For Immediate Release

September 22, 2008

San Juan Symphony to Celebrate “Symphonic Visions” in 2008-2009 Concert Season

Durango, CO – Durango, CO – When Arthur Post steps to the podium next month to begin his seventh season as Music Director of the San Juan Symphony, he will kick off a captivating celebration of the glories of Symphonic Visions. This season the San Juan Symphony turns to masterpieces of the symphonic repertoire – the giants of classical music.  Since the time of Haydn and Mozart, the symphony has been the form composers have chosen for their most ambitious artistic statements.  Each piece is a journey of soaring ambition, of dreams, striving and yearning.  Join the San Juan Symphony this season for an encounter with greatness.

The first Symphonic Visions concert, Where Giants Dare to Tread, is scheduled for Saturday, October 11 at 7:30 pm at Henderson Hall in Farmington and Sunday, October 12 at 3 pm at the Community Concert Hall in Durango, and will feature Celeste Golden on violin.  Highlights of the lofty program will be Copland’s Fanfare for the Common Man, as well as Beethoven’s Concerto for Violin and Orchestra, Op. 61 and Brahms’ Symphony No. 1 in C Minor.

New Wine:  Same Bottle, the second concert of the Symphonic Visions season, will feature widely varied symphonic compositions of Mozart, Bizet, Takemitsu and jazzman James B. Johnson.  It will be held on Saturday, November 22 at 7:30 pm at Henderson Hall and Sunday, November 23 at 3 pm at the Community Concert Hall, and will feature Rochelle Mann on flute and Rosalind Simpson on harp. The event will also be a “Side-by-Side” performance featuring local high school musicians playing in concert with their SJS counterparts.

Sketchy Business, scheduled for President’s Weekend, will see the San Juan Symphony travel to Telluride for the second year.  Benjamin Kamins, solo bassoonist, will accompany the orchestra.  The program will feature works of Schubert, Vivaldi, Michael Daugherty and Tchaikovsky.  Performances will be held at the Community Concert Hall in Durango on Saturday,, February 14 at 7:30 pm and at the Michael D. Palm Theater in Telluride on Sunday, February 15 at 5 pm.

The 2008-09 Symphonic Visions season will conclude with a concert entitled All Things Great and Small at 7:30 pm on Saturday, April 18 at the Community Concert Hall in Durango and 3 pm on Sunday, April 19 at Henderson Hall in Farmington.  This will include the San Juan Symphony’s most ambitious effort yet, Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9. The orchestra will be joined by soloists Gemma Kavanagh, Nan Nelson Wagner, Christopher Bengochea and Steven Meredith, as well as the melodious voices of the Durango Choral Society for this super-sized performance.

Season tickets for this glorious symphonic journey of four concerts start at $105 for adults in Durango. Single concert tickets are also available, starting at $33. Discounted tickets are available for students and seniors. 

Single concert tickets for the three Farmington concerts start at $22 for adults and $12 for students.

For tickets or information, call the Community Concert Hall in Durango at 970.247.7657, Henderson Performance Hall in Farmington at 505-566-3430, or the Michael D. Palm Theater in Telluride at 970.369.5675.

For more information, please call the SJS office at 970-382-9753, or visit online at www.sanjuansymphony.org.

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