The board, musicians, and staff transformed the organization into one that could thrive during and after the pandemic. With sustainability at its core, the Arapahoe Phil raised its artistic standards, and in doing so, it is emerging from these unprecedented challenges more robust than ever before.

“We were lucky to continue and expand on the orchestra’s mission to engage, enrich, and inspire by presenting symphonic classics as well as showcasing works by living composers. We were very fortunate to showcase underrepresented artists such as Julia Wolfe, Jenni Brandon, Barbara Harbach, and Jessie Montgomery and present classic works of Antonín Dvořák, Aaron Copland, and Mozart.

We also presented our annual Discovery concert, which featured stories, a play within a concert, and music of all kinds, from Tchaikovsky and Vivaldi to Lil Nas X, Metallica, Harry Potter, and other fun pieces for kids. We also collaborated with groups like Cleo Parker Robinson Dance and Breckenridge Brewery. The finale of our mini-season, which took place from November of 2020 until July 4, 2021, resulted in the first-ever sold-out concert in Arapahoe Philharmonic history, with patriotic tunes, music; from American movies and video games, and fireworks!”

Devin Patrick Hughes credits his father with sparking his love of classical and orchestral music from an early age.

Growing up in Springfield, Ill., Hughes said his father, who died last year at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, traveled to Chicago frequently to “see all the great symphonies.”

“Two of his favorite pieces were Dvorak’s ‘New World Symphony’ and (Bruch’s) ‘Scottish Fantasy,’” Hughes said.

When Hughes, a Colorado-based orchestral and operatic conductor of Irish and Guatemalan descent, was given the opportunity to conduct these two symphonic works for his upcoming music director audition concert for the Salina Symphony, “that sealed the deal for me.”

The Salina Symphony will return to the Stiefel Theatre stage October 3 at 4 p.m. under the baton of Conductor Devin Patrick Hughes. The Symphony’s thrilling season opener will take the audience on a musical journey inspired by American landscapes and culture with Dvořák’s magnificent New World Symphony, featuring one of the most beautiful melodies in all of classical music. The Symphony will also perform Victor Herbert’s rousing American Fantasia and Bruch’s soul-stirring Scottish Fantasy.

Conductor Devin Patrick Hughes and the musicians, staff, and board of Boulder Symphony are excited to bring together the seasons of life, dance, and music for a diverse array of programming that will bring joy and reflection to our audience.

The Four Seasons Recomposed by Max Richter, is a deconstructing and remix-ing of the traditional Vivaldi. The original score gets opened up note-by-note. The addition of the harp and piano to the original score, and the added colors and textures that Richter imbues create a new breath and depth to bring the score into the ears of the contemporary listener. Still highlighted are the bitter cold, and intense heat of Vivaldi’s masterwork.

After an absence due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the symphony will return to the Stiefel Theatre stage at 4 p.m. Oct. 3.

Devin Patrick Hughes is scheduled to conduct the opening concert. The concert will feature music inspired by American landscapes and culture with Dvořák’s New World Symphony, featuring one of the most beautiful melodies in all of classical music, according to information from the symphony. Additionally, the symphony will perform Victor Herbert’s rousing American Fantasia and Bruch’s soul-stirring Scottish Fantasy. Featured guest artist Siwoo Kim, violinist, is scheduled to perform Bruch’s Scottish Fantasy.

Conductor Devin Patrick Hughes joins Alexis Kenyon on KGNU’s morning magazine podcast.

The Boulder Symphony will host its first performance of the new season this Friday at Grace Commons Church in Boulder. Devin discusses Jerod Tate’s Pisachi, Max Richter’s Four Seasons Recomposed featuring violinist Charles Wetherbee, and Benjamin Britten’s Simple Symphony. They also discuss how the Boulder Symphony kept afloat and thrived during the pandemic.

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!

“Our outdoor summer concert oversold at Breckenridge Brewery in Littleton,” said Arapahoe Philharmonic Executive Director Corinne Denny, optimistic about the start of a new season, which begins Sept. 17 at 7:30 with “Galactic Melodies and Myths”.

In November, the orchestra will perform at Lone Tree Arts Center. Concerts will include “Scotch on the Strings,” Nov. 5, 7:30 p.m.; “Holidays at the Movies,” Dec. 10, 7:30 p.m.; “Music Around the World: Children's Discovery Concert” on Feb. 22, 2022, 11 a.m.; “Maestros of the Classroom,” April 29, 7:30 p.m. and “Stars and Stripes Forever,” 8 p.m. for Independence Day.

Composer Jack Frerer joins conductor Devin Patrick Hughes on One Symphony today. They speak about the secret sauce to writing great music, conducting and composing teachers, comedy in music, how rock guitar and music theory make a great classical composer, and much more!

“One of the things that the orchestra has not done as much of in the past is new music and world premieres,” said Devin Patrick Hughes, the organization’s third music director and conductor.

“I think people have been saying classical music is dying for the past 100 years, but it’s not like that at all,” Hughes said. “It’s an incredibly vibrant art form. We go into schools and give free tickets for any kid who’s a music student to come into the concert.”

Symphonic music, both new and old, can stir our souls in ways that I believe no other music is capable. One of the most exciting aspects of orchestral music is that it was not created in a vacuum. Composers like Beethoven and Dvořák were common folks who worked their butts off and reacted to the events, culture, and dilemmas of their times by creating art that would continue to influence societies and stir our souls centuries after their deaths. In our times composers like Caroline Shaw and Mason Bates reflect and reimagine life today, where we are, and where we’re going with their musical visions.

I think some people would just assume if you’ve got a creative individual, a composer, a writer, that the wonderful thing about these people is that they can create, they can produce something out of nothing. I would argue, most of us folks who consider ourselves creative, are sculpting down from something that already exists virtually in our imagination. You cut away all these things. It’s all about what you don’t want: you cut away, cut away, cut away. And then what you have left is your art.

Soon your would-be musical phenom will have a chance to train with a real professional from the Boulder Symphony.

The lessons, provided by orchestra members, create revenue both for musicians and the symphony. They are available to anyone over the age of 4, but are mainly catered to school-aged kids and teens.

Hughes said the academy can serve to build upon skills that students learn as part of the school band or other musical activities.

The academy is designed to “give younger musicians an all encompassing experience,” he said. “… If a kid decides they want to become a musician or a music teacher, that’s one of the greatest things we can see evolve from the students we work with.”

While 2020 presented numerous obstacles for arts organizations, Boulder Symphony managed to deliver several in-person performances.

“This will be a symphonic concert, the same great composers, the same great performers, with one exception — about half of the orchestra will be sitting this one out,” said Devin Patrick Hughes, conductor of Boulder Symphony. “The only performers this week are our string players and then our solo harpist, Hillary Schefter. This is for the safety of all participants, so we can ensure everyone will be masked and not playing particle-dispersing instruments — winds, brass, et cetera.”

No holiday would be complete without a proper soundtrack and Boulder Symphony has teamed up with the Arts in the Park series to offer a Fourth of July show featuring nostalgic favorites and fresh works with plenty of edge.

“We’re so thrilled to bring to life Gregory’s ‘Dream N. the Hood,’ for rapper and orchestra,” Hughes said. “The piece features extended techniques — paperclips rattling on the violin string, glissandos imitating a siren, playing behind the bridge on strings, musicians’ improvisations — that we come to expect from Gregory’s art, but also it carries a message of oneness, equality and liberty, with the words of Martin Luther King, Jr.”

I am so excited today to be speaking with the globetrotting mezzo-soprano Michelle DeYoung. One of the most exciting artists of her generation, Michelle appears frequently with the world’s top orchestras, including the New York Philharmonic, Boston Symphony Orchestra, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Cleveland Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Vienna Philharmonic, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Sao Paulo Symphony, and the Concertgebouw orchestra.

I’m excited to share with you my interview with the fantastic composer and educator Edgar Girtain. I had a blast recording this interview, and I’m sure you’ll get a kick out Edgar’s passions and insights. I wanted to give all my listeners a heads up on this episode that there is some more colorful language and a depiction of a historical murder during the show. So if you have kids in the room or may find this content at all offensive, you may want make necessary adjustments. That being said, I hope you enjoy the interview!

The highly regarded maestro Devin Patrick Hughes is Music Director and Conductor of the Boulder Symphony and Arapahoe Philharmonic, and Arts & Culture Commissioner for the City of Boulder. The maestro’s mission is to make symphonic music more universally assessable to all walks of life. Using his platform to showcase new music created by minority demographics, he incorporates diversity by targeting people who don’t know they love symphonic music. Hughes can also be heard on One Symphony, a new podcast amplifying the voices of composers and other artistic entrepreneurs.

(KUSA/NBC News) Masked musicians sat six feet apart and began tuning their violins and cellos, as Colorado's Boulder Symphony and conductor Devin Patrick Hughes prepared Monday for their first performance in months.