March brings the first days of spring and Irish celebrations, and naturally a lot of Colorado music to enjoy. Dig out the old calendar and take note of these upcoming concerts.
Lakewood Symphony, I Could Have Danced All Night
March 6, 7:30 p.m., Lakewood Cultural Center
Calling all Piazzolla fans — It’s not every day you get to hear Piazzolla’s own instrument in concert. The Lakewood Symphony welcomes bandoneon soloist Evan Orman on stage for a night of tango. The program also includes Smetana, Faure and Brazilian composer Antônio Carlos Gomes.
Aspen Winter Series, Takacs Quartet
March 6, 6:30 p.m.
Beethoven’s music underwent quite the transformation over his 56 years — no wonder we use him as a benchmark for change in music history. You can hear it for yourself during the Takacs Quartet’s Aspen performance this month. CU Boulder’s quartet-in-residence brings you the very first and last of Beethoven’s string quartets; hear where he came from and where he landed in one of his most celebrated mediums. Then jump ahead 100 years with Bartok’s third string quartet.
Bonus! See the Takacs Quartet on March 9 & 10 at CU Boulder.
Kantorei, Double Your Pleasure: Music for Double Choir
March 8 & 9, Cherry Hills Village and Denver
Some things are hard to translate through a recording alone (as much as I am loathe to point out at a radio station) — music for double choir is one of those things. Explore the added depth and unique spatial sounds of a double choir in real life when Kantorei brings you double choir masterpieces. The program includes music by Brahms, Mendelssohn and Colorado composer Terry Schlenker.
Colorado Community Bands Festival
March 8, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., King Center
Get your fill of woodwinds and brass. It’s an all-day celebration of Colorado bands hosted by Metropolitan State University. Bands from around the state come together for a series of free concerts and a headliner featuring the Colorado Wind Ensemble and Colorado Brass at 2 p.m.
Second Tuesdays Concert Series, Jooeun Pak
March 11, 7:30 p.m., Community of Grace Church, Arvada
The Second Tuesdays series showcases Colorado artists and this March they welcome Jooeun Pak, Associate Professor of Piano and a Director of Keyboard Studies at Metropolitan State University. Pak plays some of the greats — Beethoven, Chopin, Ravel, Debussy and Haydn — and shares paintings to tell her tale.
MAS Presents, Jovino Santos Neto & Martin Kuuskmann
March 13, 7 p.m., The Savoy Denver
Two Grammy-nominated artists join forces for a night of music from South America. Pianist Jovino Santos Neto and DU professor and bassoonist Martin Kuuskmann blend their various genres and ethnicities into one evening. Explore Bossa Nova with music by Antonio Carlos Jobim along with the unique blend of bandleader Hermeto Pascoal’s music, all with Brazil at the heart of the evening.
Colorado Springs Philharmonic, Dvořák 6
March 15 & 16, Pikes Peak Center for the Performing Arts
Dvořák became a master at crafting homey music, folding Bohemian folk tunes and spirit into his art. Shostakovich, on the other hand, was known for turbulence and defiance. Dive into an emotional rollercoaster of the combination of Dvořák’s 6th Symphony and Shostakovich’s Cello Concerto No.1. Just for good measure, the concert includes music written in the shape of the solar system from American composer Missy Mazzoli.
Colorado Symphony, The Four Seasons with Avi Avital
March 15 & 16, Boettcher Concert Hall
Vivaldi’s Four Seasons are a tried and true companion — but it’s always exciting to see a new look on an old friend. Mandolinist Avi Avital joins the Colorado Symphony for all four seasons on an all-baroque program that also includes Bach.
Wild Beautiful Orchestra: Windows to Ireland
March 16 & 23, Denver and Boulder
The Wild Beautiful Orchestra transports us to Ireland just ahead of St. Paddy’s Day with traditional and original music featuring a variety of visiting instrumentalists and vocalists. Four guest vocalists and the “Strings of Brigid” (Harpist and vocalist Jennifer Kingsland, and guitarist and arranger Chappell Kingsland) join the Wild Beautiful crew for an afternoon of Irish, Scottish and English songs.
EPIC Concerts, Bernstein’s Clarinet Sonata
March 28, 7 p.m., ENT Center for the Arts
Sergei Vassiliev, principal clarinetist of the Colorado Springs Philharmonic, and pianist Andrew Staupe bring Bernstein’s first published work to the stage — his Clarinet Sonata. Hear the fun melodies and rhythms of a young Bernstein as part of EPIC’s 5th season.
Colorado Bach Ensemble, Cantata Insights: “O eternity, you word of thunder”
March 30, 6 p.m. Wellshire Presbyterian, Denver
The Colorado Bach Ensemble continues their Cantata series with Bach’s “O Ewigkeit, du Donnerwort,” BWV 20 — written in Leipzig in 1724, and his second attempt using this text. Join Artistic Director James Kim as he offers insights into the work before hearing the group perform.
Looking ahead:
Ars Nova, Science/Fantasy
April 4-6, Denver, Longmont and Lafayette
CPR Classical Presents: Quartetto di Cremona and Basil Vendryes, viola
April 9, Denver
Sphere Ensemble, Music for Motion
April 12 & 14, Denver
Jefferson Symphony, Spring Symphony Showcase
April 13, Jefferson Unitarian
Englewood Arts Presents: Piano Spectacular with Anna Dmytrenko and Olga Kern
April 19, Hampden Hall
Hear CPR Classical by clicking “Listen Live” at the top on this website, or download the Colorado Public Radio app. Listen on your radio to CPR Classical at 88.1 FM in Denver, at radio signals around Colorado. You can also tell your smart speaker to “Play CPR Classical.”
