Pops Concert: A Western Hoedown
A crowd favorite! The Pops Concert is an annual tradition that brings thematic pieces to life. This year’s Pops promises to be an exciting trip out west. Enjoy works from Hayman’s Pops Hoe-down, Grofe’s Grand Canyon Suite, Custer’s The American Frontier, John Williams’ The Cowboys, Gould’s Cowboy Rhapsody, and Copland’s Rodeo!
A Magnum Opus: Bach's B Minor Mass
Masterwork No. 4 | LSO presents A Magnum Opus: Bach’s B Minor Mass, showcasing the grandeur and intricate beauty of one of Bach’s most celebrated choral works. It is sure to be a momentous event! Note: This performance features a full orchestra and chorus.
BACH Mass in B Minor
Featuring The Boulder Chamber Chorale with guest soloists:
Dawna Rae Warren, soprano
Elijah English, countertenor
Joseph Gaines, tenor
Andy Konopak, baritone
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Johann Sebastian Bach (1685 - 1750)
Mass in B minor (BWV 232)The monumental heft of the Mass in B minor can not be overstated. In its overall length; the breadth of character, style, and form in its music; the period of time over which it was composed; and a circuitous path it took before ever being performed in its entirety make it something of legend. The first public performance of the Mass in whole took place 209 years after Bach’s death.
The work is a massively extended setting of the Mass ordinary, which is a subset of the Catholic liturgy comprised of texts sung by the congregation that remain the same week to week. This is distinguished from the Mass proper: seasonally appropriate texts that change week to week. The texts of the ordinary are Kyrie, Gloria, Credo, Sanctus, and Angus Dei, sung in that order.
The history of setting these texts to thematically connected music goes back to the late Middle Ages, the earliest available example being the Messe de Nostre Dame of Guillaume de Machaut from the 14th century. In that case, the music was intended as a functional part of a church service. The extreme scope of Mass in B minor suggests he did not intend it to serve a functional role in liturgy.
Bach was certainly no stranger to composing music for use in services of the church. Among his greatest achievements is the composition of some 200 church cantatas written between 1723 and 1750 expressly for use in the services of the two churches in Leipzig that employed him as music director, the Thomaskirche (St. Thomas Church) and the Nikolaikirche (St. Nicholas Church). The Mass in B minor has rather different origins and supposed purposes.
In 1733, August II the Elector of Saxony died and five months of mourning followed during which no public music-making was permitted. During this time, Bach composed a setting of the only parts of the Mass held in common between the Catholic Church and Lutheran church, in which Bach was raised and a pious follower: the Kyrie and Gloria. This work, in B minor, is titled Missa, and dedicated it to the successor Augustus III, a convert to Catholicism. Bach had hoped to receive a court title from Augustus III, and with that aim he presented Augustus III with a copy of the score and a petition requesting an appointment as “Electoral Saxon Court Composer.” Missa would later serve as the first part of the Mass in B minor.
Missa is already a work of sizable scope. The Kyrie text is very short — “Kyrie eleison, Christe eleison, Kyrie eleison” (Lord have mercy, Christ have mercy, Lord have mercy) — and it had traditionally been set in a tidy single movement with a three-part structure. Bach expanded this into a three-movement structure that in some recordings is about 18 minutes long in total.
The Gloria is a longer text, a celebratory text beginning with the invocation “Gloria in excelsis Deo” (Glory to God in the highest), and understandably a longer movement in most Mass settings, but the majority of Gloria settings are still quite modest compared to Bach’s treatment. He breaks the text into nine sections and each one gets a separate movement, creating a symmetrical structure based on the theological perfection of nine (three times three). Trinitarian symbolism was highly meaningful to Bach personally and in sacred music generally. The center movement, Domine Deus, is a duet for soprano and tenor featuring a flute solo. Throughout, the Gloria is punctuated by arias that pair a solo voice with a featured instrument or group: violin, oboe d’amore, horn, and bassoon. These delicate movements are counterbalanced by choruses of greater force.
In the last few years of his life, about 1748 - 1750, Bach wrote and assembled the remainder of what we now know as the Mass in B minor. With Missa already in hand, he set about creating the rest. The Credo, a recitation of the Nicene Creed (“I believe in one God…”) is the longest text in the Mass ordinary and easily lends itself to the same strategy of breaking up the text into multiple movements as Bach used for both parts of the Missa. The text is again segmented into nine parts, each part receiving a separate movement, arranged symmetrically around Crucifixus, describing the Crucifixion, and he titles the entire section Symbolum Nicenum.
Sanctus is reused from a 1724 work for six vocal parts and instrumental accompaniment. This earlier work only features the first half of the Sanctus text, omitting “Osanna in excelsis. Benedictus qui venit in nomine Domini. Osanna in excelsis.” (Osanna in the highest. Blessed is he that comes in the name of the Lord. Osanna in the highest.). This text begins the final section written in the later period, though most performances quickly move from the end of Sanctus into Osanna in excelsis, effectively combining it all into a larger section.
The Agnus Dei text consists of three utterances, the last ending with the phrase “Dona nobis pacem” (Grant us peace). Bach give this final phrase its own movement: an ecstatic chorus to conclude an ecstatic work.
Composing and assembling a “Great Catholic Mass,” as C. P. E. Bach called it, has struck many historians as a peculiar occupation for such a staunchly Lutheran composer to undertake with no professional need to do so. It is only speculation, but consider that the Mass is a significant genre with a weight of meaning, and the oldest large-scale genre in European music. This is as true now as it was in Bach’s time. Perhaps Bach wished to leave something behind on earth that would place him in that tradition, and he did so in a manner quite typical to him: taking it to great extremes and leaving nothing undone. Consider two other large accomplishments of his: the two books of the Well-Tempered Clavier and what amounts to two years worth of weekly church cantatas.
The Light After the Storm
Masterwork No. 3 | A program designed to bring the audience on a symphonic journey—from the stormy turbulence of Britten, into the bright and joyous light of Brahm’s “sunniest” symphony. Featured Soloist: Clancy Newman, Cello.
BRITTEN Four Sea Interludes (16’)
ELGAR Cello Concerto (30’)
BRAHMS Symphony No. 2
Family Concert: Peter & The Wolf
A fan favorite—our annual family concert will bring these cherished children’s books to life!
SAINT SAENS Carnival of the Animals (Selections)
PROKOFIEV Peter and the Wolf
Event Five
It all begins with an idea. Maybe you want to launch a business. Maybe you want to turn a hobby into something more. Or maybe you have a creative project to share with the world. Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.
Event Four
It all begins with an idea. Maybe you want to launch a business. Maybe you want to turn a hobby into something more. Or maybe you have a creative project to share with the world. Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.
Event Three
It all begins with an idea. Maybe you want to launch a business. Maybe you want to turn a hobby into something more. Or maybe you have a creative project to share with the world. Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.
Event Two
It all begins with an idea. Maybe you want to launch a business. Maybe you want to turn a hobby into something more. Or maybe you have a creative project to share with the world. Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.
Event One
It all begins with an idea. Maybe you want to launch a business. Maybe you want to turn a hobby into something more. Or maybe you have a creative project to share with the world. Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.
Candlelight: Handel's Messiah
A Holiday Tradition | Celebrate the holiday season with our annual Handel’s Messiah concert! This year’s candlelight concert features the Longmont Symphony Orchestra, Longmont Chorale, and featured soloists, performing together in the moving and joyous Messiah oratorio by George Frederick Handel.
Tchaikovsky's The Nutcracker
Afternoon Performance | This December, the curtain rises for America’s favorite ballet, brought to life by the Boulder Ballet and the Longmont Symphony Orchestra. Join us for this thrilling and heart-warming spectacle performed to Tchaikovsky’s masterful score. A holiday tradition with exciting choreography and a full, live orchestra!
Tchaikovsky's The Nutcracker
Evening Performance | This December, the curtain rises for America’s favorite ballet, brought to life by the Boulder Ballet and the Longmont Symphony Orchestra. Join us for this thrilling and heart-warming spectacle performed to Tchaikovsky’s masterful score. A holiday tradition with exciting choreography and a full, live orchestra!
The Gentle Nutcracker
The Longmont Symphony Orchestra and the Boulder Ballet is proud to present a sensory-friendly abridged version of Tchaikovsky’s beloved Nutcracker Ballet for individuals with special needs and their families.
An Evening of Romance
Masterwork No. 2 | This evening is one of sheer romance. The first half of the program takes the listener on a sonic tour of Scotland, while Strauss’s Rosenkavalier Suite embodies the movements of a symphonic waltz. Featured Soloist: Andrew Sords, Violin
MENDELSSOHN The Hebrides (10’)
BRUCH Scottish Fantasy (30’)
DEBUSSY Afternoon of a Faun
STRAUSS Der Rosenkavalier, Suite
LSO in Frederick: An Encore Performance
Encore Performance | Join us for an encore performance featuring works from Opening Night!
BERNSTEIN Candide Overture
MUSSORGSKY/RAVEL Pictures at an Exhibition
Opening Night: Gershwin Piano Concerto
New Venue Announced — Longmont High School
Masterwork No. 1 | Join us for this exciting opening night! Featured Soloist: Spencer Myer, Piano
BERNSTEIN Candide Overture
GERSHWIN Piano Concerto (31’)
MUSSORGSKY/RAVEL Pictures at an Exhibition
Fourth of July Concert in the Park
Bring your picnic baskets and blankets for a fun-filled and family-friendly day of patriotic music, contests, food vendors, and more! This event will take place at a new location, Roosevelt Park! For more details, visit: The July 4th Concert Page
Pops Concert: Tribute to John Williams
Familiar favorites including Flying Theme from ET, Across the Stars from Star Wars Episode II, & much more! (Detailed description coming soon!)
Beethoven Cycle: Symphony No. 9 “Choral”
Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony—according to Frederick Stock, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra‘s second music director, in Talks About Beethoven’s Symphonies — is “dedicated to all Mankind. Embracing all phases of human emotion, monumental in scope and outline, colossal in its intellectual grasp and emotional eloquence, the Ninth stands today as the greatest of all symphonies.”
Stock continues: “The Ninth is unquestionably the greatest of all symphonies not only because it is the final résumé of all of Beethoven’s achievements, colossal as they are even without the Ninth, but also because it voices the message of one who had risen beyond himself, beyond the world and the time in which he lived. The Ninth is Beethoven, the psychic and spiritual significance of his life. In the first movement we find the bitter struggle he waged against life’s adversities, his failing health, his deafness, his loneliness. The Scherzo depicts the quest for worldly joy; the third movement, melancholy reflection, longing — resignation. The last movement, the ‘Ode to Joy,’ is dedicated to all Mankind. There’s something astonishing about a deaf composer choosing to open a symphony with music that reveals, like no other music before it, the very essence of sound emerging from silence,” writes CSOA scholar-in-residence and program annotator Phillip Huscher. “The famous pianissimo opening — sixteen measures with no secure sense of key or rhythm — does not so much depict the journey from darkness to light, or from chaos to order, as the birth of sound itself or the creation of a musical idea. It is as if the challenges of Beethoven’s daily existence — the struggle to compose music, his difficulty in communicating, the frustration of remembering what it was like to hear — have been made real in a single page of music.”
Mahler at the Museum II
The magnificent piece, “Das Lied von der Erde (The Song of the Earth)” is the culmination of Mahler’s own fate—and how he managed to cope with it—both spiritually and emotionally. It is one of Mahler’s greatest works, which came from deep grief over the loss of his child and his own concerning health. This chamber version retains the character of the original, treating each player as a soloist. Mahler’s chamber-like writing is successfully realized, adding intimacy in the performing and listening experience, and enabling a monumental work to be performed in a smaller venue. This version also allows the vocal soloists to be heard more clearly without competing against a large orchestra. Intimately masterful.
Tchaikovsky: A Portrait
Our “Portrait of a Composer” concert this season spotlights Tchaikovsky. A Russian born composer, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, was deeply inspired by Shakespeare when he wrote “Romeo and Juliet (Fantasy-Overture)”, the opening piece for our performance. One of the most popular pieces of its kind, Tchaikovsky’s “Piano Concerto No. 1”, will be one you’ll remember. As our final piece, “Symphony No. 5” will leave you feeling triumphant. The “Fifth Symphony” moves from a subterranean soundscape into a mysterious march, with a restless melody and dancelike rhythm, followed by a second movement which grows into a soaring and passionate statement, then plunging into the lowest depths. The third movement is full of rhythmic games with irregular phrases. In the final movement, Tchaikovsky transforms the theme from minor to major, with trumpet fanfares ringing out. The music frequently teases the listener with the first notes of the theme, seeming uncertain ending with an exhilarant and triumphant celebration.
Family Concert: Dan Brown’s “Wild Symphony”
A fun concert with music accompanying the narration of “Wild Symphony”. Top-selling writer, Dan Brown (author of The Da Vinci Code, Inferno, and more) combines his musical talents and his writing talents for his first children’s story—The story of a big blue whale, fast cheetahs, beetles and graceful swans—with each of them having their own special secret to share. Along the way, Maestro Mouse has some surprises left… a hiding buzzy bee, some jumbled letters spelling out clues, and a coded message to solve. Dan Brown creates “a wide-ranging, peppy blend of rhyming poems, puzzles, motivational messages, and music.”
Candlelight: A Baroque Christmas
The main attraction for our Holiday concert is Vivaldi’s “Gloria”. From the genre of cantata-mass, this hybrid form is set for solo voices, choir, and orchestra. Textural contrast, expressive variety, and emotion arise from the words of the mass. Enjoy the beautiful sound of the Baroque style throughout this special holiday performance. Learn More »
Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker
More than any other ballet, Tchaikovsky’s famous Ballet, The Nutcracker, is about children and the magic of childhood. The story is about a young girl, Clara, and therefore many of the dancers in the ballet are also children. For many young people, the enchanting performance of The Nutcracker is their first experience seeing professional dance performance.
The ballet is set on Christmas Eve, when the hero, a nutcracker, comes to life. The story of this revered ballet is full of excitement and wonder, and the final scene finds Clara waking up to the Christmas Tree with the Nutcracker doll in her arms realizing that it was all a dream. Visit Concert Page to Learn More »
Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker
More than any other ballet, Tchaikovsky’s famous Ballet, The Nutcracker, is about children and the magic of childhood. The story is about a young girl, Clara, and therefore many of the dancers in the ballet are also children. For many young people, the enchanting performance of The Nutcracker is their first experience seeing professional dance performance.
The ballet is set on Christmas Eve, when the hero, a nutcracker, comes to life. The story of this revered ballet is full of excitement and wonder, and the final scene finds Clara waking up to the Christmas Tree with the Nutcracker doll in her arms realizing that it was all a dream. Visit Concert Page to Learn More »
The “Gentle” Nutcracker
The “Gentle” Nutcracker is a shortened, specially-designed Sensory Friendly performance of Tchaikovsky’s “The Nutcracker”, which is for neurodiverse individuals, their families, and caregivers. Special care is taken to provide a comfortable, caring environment for all who attend this wonderful performance. For any questions, please contact us at the LSO office!
Shostakovich No. 5
As you anxiously await the performance of “Shostakovich Symphony No. 5”, LSO will first bring you Beethoven’s “Overture to Coriolan”, depicting the Roman leader, Gaius Marcius Coriolanus’ transition from brutality to tenderness, followed by Bloch’s “Schelomo”. The voice of Schelomo (Hebrew name for King Solomon) is the cello which embodies the greatness, glory, and sensuality of the great King. When Shostakovich takes center stage, his fifth symphony opens with the color of glistening rivers by the strings, doom-laden fanfares from brass and percussion, followed by the largo movement of lamenting, and finally the furious explosion of brass and timpani in the final movement—with flurries of strings and woodwinds as it rushes to a thundering finale. A must see and hear! Visit Concert Page to Learn More »
Mahler at the Museum I
Composed by Mark Crawford for the Netflix movie, “The Social Dilemma”, this piece will be performed by the LSO while a shortened version of the movie is shown on screen behind the orchestra—setting the mood and evoking the emotional impact of the film! Following this thought-provoking performance, the orchestra moves to Gustav Mahler’s “Symphony No. 4”. Choosing the Chamber version by Yoon Jae Lee, our Maestro brings the audience unique sounds of Mahler in a more intimate and profound setting—the result being a beautifully small symphony preserving the sound of Mahler. Don’t miss this experience! Visit Concert Page to Learn More »
LSO Opening Night: Shoot for the Stars
“Shoot for the Stars” Opening Night features “The Planets” by Gustav Holst, a seven-movement orchestral suite. Each movement is named after a planet with its own unique astrological character. The night begins with John Adams’ “Short Ride in a Fast Machine”, catching your attention with his unique use of minimalist tonal language and rhythmic dissonance, followed by Michael Daugherty’s new Harp Concerto, “Harp of Ages” which shows us the diversity of one of the oldest instruments while bringing in elements of 20th century pop culture—the blues and Irish rhythmic excitement. Visit Concert Page to Learn More »