When Joan Braun decided to bring the Colorado Symphony to the University of Colorado at Boulder for a concert Thursday evening in Macky Auditorium, the head of the school’s concert series knew some local feelings could easily be bruised.
After all, Boulder has its own professional orchestra, which presents a season of concerts each year in the same hall and has to scramble like most other performing arts organizations to sell enough tickets to keep its finances in the black.
“It’s something that we are sensitive to,” Braun said, “and certainly (we) don’t want to step on their toes in the least. And we’ll be working with them to promote some of their upcoming performances to the audience that comes to attend the CSO.”
Sue Levine, executive director of the Boulder Philharmonic, spoke diplomatically about the Colorado Symphony’s incursion into its backyard, making it clear she had resigned herself to the orchestra’s visit.
“I’ve been living with it for a while, and, absolutely, that’s our intention, to make the best out of it that we can,” she said.
Levine said she was pleased that CU had given the philharmonic advance notice, so it could schedule a pops concert a few days later and not a competing classical program that might easily have been overlooked.
She acknowledged that the Colorado Symphony is the premier orchestra in the region, but she believes the Boulder Philharmonic is the best of the other professional ensembles in the state.
“We hope people will turn around and come back and hear us — their local orchestra,” she said.
Braun said that engaging the CSO allowed the Artist Series to present a full orchestra versus the chamber orchestras it typically books and to provide its attendees an opportunity to hear Alisa Weilerstein — an in-demand young cello soloist.
At the same time, she said, the visit will provide valuable teaching opportunities. The CSO has agreed to open its afternoon rehearsal to CU’s music students, and, afterward, Weilerstein will present a cello master class.
Alberto Gutierrez, the CSO’s vice president of artistic administration, said the orchestra always welcomes opportunities to perform outside its principal venue. This visit will allow it to reach out to Boulder audiences who typically have to travel to Denver to hear the ensemble.
Thursday’s performance will be the CSO’s first at CU since 1996, and Braun said she might consider engaging the orchestra more frequently.
“We would certainly be open to the possibility,” she said, “but, again, we have sensitivity to the Boulder Philharmonic. If there was any concern that if it were more of a regular occurrence that somehow would hurt their attendance, we would, of course, not want to do that.”
