Inspiring Tomorrow’s Musicians
We believe that world-class music performance and music education go hand in hand. This season, we are excited to present a wide array of educational programs in celebration of our whole organization, the Colorado Music Festival and Center for Musical Arts.
Conduct Yourself
Get insights about conducting from Maestro Leonard Slatkin in a hands-on workshop onstage at Chautauqua Auditorium.
Cost: $150
Location: Chautauqua Auditorium stage
Date: July 24
Time: 2 pm
Open Rehearsals
Take a peek behind the scenes to experience how Music Director Peter Oundjian and the Festival Orchestra prepare for their world-class performances.
Cost: Free
Location: Chautauqua Auditorium
July 14 and Aug 4 | 10 am
July 24 | 10:30 am
Registration not required
Post-Concert Talk-Backs
Immediately following each concert, you’re invited to a brief, interactive Q&A with the program’s conductor and soloist in Chautauqua Auditorium.
Cost: Free
Location: Chautauqua Auditorium
Dates: July 10, 17, 24, 31, and Aug 7
Time: Immediately following the concert
Registration not required; attendance is limited to concert ticket-holders
Talks Under The Tent
Our highly popular pre-concert talks return under the tent on the north side of the Auditorium.
Cost: Free
Location: Under the tent on the north side of Chautauqua Auditorium
Dates: July 16, 23, 30, and Aug 6
Time: 6:30 pm
Registration not required
The Violin Experience
Get to know the violin and what it takes to be an orchestral musician. No musical background necessary (violins provided); limited to 8 participants. Limited to 8 students.
Cost: $150
Location: Chautauqua Auditorium
Date: July 31
Time: 2 pm
Founded in 1995, the Center for Musical Arts is a community music school dedicated to expanding access to quality music education regardless of age, ability, cultural background or financial means. The Center for Musical Arts provides quality, creative music-making opportunities to over 550 students each week in Lafayette, Colorado, and is a full member of the National Guild for Community Arts Education. In 2009, the Center merged with the Colorado Music Festival to provide the community with the highest quality music education and performance.
Festival Fellows
The Festival Fellows Program brings aspiring professional musicians to serve as Festival Fellows in Boulder, Colorado, during the Colorado Music Festival, providing them with access to world-class guest artist mentors as well as performance experience within our Festival orchestra and chamber music settings.
The Fellows program includes coaching from illustrious guest chamber musicians, seminars led by the Festival’s highly qualified organizational leaders, and private instruction from Music Director Peter Oundjian. Fellows perform a weekly concert within the ranks of the Festival Orchestra, with a final quartet performance at the end of their Festival residence.
This program is kindly supported by the SeiSolo Foundation.
Festival Fellows
Ezra Calvino, Assistant Conductor
Ezra Calvino, Assistant Conductor
Ezra Calvino has been recognized for their insight, clarity, and sensitivity as a conductor, violist, and chamber musician. Throughout their studies, they have sought to draw on diverse musical disciplines to develop a unique artistic perspective that seeks to transcend mere aesthetic nicety and participate in holistic social healing. Ezra has served as Associate Conductor to the Ravinia Festival in Chicago, where they lead the Sistema Ravinia youth ensembles. They were also named the 2024 AAF/Faber Conducting Fellow with the Vienna Philharmonic at the Salzburg Festival. Most recently, Ezra served as Assistant Conductor to the Peninsula Music Festival in Door County, Wisconsin. They currently reside in New Haven, Connecticut where they study conducting at the Yale School of Music and are the current Music Director of the New Haven Chamber Orchestra. Additionally, they serve as Guest Conductor to the San Gabriel Valley Symphony in Los Angeles, as well as Assistant Conductor to the Yale Philharmonia. Ezra holds degrees in both Orchestral Conducting and Viola Performance and is an alumnus of notable training programs including the National Orchestral Institute + Festival, the Eastern Music Festival, and the International Conducting Workshop and Festival. They currently study with Peter Oundjian.
Amara Quartet
Amara Quartet
Ben Linton, violin
Hanami Froom, violin
Govanny Brown, viola
Kathryn Fakely, cello
The Amara Quartet is an emerging ensemble of young artists distinguished by their energetic artistry and adventurous spirit. Though newly formed, the quartet has rapidly established a meaningful profile through collaborations and world-class mentorship.
Currently fellowship young artists at the McDuffie Center for Strings, the quartet works closely with Cavani Quartet member and Director of Chamber Music, Annie Fullard, along with Lawrence Dutton, violist of the Emerson Quartet. The ensemble has toured alongside acclaimed artists including violinist Amy Schwartz Moretti, pianist Orion Weiss, and violinist Robert McDuffie, and has performed at the Rome Chamber Music Festival Members of the quartet have received guidance from renowned ensembles and artists including the Balourdet and Ehnes Quartets, as well as world renowned violinists, Peter Salaff and Jaime Laredo.
Beyond their rigorous conservatory training, the Amara Quartet is deeply committed to community engagement, believing that chamber music speaks to the universal human experience. They regularly perform for diverse audiences—from school-age children to adults—bringing chamber music into their surrounding community. By balancing artistic excellence with active outreach, the Amara Quartet represents an inspired generation of musicians dedicated to both the highest standards of performance and the transformative social impact of the arts.
Invitation-Only
Audition Process
The Festival Fellows positions were filled by the Festival through an invitation-only audition process in collaboration with faculty at America’s top conservatories. All Fellows receive professional experience working in an intensive environment comparable to that of a full-time orchestra.