Symphony returns with Sounds of Resilience

Hi, I'm Beth Drum with Alpine Bank. At Alpine Bank, We value the services that our nonprofit community offers. We hope you enjoy meeting some of these change makers as part of the Alpine Bank series Community Matters.

The San Juan Symphony returns to live performances for its 36 season with a celebration of the community's ability to survive the pandemic.

Well, this year we're calling The Sound of Resilience. We feel like resilience is a great theme for this year. Coming back after the sort of shutdowns of the Coronavirus pandemic, at least in its first year, we now know that we're going to have to continue to prove our resilience this year. It's, it's not a done deal, but we're moving forward, and very optimistic about gathering audiences, getting a bigger orchestra back together and making music again. Can't wait for it, frankly. And I think resilience will be a great theme.

Season tickets for live performances at the Community Concert Hall at Fort Lewis College in Durango and Henderson Hall at San Juan College in Farmington are now on sale through the Symphony's website. Heuser encourages the purchase of season tickets because seating capacities inside the halls may change as pandemic restrictions change and season ticket holders will receive seating first. Other restrictions and requirements to protect audience members and performers also may change throughout the season. But right now Heuser said audience members will be asked to wear masks and show proof of vaccination or a recent negative COVID test. For those who don't feel comfortable sitting in a crowd, season tickets also will be sold for live online streaming performances. Heuser promised a schedule of both familiar and not so familiar programming this year.

So from October through April, we have four subscription concerts with composers that are very well-known and some that are not well-known at all. We have the music of Beethoven, we have the music of Louise Farrenc, one of the first romantic women composers. We have music of Adolphus Hailstork, one of my favorite living composers of color. We also have music of Borodin and of Debussy, so much to look forward to as the year goes along, and we end the season with Tchaikovsky's Fourth Symphony.

In addition to the four regular season concerts, the Symphony will offer a family performance, suitable for children, and it will play for the annual production of the Nutcracker Ballet. The Symphony also has revived its Youth Symphony this year. So expect yet another performance as part of the schedule, Heuser said the full Symphony draws skilled and dedicated musicians from throughout the Four Corners States to offer up binge worthy experience for its audiences.

If this is something new for you, if the San Juan Symphony is something you're trying for the first time, it is absolutely worth it. And I always say, it's babysitter worthy. You may need to shell out the extra funds for the support to stay with your kids. You may want to make it a night on the town, go out to dinner and experience the Symphony. There is nothing more powerful than the experience of a live orchestra. And so we're able to provide that this year and thrilled to be back. Everyone should give it a try. At least once this year.

To learn more about the concert schedule in both Durango and Farmington or to purchase season tickets, visit San Juan Symphony.org. Thanks for watching this edition of Community Matters brought to you by Alpine bank and the Local News Network. I'm Wendy Graham Settle.

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