I love making the orchestra relatable to anyone I meet. I discovered the symphony at the age of 3, and at all the most difficult times in my life, it has given me connection to a greater purpose, a unified world. Music tells us that through anything we face, we are not alone. This is why my life’s work has been centered around sharing this with as many as possible.
Through the work with my amazing orchestras, Boulder Symphony & Music Academy, and Arapahoe Philharmonic: Symphony of the Rockies, I have been fortunate to reach thousands of kids per season with our Discovery and Curiosity concert, where the students get to participate in the plot, songs, dance, and characters in a way that no other orchestra provides. This lays a foundation for participating in culture and the arts for their entire lives.
Watching a flower bloom on Sesame Street to the strains of Vivaldi is how Devin Patrick Hughes recalls his first musical epiphany, at age three. His affinity for the symphonic model blossomed in college where he organized his first orchestra while studying music and pre-med. He would go on to co-found the Boulder Symphony—one among a cadre of young conductors carrying their craft forward in new, innovative ways. He spoke with us about the resonance of music, and its power to uplift a community and transform lives.
Conductor Devin Patrick Hughes and musicians from the Boulder Symphony perform Conni Ellisor’s Tres Danzas de Video on 9News’s Colorado & Company. Hughes discusses the upcoming Fidget Concert for a neurodiverse audience including those with developmental and intellectual disabilities, along with the upcoming West Side Story performance, Boulder Symphony Music Academy, and the upcoming July 4 Spectacular.
Devin Patrick Hughes and and Symphony of the Rockies (SOR) musicians Kina Ono, Laura Johnson, Heidi Snyder, & Quentan Milliner join host Claudia Garofalo and friends on Colorado & Company on 9News.
They discuss their mission: to make world class symphonic music approachable for all, SOR’s upcoming season and concert on October 26 at Newman Center for the Performing Arts.
The Boulder Symphony opens a new season this weekend with what conductor Devin Patrick Hughes calls “a very America-centric concert.” Performances at the Gordon Gamm Theater of the Dairy Arts Center will be at 2 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday (full program and details below).
“Florence Price is the quintessential American composer,” Hughes wrote in an email. “Her music takes from the melting pot of our culture, from spirituals and gospel, and blends them with the great European masters to create a unique American voice.”
I love making the orchestra relatable to anyone I meet. I discovered the symphony at the age of 3, and at all the most difficult times in my life, it has given me connection to a greater purpose, a unified world. Music tells us that through anything we face, we are not alone. This is why my life’s work has been centered around sharing this with as many as possible.
Through the work with my amazing orchestras, Boulder Symphony & Music Academy, and Arapahoe Philharmonic: Symphony of the Rockies, I have been fortunate to reach thousands of kids per season with our Discovery and Curiosity concert, where the students get to participate in the plot, songs, dance, and characters in a way that no other orchestra provides. This lays a foundation for participating in culture and the arts for their entire lives.
THERE'S A NEW SYMPHONY IN TOWN And I'm excited to have Devin Patrick Hughes, Artistic Director and Conductor, and Bess Scully, Executive Director on to talk about the transformation of the Arapahoe Philharmonic into the Symphony of the Rockies.
I believe that the symphony orchestra is one of the most magical organisms on earth because it's where everybody comes together… maybe seventy people with different opinions and different ideas of how things should sound and we unite that, and I think that everybody should experience and deserves to experience, which is why half of our mission is focused on educating the next generation.
Devin Patrick Hughes
https://www.lanazione.it/firenze/cronaca/srdjan-vukasinovic-ne-le-quattro-stagioni-per-fisarmonica-3b4c236d?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR0WwLefdHq8lz88tac6lUzEywOMIyvo4pVyOKceSFMwA3MMK0-EYmMBRXQ_aem_AV6fdVzEQQQ983iYTWV-IkQGTxtoVS-UFTr_Vy-fYIIih-t6Q4wyZIAoXFHcR8NSA0bv9_euBFsDQa9FaVtDIMRE&live
South Metro Denver Chamber will present THE TANK 2024, presented by Colorado Gives Foundation, on
Tuesday, May 14 at Lone Tree Arts Center with Special Guest and Emcee, Devin Patrick Hughes, Conductor and Artistic Director of the Arapahoe Philharmonic.
This is a heartwarming and insightful opportunity to spotlight nonprofit Chamber members. Inspired by the popular TV show, THE TANK brings the business and nonprofit sectors of the community together by showcasing select nonprofits as they pitch to a panel of Sharks. A portion of proceeds will benefit all participating nonprofits.
We are thrilled to announce that Devin Patrick Hughes was one of three Americans invited to participate in the Erich Bergel Competition in Romania! Selected along with 40 other conductors around the world, Maestro Hughes will compete in Tîrgu Mureș as he conducts the Tîrgu Mureș State Philharmonic in partnership with Associazione Artes, and Kult Mind Association.
Santa’s on the way to bring the enchantment of the holiday season to life as the Arapahoe Philharmonic, the Symphony of the Rockies proudly announces its much-anticipated Holly Jolly Singalong Concert. This festive event promises an extraordinary celebration for families and friends alike, offering an enchanting mash-up of holiday favorites and creating joy, warmth, and timeless musical memories.
The concerts will occur at Newman Center for the Performing Arts on December 16, 2023, at 2 pm and 4 pm. Admission is free and open to the public, inviting music enthusiasts of all ages to join the merriment and experience the season's magic.
The concert is part of the Arapahoe Philharmonic’s Discovery Concert Series, created by Conductor Devin Patrick Hughes. It is designed to bring a new generation of young concertgoers and their families to experience the orchestra.
BOULDER — Love of music and passion for performance are usually sufficient to sustain a small community orchestra or concert band.
Musicians who have day jobs or academic pursuits are often willing to accept their volunteer status and enjoy the non-material rewards of putting together music programs for a local stage.
When the Boulder Symphony’s board of directors and chief administrator decided their needs were greater than that, they looked to their musicians, seeking commitment from them in a new pursuit — a revenue generator — that would help stabilize the orchestra’s footing.
Thus, with a name change, funding approval from the orchestra’s board and an enthusiastic “yes” from musicians, the innovative Boulder Symphony & Music Academy was born.
Erin Patterson, principal cellist of the Boulder Symphony will step forward as soloist with the orchestra Friday evening for a concert under director Devin Patrick Hughes.
Patterson will play Dance for cello and orchestra by English composer Anna Clyne. Other works on the program will be Sibelius’s Finlandia and the Symphony No. 2 in E minor by Rachmaninoff.
Join Artistic Director Devin Hughes (in the photo) the Boulder Symphony & Music Academy, and the Northern Arapaho Eagle Society as they record a new and inspiring reimagined soundtrack for "The Covered Wagon” (87 min), an epic 1923 silent film about settlers traveling in wagon trains from Missouri to Oregon. The pioneers encounter conflicts with Arapaho along the way.
The music retells the story from a tribal perspective and reverses negative Native American stereotypes perpetuated by popular media spanning three centuries. The Arapaho Redux provides a safe space for diverse and collaborative voices to support the Arapaho people as they pass on the tribal language and ceremonies to their children.
Watching a flower bloom on Sesame Street to the strains of Vivaldi is how Devin Patrick Hughes recalls his first musical epiphany, at age three. His affinity for the symphonic model blossomed in college where he organized his first orchestra while studying music and pre-med. He would go on to co-found the Boulder Symphony—one among a cadre of young conductors carrying their craft forward in new, innovative ways. He spoke with us about the resonance of music, and its power to uplift a community and transform lives.
The Boulder Symphony, a self-described “community focused orchestra” that began as a community orchestra and has grown into a larger organization that includes a Music Academy for young students, opens its 2023–24 concert season Friday with a concert featuring guitarist Trace Bundy.
The program, under the direction of Devin Patrick Hughes, includes works from Bundy, the Beatles, Leonard Cohen and U2, among others, arranged for the orchestra by John Clay Allen. A member of the faculty at Metropolitan State University in Denver, Allen is also the composer-in-residence with the Boulder Symphony. The world premiere of his Eroica Forgotten is also part of the program for Friday’s concert.
Boulder Symphony & Music Academy announces a night of timeless elegance and rhythm, set against the backdrop of the Roaring 20s. Mark your calendars for September 8 at 6:00 pm, as we transport you to an era of opulence, music, and style at the dazzling Rembrandt Yard in downtown Boulder.
BS&MA’s upcoming annual fundraiser is 1920s themed, and costumes are encouraged! There will be a live jazz quartet, entertainment, and swing dancing classes. Black Belly is providing food, and there will be a mixologist serving era-appropriate cocktails sponsored by Boulder Spirits and Suerte Tequila, along with beer donated by Avery Brewing. The Ritz, a local costume shop, is providing a mannequin dressed in a Roaring 20s apparel as decor. Boulder Swing Dance has generously donated swing dance lessons. Most importantly, Rembrandt Yard has donated its stunning event space, making this fundraiser possible!
Boulder Symphony concert: Join Boulder Symphony & conductor Devin Patrick Hughes to celebrate July Fourth with symphonic classics, from Copland to Bernstein to Tchaikovsky’s “1812 Overture” at the historic Boulder Bandshell. Also featured is John Williams’ music from “Star Wars” and “Indiana Jones,” as well as other fun cinematic classics. There will be drinks and wood-fired pizza available for purchase; 7 p.m. Tuesday, Boulder Bandshell, 1212 Canyon Blvd., Boulder; $5-$15; bouldersymphony.org.
The Boulder Symphony and Music Academy, in partnership with the Jared Music Foundation, is providing 22 scholarships to Boulder County students for a year of private music lessons.
Students awarded a scholarship are taught how to sing or play an instrument by musicians in the Boulder Symphony through the Boulder Symphony Music Academy.
With another 18 students on the wait list, the foundation also is raising money to cover additional scholarships. Or, donors can sponsor students individually for $1,500. To donate, go to jaredmusic.org/support-bsma.
Boulder Symphony Executive Director Andrew Krimm said the goal is to make the symphony more accessible, especially to people of color.
It’s not Clint Eastwood, but it is the local Sheriff of Musical Harmony.
The “Curiosity Concert,” programmed for children and families, will feature classical, pop and movie music associated with the West, including Rossini’s Overture to William Tell,, the “Hoe-Down” from Aaron Copland’s ballet Rodeo, and Johnny Cash’s “Get Rhythm.” The concert’s plot features the loser of the orchestra’s recent “Best Conductor in the West” contest derailing the concert and taking the orchestra hostage. It will be up to the Sherriff of Musical Harmony to re-establish order in the concert hall.
The symphony will perform its Christmas concert, “Holidays at the Movies” this Saturday at the Idaho Falls Civic Center for the Performing Arts at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. The show will consist of music taken from classic holiday films, including “Home Alone,” “The Nightmare Before Christmas,” and “Frozen.” (Click here for tickets.)
Devin Hughes, the show’s conductor, said that this concert will remind the audience how much of a role symphonic film music plays in all our lives, even at Christmastime.
“So the concept behind this performance was that we kind of tried to put together all the classic (Christmas) film scores people think about all the time,” said Hughes. “‘Home Alone’ is a masterpiece and (its composer) John Williams, who in 1977 did ‘Star Wars’ then ‘Indiana Jones’ and then ‘Harry Potter’ – he’s in our ears all the time. More people would probably recognize the ‘Harry Potter’ theme than ‘Beethoven’s 5th’.”
