As part of the final chapter of this Essential 35^th Season, the San Juan Symphony is thrilled to release new videos by our musicians, plus the details of our fourth live broadcast. Right now, more than 350 website users have access to a trove of beautiful music, available on-demand with their online membership. Viewers from around the Four Corners and from coast to coast have tuned in for our live-streamed concerts this season, expanding the reach of our organization at a time when we are all craving connection.

Our fourth and final concert will be recorded on April 18^th at the Reising Stage Event Center in Durango and released during a live-stream event on Saturday, May 15^th, at 7:30pm MT, only at www.sanjuansymphony.org. The program is called “Sweet Simplicity” and features a physically- distanced San Juan Symphony string orchestra conducted by Music Director Thomas Heuser, performing the music of William Grant Still, Stacy Garrop, Benjamin Britten, and Claude Debussy’s Sacred and Profane Dances with SJS Principal Harpist Anne Eisfeller as soloist.

The videos produced by the musicians of the San Juan Symphony have been such an uplifting part of this virtual season, and we are delighted to share two new video projects. The first is a lively performance by the Petroglyph String Quartet, featuring Michael Allerheiligen and Yakima Fernandez on violin, Karl Winkler on viola, and Anastasia Nellos on cello. Their latest video is a “Mini-Program” with three works: a short Divertimento by Mozart, a wonderful arrangement of Rossini’s Largo al factorum from The Barber of Seville featuring some brilliant cello playing, and an evocative arrangement by Karl Winkler of Duke Ellington’s Mood Indigo.

The second newly-released video features our Principal Percussionist James Doyle and his wife Tracy Doyle, our SJS piccolo player who is also Director of the School of Music at the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma, Washington. The Doyle Duo has recorded a breathtaking performance of Kembang Suling by Gareth Farr for flute and marimba. Written in 1996, Farr describes his work as capturing “three musical snapshots of Asia,” with musical styles and influences from the island of Bali, Japan, and the complex musical language of Southern India.

Please do not hesitate to contact the San Juan Symphony via email or through our website if you have any questions about your website access. We look forward to seeing you “live” for our final subscription broadcast on Saturday, May 15^th at 7:30pm MT. Stay tuned for more details in the coming days and weeks! Thank you for your continued support of the San Juan Symphony.

Our next virtual concert will be released live on Saturday, March 6^th at 7:30pm MT. We are delighted to present “The Joys of Bach and Bologne,” a beautiful program recorded just last weekend in the wonderful acoustics of the Community Concert Hall at Fort Lewis College. The high-definition recording will be released during the live event on March 6^th through our website, hosted by music director Thomas Heuser and broadcast from the Rochester Hotel in downtown Durango directly into households everywhere.

Now is the time to check your website credentials at www.sanjuansymphony.org. Make sure you know your username and password, or make updates as needed, and while you’re visiting, check out some of the new individual musician recording projects that have been posted! The concert itself will be in the “Live Events” section of the website, exclusively for subscribers, at www.sanjuansymphony.org/live.

“The Joys of Bach and Bologne” has been generously sponsored by Durango Coca Cola, Durango Land and Homes, and the Symphony’s season sponsor, the Community Foundation Serving Southwest Colorado. The Symphony is still operating on a concert-by-concert basis, with the fourth and final concert of the season planned for release in mid-May; details about the season finale will be announced during the upcoming March broadcast.

The program on March 6^th includes what is likely the orchestra’s first presentation of music by Joseph Bologne, whose Second Symphony will provide an upbeat overture. Also known as the Chevalier de Saint-Georges, Joseph Bologne flourished during the time of Mozart, but his career has been overlooked for centuries. A virtuoso violinist, composer, and a cunning swordsman, Bologne became Colonel of the first all-Black regiment in Europe during the French Revolution. The complexities of his life story and his experiences overcoming racial discrimination add to our appreciation for his music during a season that has explored a number of Black composers.

Another composer receiving her San Juan Symphony debut is Hanna Benn, whose artistic output spans a huge range of genres and styles. As a composer and vocalist, her portfolio includes both pop albums and avant-garde theater projects. Her music is both lyrical and mystical, combining the nuances of medieval chant with the intricate textures of Stravinsky. Benn is highly in demand as a woman composer and composer of color whose voice is incredibly important in the current conversation about inclusivity and diversity in the arts. The Symphony will perform Benn’s evocative Where Springs Not Fail for String Orchestra, a work from 2015 whose title draws its inspiration from the poet Gerard Manley Hopkins.

Rounding out the program will be the timeless music of Johann Sebastian Bach. The great German composer created countless masterpieces during the Baroque Period, and yet his music still contains an astonishing freshness and originality. The Symphony will perform his Concerto for Oboe and Violin in C Minor, a brilliant work conceived around 1720. The featured soloists are Rebecca Ray, Principal Oboist of the San Juan Symphony, and Lauren Avery Heuser, Concertmaster of the San Juan Symphony. The two solo parts combine and overlap in fabulous contrapuntal displays, along with a contrasting slow movement of heartfelt lyricism.

Please do not hesitate to contact the San Juan Symphony via email or through our website if you have any questions about your website access. We thank you for your continued support!

During this Essential 35^th Season, virtual concerts of the San Juan Symphony have been viewed hundreds of times around the country. We proudly produced two beautiful concert recordings in 2020 that were archived for on-demand viewing, along with many hours of individual videos made by the musicians of our professional regional orchestra. Website membership options include a $99 Season Pass or $25 Weekly Access, and currently more than 300 households and 150 students can enjoy access to www.sanjuansymphony.org.

In our next virtual installment, coming up on Saturday, March 6^th at 7:30pm MT, the San Juan Symphony presents “The Joys of Bach and Bologne.” The concert will be recorded in the wonderful acoustics of the Community Concert Hall at Fort Lewis College; after many months exploring alternate venues, the Symphony is thrilled to return to the Concert Hall for a program of uplifting splendor. The high-definition video and audio recording will be released during a live-streamed event on our website, hosted by music director Thomas Heuser and broadcast from the Rochester Hotel in downtown Durango directly into households everywhere.

The assembled musicians will perform with masks and physical distancing in a reduced ensemble of between 10-15 musicians, in keeping with the organization’s self-imposed safety requirements during the time of COVID. The concert is sponsored by Coca Cola of Durango and Farmington, Durango Land and Homes, and the Symphony’s season sponsor, the Community Foundation Serving Southwest Colorado. The Symphony is still operating on a concert-by-concert basis, with the fourth and final concert of the season planned for release in mid-May. Details about the season finale will be announced during the upcoming March broadcast.

The program on March 6^th includes what is likely the orchestra’s first presentation of music by Joseph Bologne, whose Second Symphony will provide an upbeat overture. Also known as the Chevalier de Saint-Georges, Joseph Bologne flourished during the time of Mozart, but his career has been overlooked for centuries. A virtuoso violinist, composer, and a cunning swordsman, Bologne became Colonel of the first all-Black regiment in Europe during the French Revolution. The complexities of his life story and his experiences overcoming racial discrimination add to our appreciation for his music during a season that has explored a number of Black composers.

Another composer receiving her San Juan Symphony debut is Hanna Benn, whose artistic output spans a huge range of genres and styles. As a composer and vocalist, her portfolio includes both pop albums and avant-garde theater projects. Her music is both lyrical and mystical, combining the nuances of medieval chant with the intricate textures of Stravinsky. Benn is highly in demand as a woman composer and composer of color whose voice is incredibly important in the current conversation about inclusivity and diversity in the arts. The Symphony will perform Benn’s evocative Where Springs Not Fail for String Orchestra, a work from 2015 whose title draws its inspiration from the poet Gerard Manley Hopkins.

Rounding out the program will be the timeless music of Johann Sebastian Bach. The great German composer created countless masterpieces during the Baroque Period, and yet his music still contains an astonishing freshness and originality. The Symphony will perform his Concerto for Oboe and Violin in C Minor, a brilliant work conceived around 1720. The featured soloists are Rebecca Ray, Principal Oboist of the San Juan Symphony, and Lauren Avery Heuser, Concertmaster of the San Juan Symphony. The two solo parts combine and overlap in fabulous contrapuntal displays, along with a contrasting slow movement of heartfelt lyricism.

Digital access to the San Juan Symphony is available anytime, and purchasing a Digital Season Pass is the single best way to support the Symphony in these uncertain times. For complete information please visit www.sanjuansymphony.org.

Our “Lyrical Threads” concert is set to go live on Saturday, November 14 at 7:30 pm.  If you have not yet purchased a digital pass to access the music, you may do so via the homepage on this website.

Maestro Thomas Heuser’s pre-concert talk is now available by following this link: https://vimeo.com/478152744

Pick up a Take and Bake meal to go from The Yellow Carrot for the complete concert experience.  Order by November 12 to pick up on November 14.  Yellow Carrot MENU Take & Bake

Like orchestras and ensembles around the country and the world, the San Juan Symphony has been working overtime to navigate the challenges of the global pandemic. While some organizations have had to cancel entire seasons, fortunately the San Juan Symphony has endured and embraced a new format that relies heavily on technology. With a beautiful first production successfully streamed on October 3^rd, the music is set to continue on Saturday, November 14^th at 7:30pm MST with a Live Concert Broadcast—exclusively for website members—featuring a fantastic string orchestra program called “Lyrical Threads.”

Available now, audiences can purchase a Digital Season Pass to the Symphony for $99, which offers exclusive, year-long access to www.sanjuansymphony.org for the entire household. Weekly access is also available for $25 for the entire household. “Lyrical Threads” is one of four subscription concerts planned during this Essential 35^th Season of the San Juan Symphony. The concert was conducted by Music Director Thomas Heuser on October 17^th at the Reising Stage Event Center in Durango, with masks and physical distancing required for all involved.

The concert was professionally recorded by IlluminArts and Lightning Communications, thanks to generous sponsorship by the Connie Gotsch Arts Foundation of Farmington and our Durango friends Norman Broad and Carol Solomon. Heuser will be hosting the concert on November 14^th as a live stream from the R-Space at the Rochester Hotel in downtown Durango. Restaurant Partner Yellow Carrot in Durango will be offering a Virtual Take & Bake Menu for concert night, and Heuser will also release another free Musically Speaking Pre-Concert Lecture on Wednesday, November 11^th for historical context in advance of the live broadcast.

“Lyrical Threads” features a chamber orchestra of San Juan Symphony string players. With strings in mind, Heuser created a program of intense emotion and lyricism, and selected a venue with reverberant acoustics to let the threads of the different melodies weave through the space. The concert includes George Walker’s heartfelt “Lyric for Strings,” the energetic Holberg Suite of Edvard Grieg, and as a cherry on top, the perennial audience favorite, Pachelbel’s Canon in D Major. As a moving tribute to the more than 200,000 American lives lost to COVID-19, the silhouetted SJS principal string quartet recorded Eleanor Alberga’s Remember at The Rim Studio in Durango, courtesy of Jonas and Moni Grushkin. Complete concert details and program notes can be downloaded at www.sanjuansymphony.org.

While the virtual season may seem like an unfortunate alternative to live music, it offers a unique opportunity to reach new audiences—particularly first-time listeners, families with young children, audiences in other parts of the country, and those who might have physical limitations to attending concerts. Aspects of the digital concert experience are likely to become lasting features of the Symphony even after concert halls reopen. However, the organization has made plans to continue with online concert productions through the spring of 2021.

The San Juan Symphony is actively seeking feedback and support from its Durango and Farmington communities. With some businesses unable to predict the depth of the downturn, individual donors are being asked to keep up their giving while our non-profit applies for state and federal funding. Purchasing a Digital Season Pass is the single best way to support the orchestra at this time. For complete information please visit www.sanjuansymphony.org.

Durango, CO: BLACK VOICES AND A BALLET FOR MARTHA Set for Saturday, October 3^rd, 2020, 7:30 pm, Online Release

This year, more than ever, the San Juan Symphony believes music is essential!

Our virtual 35th season kicks off on Saturday, October 3 with an online performance of Black Voices and a Ballet for Martha at 7:30 pm. Video recording of the concert took place at beautiful Blue Lake Ranch in August with Thomas Heuser conducting. Maestro Heuser will also offer a “Musically Speaking” pre-concert talk on Wednesday, September 30, as well as live comments on concert night.

Aaron Copland wrote “A Ballet for Martha” in 1944. The wartime ensemble consisted of just 13 musicians, and the collaboration with Martha Graham resulted in Appalachian Spring, an iconic vision of American Shaker communities. The program also features music by Jessie Montgomery and Bruce A. Russell, two Black composers whose voices resonate with the racial justice movement and introduce a season-long conversation about diversity and inclusivity in the performing arts.

All musical content may be accessed via the San Juan Symphony website after purchasing a Digital Season Pass for $99 at www.sanjuansymphony.org. All concerts will remain accessible on the website as long as copyright regulations allow, usually at least a week.

Buy a pass now to access recent individual recording projects by members of the San Juan Symphony. We’re making music safely and behind the scenes until we can gather in person again.