Sunday evenings feature the CMF Chamber Orchestra, Tuesdays bring chamber and world music ensembles, and Thursday and Friday evenings showcase the full CMF Festival Orchestra. Throughout the season, emerging talent from Europe, Asia, South America and the U.S. join CMF musicians in performances that inspire and engage concertgoers of all ages.
“A night like this makes one truly appreciate the value of an organization like the CMF to the community. It is indeed a summer gem.”
Colorado Music Festival Music Director Michael Christie “has mesmerized his audience. And he’s done it by trying things that are taking the CMF in a new direction…”
~The Daily Camera~
Under the skilled baton of Music Director Michael Christie, the Colorado Music Festival thrills audiences of more than 20,000 each season with programming that embraces the most beloved classical music repertoire, while integrating world music and the works of exciting modern composers. Balanced programming performed by exceptional musicians has earned CMF ten ASCAP awards for “Adventuresome Programming of Contemporary Music,” and the kudos of the press and public alike.
Conductor will leave a magical legacy – By Kelly Dean Hansen, Classical Music Writer, Boulder Daily Camera
Last week’s announcement that Michael Christie would step down as music director of the Colorado Music Festival should have struck the summer event’s loyal patrons as a disappointment, but not as a surprise.
Considering what has gone on in his professional life for the past several years, it’s actually a wonder Christie has stayed as long as he has — 12 years of glorious summers, with two more to follow.
I’ve written so much about the CMF that it is sometimes a challenge to find anything new to say. But I can’t let this opportunity escape. And this column is not really about the CMF itself, except as a mere setting.
This is about a turnaround nobody saw coming in 2001. This is about how somebody in his mid-20s was able to win over the crustiest of purist curmudgeons — and lure in the most unlikely souls who didn’t know Beethoven from Bon Jovi. It’s about seeing teenagers and schoolchildren experiencing the joy of live music at an event that had gained a reputation as a geriatric pursuit. It’s about a lesson for all those who are resigned to the tired canard that classical music is dead, or dying, that the symphony orchestra has no future.
In short, it’s about the man and, yes, the eventual legend. Click here to read the full story on the Daily Camera>>
