later, conducting brought Tchaikovsky to perform at the inaugural concert of Carnegie Hall in New York in 1891. When he performed his Fifth Symphony for audiences in Boston, critical reaction was borderline inappropriate. One Boston review in 1892 read in part: “Of the Fifth Tchaikovsky Symphony one hardly knows what to say ... sounds like nothing so much as a horde of demons struggling in a torrent of brandy, the music growing drunker and drunker. Pandemonium, delirium tremens, raving, and above all, noise worse confounded!”
Coincidentally, that would have been the same year, and the same Boston audience, where Amy Beach presented the triumphant debut of her First “Gaelic” Symphony. Regardless of such criticism, there can be no surprise why Tchaikovsky’s Fifth Symphony is one of the most frequently performed in the repertoire. Audiences love the work, and have been enthralled since its first performances. The Fifth is frequently interpreted as conveying a “victory through strife” message, and we know strife was part of Tchaikovsky’s DNA. Melancholy seems to emanate from the very opening notes: a solemn duo of clarinets provide the listener with a simple motto. That motto serves as the germinal idea for the entire symphony, returning in every movement and connecting the dots for the audience.
The First Movement is a towering sonata form, with themes that seem like individual heroes in battle. The seriousness of the opening movement and its formidable length set the stage for a luxurious Second Movement, whose iconic solos and melodic freedom give us Tchaikovsky the exuberant opera composer. Our goosebumps are interrupted by a stirring apex of dissonance and chaos, blazing the motto theme and revealing the intense drama beneath all the passion. Waltzing through the Third Movement, we are reminded of symphony waltzes by Mendelssohn, Mahler, and their early Classical ancestors. And then, when the Fourth Movement finally arrives, we are met with the motto theme in triumphant major key, and experience the Boston’s critic’s supposed “pandemonium.” The finale is a sprawling affair, and our musical expectations are given absolute resolution. We leap to our feet because of what the composer has shared with us, eliciting the best from the real heroes of the performance, the musicians in the orchestra, who must give all of themselves to this music.
Sponsored by Jim Foster
Doug Brew & Dottie Peacock
Saturday, November 4, 7:30pm
Community Concert Hall
Durango
Sunday, November 5, 3:00pm Henderson Performance Hall
Farmington
Thomas Heuser, conductor
Nocturne for Orchestra (1951-1952) Elizabeth Maconchy (1097-1994)
La valse, poème chorégraphique Maurice Ravel (1919-1920) (1875-1937)
INTERMISSION (20 minutes)
Symphonic Dances, Op. 45 (1940)
I. Non allegro - Lento - Tempo I
II. Andante con moto (Tempo di valse)
III. Lento assai - Allegro vivace
Sergei Rachmaninoff (1873-1943)
Elizabeth Maconchy (1907-1994) was born in a small town in southern England and moved with her family to Ireland when she was 10 years old. Her time living and studying in Dublin was formative enough that she referred to herself as an Irish composer. In 1923, at the age of sixteen, she returned to England and studied at the Royal College of Music under Ralph Vaughan Williams. Elizabeth Maconchy produced more than 200 published works over a 60 year career as a composer, most notably her body of 15 string quartets, which stand out as a major contribution in the genre.
Maconchy’s Nocturne for Orchestra (195051) is a brooding and dense work that pays homage to Béla Bartók and his revolutionary “night music.” The piano music of English composer John Field invented the Nocturne as a genre, which bore fruit with Chopin and others, leading almost inevitably to Debussy’s dream-like Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faune. Here, Maconchy creates a canvas for unique sounds and harmonic colors that include extended techniques in the strings and percussion, twisted brass fanfares, and sinuous harp gestures. We are dipped into a deep woods, where a celebration of the night is taking place. The short piece ends mysteriously in a cloak of darkness.
Maurice Ravel (1875-1937) exerted a huge influence on the trajectory of 20th century music. Ravel began his musical life modestly, taking private lessons in piano and counterpoint without fanfare. At the age of 14, he attended the 1889 Universal Exposition, where he heard new Russian works by Rimsky-Korsakov and the exotic sounds of the Javanese gamelan. Ravel entered the Paris Conservatoire in the same year and devoted himself to composition, eschewing the limelight of competitions in instrumental performance. Having won no prizes, he was expelled in 1895, but readmitted in 1897 as a student of Gabriel Fauré, only to be expelled again because of his politically liberal views and unwillingness to accommodate his instructors. He became known as one of “The Hooligans” in France, a group which included innovative young artists, poets, and critics.
Many of Ravel’s most beloved works for orchestra were originally conceived as solo piano pieces, and his skills as an orchestrator are absolutely impeccable. Ralph Vaughan Williams briefly studied with Ravel, and quoted him as having the motto: Complexe mais pas compliqué, or “complex but not complicated.” This fascinating distinction rings true for so much of Ravel’s output, including his revolutionary Daphnis and Chloe, where the
complexity of the instrumental writing can be astonishing, but the music is approachable and simple to the ear. La valse (1920) belongs to the handful of masterpieces composed by Ravel after the First World War. The work was conceived on a commission from the ballet impresario Sergei Diaghilev, who rejected the work: “It’s a masterpiece, but it’s not a ballet. It’s the portrait of a ballet.” Ravel had this to say about La valse in 1922:
While some discover an attempt at parody, indeed caricature, others categorically see a tragic allusion in it – the end of the Second Empire, the situation in Vienna after the war, etc... This dance may seem tragic, like any other emotion... pushed to the extreme. But one should only see in it what the music expresses: an ascending progression of sonority, to which the stage comes along to add light and movement.
Such an understatement suits Ravel, who famously said of his Boleró: “It has no music in it.” Like Boleró Ravel uses La valse to highlight the magnificent power of the orchestra; the “ascending progression of sonority” is something every audience member can appreciate, especially when performed live, as the rafters and stage begin to quiver with the massive power of the sound.
Over the course of the poème chorégraphique (choreographic poem, or symphonic poem), Ravel introduces a number of different waltzes, from the subtle and sensual to the bombastic and macabre. The score includes a written description by the composer: “Through whirling clouds, waltzing couples may be faintly distinguished. The clouds gradually scatter: one sees an immense hall peopled with a whirling crowd. The scene is gradually illuminated, and the light of the chandeliers bursts forth at the fortissimo. Set in an imperial court, about 1855.” Vienna in 1855 was the era of Johann Strauss Jr., whose operetta Die Fledermaus brims with these overtly optimistic waltzes.
Sergei Rachmaninoff (1873-1943) was shocked and depressed to learn of the death of his idol, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, from cholera in 1893. Rachmaninoff had finally embarked on a career as a successful composer, having first earned the status of virtuoso pianist in his youth and during studies at the Moscow Conservatory. He reemerged in 1897 to premiere his labored First Symphony, only to have the debut panned in the critical press. He spiraled again, and the cycle of mental health crises persisted for poor Rachmaninoff until hypnotherapy sessions in 1900 finally broke the pattern.
After a rough start, Rachmaninoff enjoyed great fame as a pianist and conductor, performing recital tours in Europe and the US and serving as a conductor for a number of important opera theaters. He debuted his fiendishly difficult Third Piano Concerto as soloist with the Boston Symphony Orchestra in 1909 during a U.S. concert tour that included 26 performances, 19 as pianist and 7 as conductor. Then, in 1910, he performed the Third Piano Concerto with the New York Symphony Orchestra (now the NY Philharmonic) under the baton of the great Gustav Mahler, which is absolutely astonishing. The political revolutions in Russia in 1917 pushed Rachmaninoff and his family to emigrate to the United States, and by 1919, he was sponsored by Steinway and living in New York City.
The demands of Rachmaninoff’s performance calendar were immense, and so his output of new compositions declined; in the 24 years between his arrival in the US and his death, he completed just six new pieces, but performed more than 300 concerts! He developed one final important relationship at the end of his career, with the Philadelphia Orchestra and Eugene Ormandy, which culminated in the premiere of his last composition: the Symphonic Dances, Op. 45 (1940-41).
This unique work can be understood as a “Suite of Dances” that are symphonic in scope and style. While writing the music, Rachmaninoff called them “Fantastic Dances,” with movements titled “Noon,” “Twilight,” and “Midnight.” We can sense the fantasy, much like Ravel’s ghostly La valse. The first dance is heavy, weighted down like Stravinsky’s earthly Rite of Spring, and famously makes use of the alto saxophone as a solo instrument. The ravishing Waltz of the second dance takes its inspiration from the Viennese waltz that Maurice Ravel meant to caricature in 1929. Truly, the relationship between this waltz and La valse was part of my inspiration for this colorful program!
After an operatic, almost cinematic opening statement, the third dance arrives boisterously, with a highly syncopated main theme that gives the dance a kind of Spanish flair, like a Habanera. The opening gesture returns in a fantasy of instrumental colors, painting a Nocturne-esque night music that is fitting of a visionary “Midnight” dance macabre. The dance eventually morphs into a struggle between two distinct quotations: the ancient Dies Irae death chant is pitted against a quotation of his “Resurrection” theme from the ninth movement of his own “All-night Vigil” of 1915. In the end, the Resurrection theme is rendered victorious, and Rachmaninoff apparently wrote the word “Hallelujah” in his copy of the score where light clearly triumphs. The work ends in a blaze of vitality and percussive power, in a way that Tschaikovsky, Ravel, and Stravinsky would have admired.
3RD AVENUE CONCERT SERIES
presents:
Tuesday, October 3 | 7:00pm
Piano Recital with Kara Huber:
Women Composers
Roshong Recital Hall in Jones Hall, Fort Lewis College
PROGRAM
Sixth Fanfare for the Uncommon Woman Joan Tower (b. 1939)
Nocturne Op. 165
Cécile Chaminade (1858-1944)
Nocturne Op. 107 Amy Beach (1867-1944)
No Longer Very Clear - Joan Tower
Holding a Daisy
“Or like a...an engine”
Vast Antique Cubes
Throbbing Still
Summer Moon Florence Price (1887-1953)
Ballade Op. 6 Amy Beach
Ivory and Ebony
Save the Date:
Joan Tower
Friday, January 19 | 7:00pm
San Juan Symphony String Quartet
St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, 910 E. 3rd Ave., Durango
Friday, April 5 | 7:00pm
Exploring the Life and Music of Antonin Dvorák
St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, 910 E. 3rd Ave., Durango
The San Juan Symphony Chamber Singers (formerly the Durango Chamber Singers), part of the San Juan Symphony family of musical ensembles and events, is a mixed-voice choir of about 22 auditioned voices founded and directed by Elizabeth Crawford. In addition to performing solo programs, the Chamber Singers are featured in various Symphony “Beyond the Concert Hall” events and festivals. The ensemble offers its singers and local audiences exposure to unique and interesting choral works from diverse sources, performed at their highest standard in the beautiful setting of St. Mark’s Episcopal Church.
Elizabeth is the founder and artistic director of the San Juan Symphony Chamber Singers (formerly the Durango Chamber Singers). She previously served as Music Director for the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Durango and Director of Choirs at Summit Church in Durango. She sings with the Durango Choral Society, plays flute and piccolo with the Southwest Civic Winds, and performs frequently on guitar, mandolin, and mandola. She has studied voice, flute/piccolo, music theory, and conducting at Columbia University, Ft. Lewis College, and with numerous private instructors. She has sung in amateur and professional choirs from San Francisco to Sydney, Australia.
A native of Johnstown, PA, Elizabeth moved to Durango with her husband and two daughters in 2002. She is a retired investment portfolio manager and Finance instructor (CFA, MBA). She has served on four local non-profit boards over the past 20 years, and as co-trustee, she manages the Crawford Family Foundation.
Sunday, May 12 | 3:00pm
Save the Date:
Sunrise: Music for Mother’s Day
St. Mark’s Episcopal Church | 910 E. 3rd Ave., Durango
Featuring Ola Gjeilo’s exquisite ‘Sunrise Mass,’ the SJS Chamber Singers will present contemporary and classical music of hope and promise by Hagenberg, Brahms, Holst, Forrest, and many more. A perfect musical event for Mother’s Day!
Sunday, October 29 | 3:00pm
St. Mark’s Episcopal Church | 910 E. 3rd Ave., Durango
Elizabeth Crawford, Director Christi Livingston, Kyle Osborne, Associate Director Collaborative Pianist
Cantate (A New Song)
The Sun Never Says
Daniel Schreiner (b. 1990)
Dan Forrest (b. 1978) KJ Troy, cello
El Mar Andrea Ramsey (b. 1977)
poem by Antonio Machado (1875-1939)
Nyon Nyon Jake Runestad (b. 1986)
Grace Before Sleep
In the Middle
Susan LaBarr (b. 1981)
poem by Sara Teasdale (1884-1933)
Dale Trumbore (b. 1987)
poem by Barbara Crooker (b. 1945)
The Song We Sing Jacob Narverud (b. 1986)
poem by Robert Bode (b. 1960)
Be Like the Bird
To Sit and Dream
Alleluia
Abbie Betinis (b. 1980)
Rosephanye Powell (b. 1961)
poem by Langston Hughes (1902-1967)
Elaine Hagenberg (b. 1979)
text by St. Augustine (354-430)
Composer biographies, texts, and a roster of the Chamber Singers will be included as an insert on the evening of the performance.
December 8-10
One of the most highly anticipated events of the season, the State Street Ballet of Santa Barbara returns to the Community Concert Hall at Fort Lewis College for Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker Ballet, featuring student dancers in a variety of roles. The San Juan Symphony will provide live music under the direction of Maestro Heuser. Tickets available at www.durangoconcerts.com
Friday, Dec. 15 | 4:00pm & 7:00pm St. Mark’s Episcopal Church
910 E. 3rd Ave. Durango
Enjoy a beautiful presentation of sacred and spiritual music that celebrates the Christmas season. Featuring the voices of the SJS Chamber Singers and musical guests.
March 2-9, 2024
The timeless music of Johann Sebastian Bach is the focus of the annual Durango Bach Festival, a weeklong series of events that includes student recitals, evening performances with choir, soloists, and orchestra, and the popular Bach’s Lunch series. Festival passes and concert details are available at sanjuansymphony.org.
June 3-7, 2024
Enjoy a week-long celebration of small ensembles and chamber music performances, featuring the faculty of the Durango Chamber Music Academy and the Piano Academy at FLC. Afternoon concerts are affordably priced and open to all ages.
As a non-profit dedicated to the performing arts, we are grateful for contributions in any amount. This list reflects annual donations made to the San Juan Symphony between January 1 and August 15, 2023. Our list of donations will again be updated in the Spring 2024 Program. Please contact our office with any amendments; we appreciate the opportunity to correct our records. Thank you for your enduring support of our programs!
($10,000-$19,999)
Community Foundation Serving SW Colorado
Connie Gotsch Arts Foundation
Walter Dear
Jim Foster
The Levy Family Fund
New Mexico Arts
San Juan Regional Medical Center
Ziems Ford Corners
($5,000-$9,999)
Alpine Bank
Douglas Brew & Dorothy Peacock
City of Durango
City of Farmington
Elizabeth Crawford
Durango & Silverton Narrow
Gauge Railroad
Steve & Marti Kiely
San Juan County Commissioners
Susan Reese
TBK Bank
($2,500-$4,999)
Ballantine Family Fund
Norman Broad & Carol Salomon
Coca-Cola Durango Bottling Company
Durango Friends of The Arts
Ruth Guarino
($1,000-$2,499)
D’Ann Artis
Stephen Bowers & Wendy Grant
Julia Dodd
Mark Everson & Sara Michaels
William Gundlach
Rochelle Mann
Don & Sandra Mapel
Ross Park
James Peters
Carla Pinahs
Joseph & Catherine Pope
Janice Sheftel
Help Support your Symphony, Become a Donor Today
Larry & Elizabeth Crawford Family Foundation
Jimmy & Meredith Mapel
Karen McIntire & Mike Nettles
James & Linda McLaughlin
Dick & Georgeann Reitz
Tom & Bev Taylor
LeMaire Family Foundation
Paul & Jigger Staby Payroll Department
Nancy Stoffer
Karen Soltes
Raymond & Carol Schmudde
Gwyneth Stites
Gordon & Dene Kay Thomas
Pete & Tish Varney
Ilga K Vise
Nan & Brian Wagner Family Fund
Florian & Shelley Walchak
SUSTAINER ($500-$999)
Richard & Beverly Benford
Blackbaud Giving Fund
Judy Bundy
Beatrice Byrd
Anita Cohen
Ernie & Margo Cotton
Margy Dudley
Catharine Eppinger
Sheryl & Stephen Guy
Gerald & Linda Harris
Ethan Hong
Tina Lemaster
John Romine
Steven Zwick
ASSOCIATE ($250-$499)
Ace Hardware of Farmington
Paul Bandy & Mary Catherine Curry
Richard & Beverly Benford
David & Sally Bramhall
Robert Bricca
Robert Evans
Alden Foster
Dawn Krause
Larry & Barbara Kronick
Deborah Lycan
The Thane Malison Charitable Fund
Maynes, Bradford, Shipps & Sheftel, LLP
Betsy Petersen
Kenneth & Joyce Stevenson
Chris & Chandra Stubbs
($10 - $249)
Jim Adkins & Lynn Eustance
Gary & Beanie Archie
Bonnie Avery
Linda Barnes
Susan Brightman
Ron & Hyla Calcote
David & Terry Clark
James & Cheryl Clay
Matthew & Amanda Clugston
Robert & Nancy Dolphin
Ellingson Condie Family Trust
Ann Flower
Mike Foster
Leslie Gleason
Richard & Gail Grossman
Gerald & Linda Harris
Hollis Hassenstein & Richard Quinn
Thomas Heuser & Lauren Avery
Robin Jakino
Candace Kendrick
Les Leach
Laurie Lidstrom
Benjamin Loyd
Karen & Karl Mesikapp
Justin & Anna McBrayer
In Memory of Mary Jane Clark
Sheri Rochford-Figgs
Carole McWilliams
Jessica Obleton
Cherry Odelberg
Janet Oliver
Jeff & Janet Parkes
John Patton
Susan Robertson
Sheri Rochford-Figgs
Alicia Romero
Jonathan Rudolf
June Russell
Michael Schultz
Stephen & Linda Sency
Kathryn & Brian Shaffer
Kent & Florence Short
Nancy Sheftel-Gomes
Steve Short
Gloria & Dave Smiley
Geney Stan
Cecilia & Monica Taulbee-Leaming
Mike Van Dusen
Sean Varley
John Watson
Susan & Scott Wortman
In Honor of Rochelle Mann
Candace Kendrick
In Honor of Dan & Polly Morgenstern
Larry & Barbara Kronick
Allison Ragsdale
Photography
Alley House Grill
Alpine Bank
Amy’s Bookstore
Laura Argotsinger
Artifacts 302
ASAP Accounting & Payroll
Balanced Health & Aesthetics
Be FRANK Foundation
Steve & Shauna Blaylock
Stephen Bowers & Wendy Grant
Bread
Ginny Brown
Brown’s Shoe Store
Candice Carson
Clancy’s Irish Cantina
Coca-Cola Bottling
Company
College Drive Cafe
Community Concert Hall at Fort Lewis College
Cream Bean Berry
Creede Repertory
Theater
Diane West Jewelry & Art
Distill Spirits
Paul Duggan
Durango Craft Spirits
Durango Herald
Durango Hot Springs
Durango Land & Homes
Durango Magazine
Durango Nursery
Durango Playfest
Earthen Vessel Gallery
Encore Coffee
Florian and Shelley
Walchak
Flying Fish Company
Kristen Folden
Fort Lewis College
Music Department
Four Corners River
Sports
Four Corners Yoga
Elizabeth Crawford
Glacier Club
Al & Janice Curry
Ruth Guarino
Billy & Maria Gutierrez
Sheryl & Stephen Guy
HEart Gallery
Carter & Sue Hampton
Cindy Hillmer
Pip Howard
Humane Society LPCHS
Idaho Falls Symphony
Illuminarts
J.A. Jewelers & Co.
Jamie’s Fine Jewelry Shop
Molly Jensen
Katherine Jetter
Steve & Marti Kiely
Kennebec Cafe
Kit Frost Art
Martha Kiefer
KSJE Radio
Lauren Avery Heuser
Leland House Suites of Durango
Liquor World
Local News Network
Gisela Lott
Allen & Karen Lyon
Mable’s Bagels
Rochelle Mann
Maria’s Bookshop
Kim Martin
Mary Stengel
Maureen May
Methodist Thrift Shop
Sara Michaels
Scott Michlin
Mill Street Bistro
Karen Morrison
Karen Johnson
No Place Like Home
Ohana Physical Therapy
John O’Neal
Kyle Osborne
Oscar’s Cafe
Papa Murphy’s
Primus
Dick & Georgeann Reitz
Judith Reynolds
Richard Grossman
Rivergate Acupuncture
Alicia Romero
Salt 360
San Juan Savings Guide
Cynthia Rapp Sandhu
Santa Fe Chamber
Music Festival
Santa Fe Desert Chorale
Santa Fe Opera
Santa Fe Symphony
Scott’s Pro-Lawn
Linda Sency
Don & Sandra Maple
Mark & Sayra Siverson
Salter
Carol Schmudde
Janice Sheftel
Rev. Debbie Metzgar
Shew
Ska Brewing
Sorrel Sky Gallery
Star Liquors
Nancy Stoffer
Sunnyside Farms Market
Bev & Tom Taylor
The Zen Den
Dene & Gordon Thomas
Toh-Atin Gallery
Tomo Restaurant
Pete & Tish Varney
Union Social House
Brain Wagner
Shelley Walchak
Chuck & Janet Williams
Willowtail Springs
Nature Preserve & Education Center
Woodhouse Day Spa
Wyman Hotel
Zia Chicks
Ziems Ford Corners
Alpine Bank
Artifacts 302
Artist In Residence Program at Fort Lewis College
ASAP Accounting & Payroll
Ascent Digital
Ballantine Communications
Ballantine Family Fund
Be Frank Foundation
City of Durango
City of Farmington
Coca-Cola Bottling Company
Colorado Gives Foundation
Community Concert Hall at Fort Lewis College
Community Foundation Serving SW Colorado
Connie Gotsch Arts Foundation
Duck Girl Art
Durango & Silverton Narrow
Gauge Railroad
Durango Friends of the Arts
Durango Land and Homes
Durango Magazine
Econo Lodge Inn & Suites
Fort Lewis College Music Department
Four Corners Broadcasting
Illuminarts
Kroegers Ace Hardware
KSJE Radio
The Levy Family Fund
LPEA
Local News Network
New Mexico Arts
Powerhouse Science Center/
Tinker Lab
Psyche Digital
San Juan County Commissioners
San Juan Regional Medical Center
San Juan Savings
TBK Bank
Union Social House
Visit Durango
Ziems Ford
Artist in Residence Program at Fort Lewis College
Fort Lewis College Music Department
The Levy Family Fund
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
2023-24
Nancy Stoffer, President
Sara Michaels, Vice President
Janice Sheftel, Treasurer
Wendy Grant, Secretary
Steve Kiely
Monica Leaming
Allen Lyon
Scott Michlin
Karen Morrison
Cynthia Rapp Sandhu
Alicia Romero
Carol Schmudde
Tom Taylor
Brain Wagner
Shelley Walchak
MUSICIANS’ REPRESENTATIVES
John O’Neal
Tennille Taylor
Chandra Stubbs | Executive Director
Thomas Heuser | Music Director
Laura Argotsinger | Operations Manager
Sayra Siverson | Youth Orchestra Director
Molly Jensen | Junior Orchestra Director
Lauren Avery | Librarian
Steve Blaylock | Stage Manager
Arthur Post | Music Director Laureate
Jan Roshong | Music Director Laureate
PHOTOGRAPHY Illuminarts, Allison Ragsdale Photography
GRAPHIC DESIGN Duck Girl Art
WEBSITE DESIGN Psyche Digital
The San Juan Symphony is an innovative regional orchestra that contributes to the educational and cultural enrichment of the diverse communities of the Four Corners area with inspiring live performances and creative collaborative efforts.
P. O. Box 1073 Durango, CO 81302
www.sanjuansymphony.org 970.382.9753
