Members of the San Juan Symphony rehearse at Fort Lewis College’s Jones Hall on Tuesday. The season begins in October./Photo by Steve Eginoire

Striking a chord

Homegrown San Juan Symphony announces 2013-14 season

by Stew Mosberg

        As the final notes of Music in the Mountains’ 2013 season fades away, orchestral lovers will have but a brief interlude before the music resonates once again. For a limited population, the Four Corners enjoys an embarrassment of musical riches.

Beginning Oct. 5, the venerable San Juan Symphony (SJS), with Musical Director Arthur Post at the podium, will strike the first chords of its 2013-14 season.

Whereas Music in the Mountains draws its talent from professionals around the world, the San Juan Symphony is a home-grown, regionally based orchestra that is made up of professionals as well as part-time musicians. The SJS also often presents music with a local angle, melding the area’s Anglo, Native American and Hispanic cultures along with

The San Juan Symphony’s 2013-14 schedule Musical Mavericks - Sat., Oct. 5, 7:30 p.m., Community Concert Hall at FLC -Sun., Oct. 6, 3 p.m., Montezuma-Cortez High School The Messiah -Sat., Nov. 23, 7:30 p.m., Henderson Hall, Farmington -Sun., Nov. 24, 3 p.m., Community Concert Hall at FLC San Juan Symphony Youth Orchestra -Mon.,  Dec. 9, 7 p.m., Community Concert Hall at FLC -Mon., April 21, 7 p.m., Community Concert Hall at FLC Mozart, Tchaikovsky and Beyond -Sat., Feb. 15, 7:30 p.m., Henderson Hall, Farmington -Sun., Feb. 16, 3 p.m., Community Concert Hall at Fort Lewis College, Durango  Symphony in Blue with blues vocalist Rita Chiarelli -Sat., April 26, 7:30 p.m., Community Concert Hall at FLC   Musically Speaking Discussions -Oct. 2, Sorrel Sky Gallery -Nov. 20, Rochester Hotel - Feb. 12, Open Shutter Gallery - April 23, Durango Arts Center (followed by a screening of Rita Chiarelli’s documentary “Music From the Big House.”

thematic programs about the land and the people who live on it.    

Starting separately in Farmington and Durango in the early 1970s, two ensembles eventually merged into what is today’s 65-member San Juan Symphony. In 2002, following an extensive audition, the SJS Board of Directors appointed Post as musical director. Post has conducted in America as well as Europe, most notably as resident conductor of the Pittsburgh Symphony and associate conductor of the Israel Philharmonic. He is also affiliated with the Thunder Bay Orchestra of Ontario, Canada.

Since Post became musical director, the orchestra has undergone a number of positive transitions, he says. “We made quite a few changes in the first few years, establishing thematic programming to make the concerts more interesting and educational, adding rehearsal time to improve the quality of the performances, recruiting musicians from the Albuquerque and Denver areas, and raising funds to provide for all these things," he says. "We’ve also tried a variety of other formats: educational concerts for the schools, family concerts, pops concerts, outdoor concerts, and outreach in neighboring towns.”

With a desire to offer the best possible performances, Post continually strives to expand the talent and programming while providing audiences with new and exciting concerts. In fact, this year’s theme is “Come Hear Us Now!” and SJS hopes to entice first-time season ticket holders with a half-price pass.

The 2013-14 season, which includes four performances, begins at the FLC Community Concert Hall on Fri., Oct. 5 with what Post describes as a stunning contrast between "two musical mavericks," Charles Ives' celestial musings and Beethoven's bold heroism. The program includes Ives’ "The Unanswered Question;" Bruch’s violin Concerto No. 1; and Beethoven’s Symphony No.3, Eroica, featuring violinist Odin Rathnam.

The same show will be performed the following night at Montezuma High School in Cortez.

November’s offering, "The Messiah," is one that Post admits he has been looking forward to conducting for a long time. “I’ve always believed that audiences enjoy variety in the music selections for any given concert. I think it’s like a good balanced meal – you don’t want heavy carbs in every course," he said. "The complete Messiah is over two hours of music in one style, and I wasn’t convinced that was right for our audience. It took me a while to arrive at the somewhat shortened version of highlights that we will perform.” 

The streamlined version of Handel's famous concert will bring together various singers, including the Durango Choral Society, soprano Gemma Kavanagh, mezzo-soprano Laura Thoreson and Farmington’s Vicus Voces.

In February, SJS showcases the world premiere of "Camping" by Liam Ramsey-White, a talented young local composer. In addition, principal flutist of the Israel Philharmonic Yossi Arnheim will play diverse music from Mozart and the Middle East to the drama of Tchaikovsky's Fifth Symphony.

April’s concert swing’s from the classical to a musical journey that listeners are unlikely to hear anywhere else with songs by Canadian blues vocalist Rita Chiarelli backed by a full symphony orchestra. Chiarelli’s powerful and poignant songs will rock the house, while the SJS orchestra will get down with blues classics from the likes of W.C. Handy, George Gershwin, Tommy Tucker and Bill Haley. In April, there will also be a screening of "Music from the Big House," a documentary film about Rita's musical collaboration with inmates at Louisiana State Maximum Security Penitentiary.

Aside from its musical offerings, the San Juan Symphony also serves the region by visiting schools, offering music scholarships at local colleges as well as master's classes by guest soloists and sponsoring the "Meet a Musician" program where local musicians visit classrooms. This latter program is the Symphony's primary outreach element, where musicians talk about and demonstrate their instruments, answer questions, coach ensembles or participate in rehearsals and concerts playing next to students. This year's student "Side-By-Side" concert will take place Feb. 15-16 in Farmington and Durango, respectively.         

Adding to the already generous educational element, Post also will offer preview discussions for each concert at 6 p.m. on the Wednesday prior the performance (see side bar for schedule and locations).

For more on the San Juan Symphony's season schedule or ticket information, go to: www.sanjuansymphony.org