Conductor Devin Patrick Hughes on Arapahoe Philharmonic 2021-2022 Season, Concerts for Everyone

The new season of the Arapahoe Philharmonic promises to have something for everyone. I find symphonic music to be the most colorful, enriching, and soul-filling medium on the planet! From our classics series’ featuring Galactic Melodies and Myths, Scotch on the Strings, and Maestros of the Classroom, to our pops concerts featuring holiday film scores to Independence Day celebrations, all the way to our world music themed Discovery concerts, on behalf of the musicians, staff, and board of the Arapahoe Phil, I couldn’t be more excited to share with you our performances and welcome you into our family!

Galactic Melodies and Myths

Robert Schumann claimed of Mozart’s “Jupiter” Symphony “about many things in this world there is simply nothing to be said—for example, about Mozart’s C-Major symphony with the fugue, much of Shakespeare, and some of Beethoven.” There truly are no words to express some concepts, which is why we have music and art. 

The two most fascinating aspects of Mozart’s 41st Symphony (along with 39 and 40) include the fact that we don’t know the occasion for which they were composed, nor if Mozart ever even heard them during his lifetime, and the inventive madness with which Mozart composed the last movement. Finishing a symphony with a fugue was truly a stroke of genius. Although Mozart would have likely borrowed this idea from the likes of both Haydn’s (Michael and Franz Joseph), the sheer excitement and ecstatic energy with which Mozart brings his symphonic oeuvre to a close is unparalleled, and is something to marvel at both from the standpoint of the performers and audience.

The mythological atmosphere that the remainder of the program creates is wonderfully rich and diverse. Erik Satie’s Mercury was a collaboration with Picasso, and designed to be danced. In 1920s Paris the importance of the texture, sound, and scents of music and choreography reigned supreme to the point that choreographer Massine and composer Satie didn’t put much thought into the actual story. What I love most about this ballet (qualities shared also with music of composers like Debussy, Ravel, de Falla) is that the music is so full of character, spice, and ecstasy! The musicians of the Arapahoe Phil turn into the dancers and storytellers all at once, and become actors who fly off the stage and into our hearts.

Australian and ballet composer Elena Kats-Chernin creates majesty, excitement, and mysticism in her orchestral spectacular Mythic. As the Jupiter Symphony grows out of older forms from Bach, Handel, & Haydn (the fugue), Mythic takes a chaconne, or passacaglia, which is a repeated ground bass, and creates a rich and empowering tapestry of variations above it. Kats-Chernin likened the music to the Campbellian idea of entering a large mythical cave and coming to terms with oneself, opening new treasures and discoveries. 

Composer John Clay Allen expands our mythological universe to include the starry skies. “Eppur si muove”, or And Yet It Moves are the words Galileo uttered after being condemned by the Spanish Inquisition and the Catholic church for daring to profess that the Earth is not the center of the universe. Allen is able to capture the galactic spirit and mind of Galileo, and affirm the importance of scientific or immutable truths that balance the cosmos, and our place in them. 

Scotch on the Strings

We are excited to pair wine and song at Scotch on the Strings! Music that celebrates the traditions of making merriment is always a blast for the orchestra. Mendelssohn’s Scottish Symphony was inspired by his travels there in 1829. The sound and opening of the symphony evoke the mysterious sky and rolling mystical landscape that abound. Brahms’ Academic Festival Overture was written as a slight to a University that awarded the composer an honorary doctorate. Instead of a highfalutin symphonic triumph, Brahms decided to fill the overture with a boisterous potpourri of drinking songs. 

To add to the Scottish Symphony, the Arapahoe Phil will also bring to life Malcolm Arnold’s Four Scottish Dances, which will leave our audience no choice but to click your heels. We also are honored to present the music of Scottish composer Thea Musgrave. Her Song of the Enchanter was composed to honor the 125th Anniversary of Jean Sibelius’ birth. The music brings to mind Scottish mythology as it is based on the legend of the Kalevala: It’s hero Väinämäines performs music that makes everyone weep. When he gets around to weeping from his own music (a bit narcissistic maybe?), his tears turn into pearls and are scooped up by sea-birds. I hope that the variety of music portraying the magic of Scotland and spirit of its people will fill your emotional palette across the spectrum, from joy filled tears to pearls! 

Maestros of the Classroom

In a concert celebrating the joy and art of teaching, and the profound impact our teachers, both known and unknown have throughout our lives, I am so thrilled that the Arapahoe Phil is curating Maestros of the Classroom. This is an exploration and interplay of great composers who are or have also been involved in the educational system. 

Dvořák’s Cello Concerto is perhaps the most awe-inspiring and majestic solo concerto ever written, and happens to be my favorite as well! Antonín Dvořák would not have come to American in the 1890s had it not been for the arts provocateur and entrepreneur Jeanette Thurber. Thanks to her ingenuity and boldness, and Dvorak’s willingness, the Czech composer came to the New World to help build a new American school of music, leaving us with an astoundingly brilliant Cello Concerto, along with other great music. I am excited to welcome our soloist and winner of the Arapahoe Phil’s Concerto Competition, Ethan Blake. 

As an avid soloist, chamber, and orchestral musician, Ethan has performed a wide variety of repertoire and has participated in numerous music festivals around the world, including the Brevard and Innsbrook Music Festivals, as well as the Accademia Musicale Chigiana (Siena, Italy). As a chamber musician, Ethan has worked with many notable ensembles, including the Takács, Calidore, Borromeo, and Beijing String Quartets. 

Ethan started playing the cello in the 3rd grade and holds a passion for arts education and outreach, as he performs sectionals in various elementary and middle schools throughout Colorado and holds private lessons for students of all backgrounds. Ethan is currently pursuing a Bachelor of Music at the University of Colorado Boulder, where he studies with David Requiro. 

Eric Ewazen is one of the most sought after composers, arrangers, and choral educators of the world. His Ballade for Harp and Clarinet will feature two of the amazing artists/teachers or maestros of the Arapahoe Philharmonic, Hillary Schefter and Jason Olney. Adding himself to the class, Beethoven’s Overture to the Creatures of Prometheus will bring extra fire to the evening. As Beethoven was an avid student of the greats who came before him, he also taught piano to (and fell in love with) many powerful aristocratic women. 

Beethoven’s relationship with Haydn is one for the history books. Due to the former’s fiery, passionate, innovative, and extreme personality and musical attributes, it was difficult to maintain relationships with mentors. Nonetheless Beethoven assumed many traits from Papa Haydn, most importantly the use of musical humor. The setting of Creatures of Prometheus, the god who steals fire to deliver it to humans in the form of an education on the arts and sciences, was an early endeavor for Beethoven. This period saw the composer assimilate the classical masters who came before him to create a new era of musical Romanticism. 

Pops & Discovery Concerts

In addition to our classics series, I am so excited to announce a pops series, including Holidays at the Movies, feature scores from Home Alone, Polar Express, Nightmare Before Christmas, Die Hard, and many more. Our annual Independence Day Celebration will feature symphonic classics, from Rodeo and William Tell to the 1812 Overture to film and video game classics in a celebration of American culture, spirit, and ingenuity. 

The annual Discovery concert continues an amazing tradition where we welcome over 1000 students to experience an orchestra, the instruments, and musical stories, in many cases for the first time. Students get to test drive instruments in a Symphonic Petting Zoo, participate in the music-making on stage, and even conduct the Arapahoe Philharmonic! This year’s concert includes a guided tour of music around the world from places like Kuwait, India, China, Greece, Syria, and back to the Americas! 

No matter what your preference, the Arapahoe Philharmonic will bring the symphony to life this season with a diversity of programming to showcase the magical and inspiring world of music. We invite you to join to help us engage, enrich, and inspire our community through the joy of sharing music!

The mission of conductor and music director Devin Patrick Hughes is to uplift the human spirit through the orchestra, and share the relevance of symphonic music in our modern lives. Devin resides in Colorado, where he conducts the Arapahoe Philharmonic and Boulder Symphony and hosts the podcast One Symphony. Other news, Boulder Symphony rehearses for first performance in months – Devin Patrick Hughes Conductor.