Our Genius concerts in January were a huge success! The concerts were packed with fresh new talent and venerated pros as we celebrated the greatest minds across the ages. We are so proud of our musicians and appreciative of all who came out to support the Boulder Symphony.
Fittingly, the concert showcased innovative programming. The Boulder Symphony premiered three new works by Cindy McTee, Austin Wintory and Clay Allen (listen to a recording). McTee, a contemporary composer, combined live classic strings and recorded digital sounds in Einstein’s Dream. Post-minimalist composer Allen gave us the world premiere of Visions of Galileo. And finally, Austin Wintory performed The Fermi Paradox, which left us contemplating our place in the universe.
These incredible works focused on the sciences and how art intersects with it. Art and science go hand in hand, and we thoroughly enjoyed how the orchestra was able to bring the two together. Through music, they told stories of Einstein, Galileo, Fermi and other famous scientists who took it upon themselves to dream big and not fear the consequences.
There were two other astounding performances at the Boulder Symphony Genius concerts. First was 17-year-old pianist Jessica Zhang playing one of Chopin’s piano concertos. Zhang also won the International Keyboard Odyssiad and Festival Concerto Competition. As a young genius in her own right, Zhang wowed audience members with her performance. Further, her celebration of Chopin’s genius was described as a “lift-off experience” by one enthusiastic audience member.
All of that was just before intermission! And the concerts don’t stop there.
Having Boulder Symphony tell Mozart’s life story through his 40th symphony was phenomenal. Weaving insightful Mozart perspectives in between the movements, readings of his old letters allowed the audience to feel his pain. What an innovative way to witness the hardships he went through to become what we now know him as — a musical genius!
After all the hard work that went into executing these concerts, Boulder Symphony gives our utmost gratitude to all of those who could join us. We hope that our love and our performers’ love for music truly glistened at these concerts. We do this for our audience! Boulder Symphony appreciates all of the support from our community and the ability to share music in so many different forms. We would also like to thank our sponsors, donors, and volunteers. You help us keep doing what we love most! Thank you for making this night possible. Without you, none of us would have been able to experience the genius of our symphony and the genius of Mozart!
We hope to see you at our spring concerts on April 17 and 18. DANCE is the concert theme featuring music of Beethoven and Prokofiev. Particularly noteworthy is a symphonic work for orchestra and rapper! Learn more and remember to book your tickets.