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is presenting a concert program of 鈥�,鈥� on February 1st and 2nd in Denver and 麻豆影院. In today鈥檚 era, classical music journalists, policy makers, and funders have been asking about diversity in classical music. Typically, orchestras have been extremely conservative in programming and presenting the music of women composers and composers of color. Their appearance on the podiums and upper administrations of orchestras is also rare.

The February concerts include the music of four established composers, Gabriela Lena Frank, William Grant Still, Jessie Montgomery, and Rudy Perrault. Frank is currently composer-in-residence with the Philadelphia Orchestra. Frank describes herself as a 鈥渕usical anthropologist.鈥� With Peruvian-Japanese mother and a Lithuanian-Jewish father, she has explored the musical cultures of her heritage.听Leyendas: An Andean Walkabout听draws from Peruvian instrumental and vocal genres and asks the string orchestra to imitate panpipes and guitars, and embody Peruvian characters, professional mourners in one movement and romanceros in another. 鈥淭he work pulls you into another culture, and it is delightful and touching,鈥� says Cynthia Katsarelis, music director and conductor of Pro Musica Colorado Chamber Orchestra.

William Grant Still has often been called "the Dean" of African-American composers, he was a part of the 鈥淗arlem Renaissance鈥� movement and his career included writing operas, symphonies, and numerous vocal and instrumental works. His Danzas de Panama uses Caribbean dance music that have African, Hispanic, and indigenous inspirations. 鈥淚n this piece, you can feel the ocean breeze and imagine the dancers while sipping a cold beverage,鈥� says Katsarelis.听

Rudy Perrault is a Haitian composer, conductor, and violinist. His work, Exodus, is dedicated to 鈥渁ll of those forced out of their homelands.鈥� The piece explores the agonizing decision to leave, with its fears and hopes. 鈥淩udy is the director of the music camp in Haiti, where I鈥檝e been teaching since 2004. He鈥檚 an awesome musician with real gravitas,鈥� Says Katsarelis. The string quartet version has been recorded by the Borromeo String Quartet.听

Jessie Montgomery is a composer and violinist from New York. She is prolific and her music is frequently played. The composer writes that听Starburst听musically elaborates on 鈥渢he rapid formation of large numbers of new stars in a galaxy at a rate high enough to alter the structure of the galaxy significantly,鈥澨�听

Katsarelis says, 鈥淭he music is all terrific and promises a concert experience that transports us to other places, gives us much to ponder, and inspires wonder; the concert is a special opportunity to experience another dimension of human creative endeavor. Music by diverse composers isn鈥檛 part of the regular concert going experience. I believe that it should be, there鈥檚 a lot of great music. The moral dimension is that we live in a pluralistic society and orchestras are public institutions, supported by the public in many ways. I think the arts should reveal full depth of artistic expressions in our diverse world.鈥澨�

February听Diverse Voices听

Jessie Montgomery听Starburst
Rudy Perrault听贰虫辞诲耻蝉
William Grant Still听Danzas de Panama
Gabriela Lena Frank听Leyendas: An Andean Walkabout

February 1, 2020 at 7:30 pm | First Baptist Church of Denver, 1373 Grant St., Denver
February 2, 2020 at 2:00 pm | Mountain View United Methodist Church, 355 Ponca Place, 麻豆影院

Ticket prices: $25 Adult single tickets, $5 Students. Tickets are available online at . For further information, or to purchase tickets by phone, call: 720-443-0565

麻豆影院 Pro Musica Colorado Chamber Orchestra and Cynthia Katsarelis, Music Director and Conductor

Pro Musica Colorado Chamber Orchestra is a fully professional chamber orchestra presenting excellent performances of familiar and innovative music. Cynthia Katsarelis has served with the Cincinnati Symphony, Pops and May Festival, the Greensboro (N.C.) Symphony, and has conducted many professional, college, and youth orchestras. For three seasons, she has guest conducted the Colorado Music Festival鈥檚 Young People鈥檚 Concerts. Critical reviews have praised her work as 鈥渁 model of precision and spirit,鈥� and noted her 鈥渃reative imagination.鈥� Katsarelis is a graduate of the Peabody Conservatory of the Johns Hopkins University, with degrees in both violin and conducting.