Over 600 people connected with. Events in three cities. Numerous compliments and appreciative feedback on Einstein’s Light and the quality of the people involved. Not to mention, center stage at The Musical Zoo, one of Fort Collins’ biggest children’s music education events organized by Friends of the S
ymphony and Sue Greer reaching 1300 people in previous years. Thank you to all the people involved in helping us organize this week-end’s OtH Winter Music Fest!
We started with Bruce speaking to a packed and appreciative audience at the All-State Orchestra Director’s Mind’s Ear lecture hosted by Dr. Erik Johnson and CSU. More than one teacher came up afterwards, spoke with Bruce and thanked him for providing concrete ways of reaching students in order to get a more musical and creative performance on a multitude of levels. How to tap into kid’s creative impulse and acknowledge that even though working on technique is important, the majority of their students won’t be professional instrumentalists — thus learning how to express themselves through their music making is huge.
On to Piano Celebration at MSU in Denver with Piano Puzzler’s and the Many Hatted Approach to Making a Musical Career. Great audience of young musicians, insightful questions and piano puzzler enthusiasts! Denver was also the first of our Einstein’s Light Performance Events with Nickolas Barris, the esteemed film director and writer, Bruce Adolphe, composer of the original film score, James David, MSU Physicist and newest MSU faculty member our phenomenal violinist, Emily Ondracek-Peterson. Every time I saw this film and heard the discussion I learned more, was awed by the beauty and message, and blown away by the musical score. I still hear it clearly in my mind. When do you really get to hear how a film came to be and the background story on how you get Joshua Bell to be the recording artist on a project with no budget?
Subsequent performances at the Fiske Planetarium in Boulder and CSU’s Natural Sciences Center in Fort Collins, with the very welcomed addition of CU Astrophysicist Dr. Michael Shull, were packed. Fort Collins was sold out. Boulder had almost 200 seated. (219 capacity) People said that they finally got a glimmer of understanding about Einstein’s science and physics; that Mike Shull did a perfect job simplifying the complex to the basic understanding of a hugely difficult topic for most of us to grasp. This was the first time audiences in Fort Collins and Boulder were graced with the beauty of Emily Ondracek-Peterson’s stunning playing that was spot on every time and packed with complexity and emotion.
We’re honored to have the Einstein’s Light US premiere of the full feature film as part of our OFF the HOOK chamber music festival, June 16th. You’ll meet the film director, Nickolas Barris, and Bruce Adolphe, and a visiting Astrophysicist (TBD) in a discussion of Einstein’s science, what is taking place today in the world of Astronomy, the film’s depths and production process following the showing at Bas Bleu Theatre. Tickets go on sale in early March so stayed tuned for that announcement.
Sponsors to thank with the deepest gratitude: Bruce Malek @ Piano Center of the Rockies, Little Guys Movers, Fiske Planetarium (Francisco Tito Salas), Tamara Goldstein @ Piano Celebration at MSU, Andrew Warnock and Barry Carroll with their amazing crew at the CSU Natural Sciences Center, Clarence and Paul Sitzman, Great Harvest and Malini Bartels for catering, Donald Park II, Cheryl Matsumoto and the Graphic Design Team, Dick Knapp Photography, Bob and Gloria Willis, Sue Greer and Friends of the Symphony, Monika Vischer and Colorado Public Radio, KRFC, Elliot and Barbara Bernstein, Michael Shull, Emily Ondracek-Peterson, Bruce Adolphe, and our PYCh Board of Directors.