A 21 st Century Symphony

By Nick Dobreff

When you think of symphonic music, what do you see? What do you hear? Does your mind wander to faded images of legendary composers seen in school textbooks and classrooms? Do you hear a favorite symphony or concerto, perhaps something you associate with a powerful memory or emotion? Or are you instantly transported into the concert hall, immersed in the sights and sounds of the concert going experience?

From the 18 th century through the early part of the 20 th , symphonic music was the predominant musical art form for much of the world, and the concert hall was the world’s conduit. Lacking the modern technology we enjoy today, someone from this period would be lucky to hear a piece more than once in their life. Imagine hearing Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony for the first time and never having the opportunity to hear it again? This scarcity generated a voracious appetite for symphonic music, propelling patrons to the concert hall in droves for generations.

After the turn of the 20 th century, new forms of music began to gain in popularity, including jazz and rock and roll, and later country, hip hop, and electronica. Simultaneously, music also became more accessible to people in their homes, vehicles, and later, in their pockets. This increased volume and accessibility has created more competition than ever for the eyes and ears of music lovers everywhere.

So what is the significance of symphonic music in the 21 st century, what role will it play moving forward, and how can classical symphonic music stay relevant with the challenges presented by modern society?

This is the question every orchestra around the world grapples with, and it’s one that the Colorado Symphony is at the forefront of addressing: It begins with reaching larger and more diverse audiences than ever before.

One way to accomplish this is by collaborating with musicians outside of the normal classical music sphere. The first notable instance of such a collaboration including the Colorado Symphony occurred in 1992 with a performance alongside The Moody Blues at Red Rocks Park & Amphitheatre. However, such partnerships did not manifest into a targeted campaign until nearly two decades later when, in 2012, the Colorado

Symphony joined GRAMMY®-nominated Indie folkrock group DeVotchKa for a pair of performances at So what is the Boettcher Concert Hall and Red Rocks. For the Colorado Symphony, this collaboration was significance of an incredible opportunity to perform with a group of local, world-class musicians while also coming symphonic music in face-to-face with thousands of music lovers who the 21 st century, what may never have seen a live symphonic orchestra before. And for DeVotchKa, collaborating with the role will it play moving Colorado Symphony added lush new layers to their songs, creating a concert experience that felt forward, and how can familiar and yet completely original. classical symphonic “One of the great things is that we were hoping some of the people who may not normally come music stay relevant down to see the Colorado Symphony, if we were involved they would take a chance and come with the challenges down to see it and keep coming back when they realized what a treasure we have,” said Nick Urata, presented by lead vocalist for DeVotchKa. modern society? Another memorable collaboration came a few years later when the Colorado Symphony and Chorus performed with The Flaming Lips — the colorful, whimsical, and boundarypushing rockers from Oklahoma City — at Red Rocks, invigorating the band’s seminal album, The Soft Bulletin, in front of a sold-out crowd. The performance was recorded and released as an album in October 2019, following a second sold-out performance of The Soft Bulletin at Boettcher Concert Hall in February of that year.

Perhaps these collaborations seemed odd or out of place to some. A professional symphonic orchestra performing with rock artists? But any trepidation soon melted away when met with the enthusiasm and joy these concerts engender from each audience.

The overall attendance numbers since 2012 speak to a growing and diversified audience at Colorado Symphony performances. Over the last decade, the Colorado Symphony has gradually increased the size and diversity of its audience while simultaneously lowering the average age of its attendees. Since 2013, the average age of Boettcher Concert Hall patrons has decreased from 69 to 49. When you include

Red Rocks shows, best estimates would put the average age of a Colorado Symphony concertgoer into the 30’s.

“What we do at Red Rocks is we’re giving many audience members their initial exposure to what live symphonic music can be,” said Anthony Pierce, Chief Artistic Officer. “It’s a long process to get anybody to be your fan and it doesn’t happen overnight. We have to chip away at that gradually and it starts with education and outreach in our community. We have the largest and most diverse audience in our history and the numbers prove that. But our greatest challenge as an institution is ensuring there is demand for live symphonic traditional classical music in the future, and that’s what we’re committed to.”

This past summer included a number of incredible Red Rocks performances alongside some of music’s biggest names: OneRepublic, Weird Al Yankovic, and actor Jack Black’s comedy rock duo, Tenacious D. These types of performances — the outsidethe-classical-music-box-type shows — are not only delivering vital revenue for this nonprofit orchestra, but also solidifying new audiences, a fundamental step in ensuring the future of symphonic music in Colorado.

Since 2012, over 20 artists of all genres have chosen the Colorado Symphony for their inaugural orchestral performance. That includes Elephant Revival, Guster, The Flaming Lips, Paper Bird, Bonobo, Lettuce, Tenacious D, The Moody Blues, Pretty Lights, Mandolin Orange, John Prine, Ingrid Michaelson, OneRepublic, Nathaniel Rateliff,

Odeza, Amos Lee, Gregory Alan Isakov, Bela Fleck and the Flecktones, DeVotchKa, The Lumineers, and Sarah McLachlan. In that time, the Colorado Symphony has also performed with popular artists like Seal, Hanson, and Josh Groban.

“We’ve been working to consciously build a reputation as an orchestra where a non-symphonic artist has their great first experience with an orchestra,” Resident Conductor Christopher Dragon told the Denver Post. “When you find the right formula and connection, it just creates something uniquely beautiful. You can’t recreate that experience anywhere else.”

“I think in Colorado and across the country, we’ve made ourselves known as the orchestra that’s doing the most innovative and interesting things,” added Nick Recuber, Assistant Principal Bass for the Colorado Symphony.

When considering a collaboration, the Colorado Symphony first assesses what they can bring to the partnership. If adding orchestration doesn’t contribute significantly to the quality of the music, the collaboration isn’t pursued. There are also additional challenges, like creating the proper sound balance so that the orchestra can be heard over the raw power of a rock and roll drum kit or an electric guitar.

In today’s evolving symphonic landscape, orchestral programming requires a delicate balance between core classical masterworks and popular collaborations along with other types of programming like the increasingly popular Movie at the Symphony concerts. In order to stay relevant for generations to come, it’s become important to show younger audiences that symphonic music has always been a part of their lives, whether they’re initially aware of it or not.

“That’s the magic question that every orchestra faces,” added Pierce. “How does playing a Harry Potter or Star Wars movie keep classical music relevant? What we do with these collaborations is we’re giving younger generations their first exposure to what live symphonic music can be. Once they’ve seen us 2-3 times at Red Rocks with one of these popular artists or watched us perform the score for one of their favorite movies live, then I think they’re much more likely to come see our traditional programming in Boettcher Concert Hall. We’ve got to be doing all of these things to make sure we have a future audience.”

“There’s no question we are one of the busiest orchestras in the country right now,” said Pierce to the Denver Business Journal. “We haven’t reduced our volume of classical content or sacrificed our core mission as curators of symphonic music. We’ve

just diversified. We are still committed to our core classical content — that’s our greatest priority — but we have to do things that ensure there is a future audience for symphonic music.”

As the Colorado Symphony moves into a new decade and grapples with the challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic, there exists a renewed sense of mission to debunk the myth that symphonic music is only for those of a certain age, a certain demographic, or a certain socioeconomic status. Through collaborations like these and additional outreach in the community, the orchestra is being heard by more people than ever before and the future of symphonic music has never looked brighter.

“What orchestras are doing in their communities is evolving, and I believe we’re ahead of the curve,” said Pierce. “Do we think that every person who came to see Tenacious D will now come to one of our Classics concerts? I doubt it. But do they now think that the Colorado Symphony is the coolest orchestra out there? I think so. And I think they feel a new sense of ownership to the ensemble. We are creating lasting impressions that will have an impact 10, 20, and 50 years into the future.”

From the best of the past to the edge of tomorrow, your Colorado Symphony is at the forefront of a symphonic revolution, pursuing groundbreaking concepts that inspire new generations of music lovers while ensuring a bright future for live symphonic music in Colorado.

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