Elizabeth McGuire: Updates on the 2021 Festival

February 4, 2021

Dear friends of the Colorado Music Festival,

It’s a joyful occasion for me to sit down and write this letter in advance of presenting details about the 2021 Festival. After all of the devastating loss we have experienced as a community, a nation, and as citizens of the world, I can think of no better way to celebrate our resilience than by the hearing that exuberant, thoughtful, optimistic, and triumphant music our dear Festival musicians and guest artists are so eager to perform.

The pandemic has indeed changed the landscape of many performing arts organizations. The Colorado Music Festival & Center for Musical Arts braced for this impact by shifting to online concerts and educational programs, shaving expenses, and taking full advantage of aid from PPP, SBA, and several other grant sources. This approach has allowed us to emerge from 2020 in a strong financial position with our staff fully intact and ready to take on ambitious plans for 2021. 

Through a global health crisis, cries for social justice, political dissonance, fires that ripped through our community, and the near absence of live music and social interaction, 2020 became a space for organizational and personal self-reflection. Through this soul-searching we began to better recognize the role our organization, and music in general, was capable of playing in helping us to live our best lives. Indeed, we have been able to emerge better and stronger after facing these challenges. Some examples:

  • We have edified and expanded our commitment to diversity in educational programming, concert repertoire, and hiring practices; 
  • We are building upon an increased desire to broadcast our programs across the world, using our music not only to reflect our pride in our artistry, but also use music as a medium to share the deeply embedded social priorities, intellectual achievements, and unique attributes of the Boulder community; and
  • We are launching our newly envisioned brand that reflects the artistic brilliance and energy that will carry the Festival forward.

Thank you for your continued support and I look forward to sharing music with you again in the summer of 2021.

Elizabeth McGuire
Executive Director

P.S. Watch a special message from Festival Music Director Peter Oundjian:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vYwDmpmviFA&feature=youtu.be

Plan Your Festival Visit

 

Visiting Boulder

The Festival performs in beautiful Boulder, Colorado — a breathtaking location full of nature, culture, cuisine, art, and more.

Learn About Our Educational Programs

 

Festival Fellows

Meet the Festival Fellows: eight aspiring professional musicians who receive coaching and performance opportunities through the Festival and its guest artists.

Center for Musical Arts

This excellent community music school is also the educational arm of our organization.