Colorado Music Festival

TO INSPIRE AND CONNECT COMMUNITY MEMBERS OF ALL AGES BY PROVIDING ACCESS TO THE BEST OF THE WORLD'S MUSIC THROUGH EDUCATION AND PERFORMANCE.

THE COLORADO MUSIC FESTIVAL HELD AN IN-PERSON FESTIVAL AT CHAUTAUQUA AUDITORIUM. ARTISTICALLY, THE FESTIVAL WAS A SPECTACULAR SUCCESS, RECEIVING YET ANOTHER MAJOR REVIEW IN THE WALL STREET JOURNAL AND A FEATURE STORY IN THE STRAD. TICKET SALES FOR THE FESTIVAL REACHED AN ALL-TIME REVENUE RECORD. ARTIST IN RESIDENCE JOSHUA BELL (VIOLIN) WAS A MAJOR FACTOR, AS HIS FOUR CONCERTS WERE SELL-OUTS. TWO OF HIS CONCERTS FEATURED A NEW WORK ENTITLED THE ELEMENTS FOR WHICH JOSHUA ENLISTED SEVERAL OF TODAY'S MOST SOUGHT-AFTER COMPOSERS TO EACH WRITE A MOVEMENT DEPICTING AN ELEMENT. COMPOSERS WERE INVITED TO "WORKSHOP" THE PIECE WITH THE TALENTED FESTIVAL ORCHESTRA IN ADVANCE OF THE WORLD PREMIERE PERFORMANCE IN THE FALL, SO BOULDER AUDIENCES WERE TREATED TO A PREVIEW PERFORMANCE OF THE WORK. OTHER POPULAR FESTIVAL PERFORMANCES INCLUDED A RACHMANINOFF SERIES, FEATURING RENOWNED RUSSIAN PIANIST NICOLAI LUGANSKY IN CELEBRATION OF THE COMPOSER'S 150TH "BIRTHDAY" IN 2023. THE FESTIVAL ALSO FEATURED AN EVENING OF MUSIC COMPOSED BY THE LEGENDARY JOHN CORIGLIANO, WHO WAS IN ATTENDANCE, AND A CONCERT IN WHICH THREE WORLD PREMIERES WERE PERFORMED IN ONE EVENING, INCLUDING JFK: THE LAST SPEECH IN COLLABORATION WITH THE AMHERST CLASS OF '64 AND COMPOSED BY DR. ADOLPHUS HAILSTORK, AND TWO WORKS BY COMPOSERS WITH LOCAL CONNECTIONS IN CELEBRATION OF OUR VENUE'S (COLORADO CHAUTAUQUA'S) 125TH ANNIVERSARY.

THE CENTER FOR MUSICAL ARTS CONTINUED TO SEE GROWTH IN PRIVATE LESSON ENROLLMENT. THE CMA CONCERT SERIES LAUNCHED ANOTHER SUCCESSFUL SEASON AS WELL, FEATURING AN ECLECTIC MIX OF AWARD-WINNING PIANISTS, A MARIACHI BAND, AND A TANGO TRIO. ALSO NOTABLE WAS THE GROWTH OF ENSEMBLE PARTICIPATION AFTER A LULL CREATED BY THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC. ENROLLMENT IN ENSEMBLES IS AT OR ABOVE OUR 2019 NUMBERS AND PARTICIPANTS ARE ENJOYING MORE COMMUNITY PERFORMANCES, INCLUDING OPPORTUNITIES TO PERFORM ON THE TINY STAGE FOR AN ESTIMATED 10,000 COMMUNITY MEMBERS AT MAJOR, LOCAL FESTIVALS IN BOULDER, LAFAYETTE AND NEARBY COMMUNITIES, AS WELL AS INVITATIONS TO PARTICIPATE IN CIVIC EVENTS AND AT FEATURED PERFORMANCES AT ESTEEMED LOCAL ESTABLISHMENTS SUCH AS NISSI'S PERFORMANCE VENUE. ADVANCE 2024 SALES AND SPONSORSHIPS ARE VERY PROMISING, AND CMA EARLY ENROLLMENT IS STRONG. THE ORGANIZATION IS FOCUSING ON FUNDRAISING INITIATIVES AS WE CONTINUE TO REBOUND POST-PANDEMIC. NOTABLY, THE ORGANIZATION IS WORKING TO REBUILD RESERVE FUNDS AS WELL AS A MAJOR FOCUS ON PLANNED GIVING INTENDED TO REPLENISH AND EXPAND THE CORPUS OF THE ENDOWMENT FUND.