“Under the poised, confident baton of its music director and conductor Michael Butterman, the Boulder Philharmonic Orchestra has moved … into an era of unprecedented popularity and critical recognition,” writes Brad Weismann in the Winter-Spring 2016-17 issue of Boulder Magazine (Colorado). “One major token of this esteem is the inclusion of the ensemble in the upcoming inaugural SHIFT Festival in Washington, D.C., March 27 through April 2, 2017.” In Washington, the orchestra will perform “a world premiere of Stephen Lias’s All the Songs that Nature Sings, commemorating the 100th anniversary of the National Park Service; the contemporary mandolin concerto From the Blue Ridge, featuring its composer, Jeff Midkiff, as soloist; Steve Heitzeg’s Ghosts of the Grasslands; and Aaron Copland’s Appalachian Spring, in collaboration with Boulder’s Frequent Flyers Aerial Dance troupe…. The 76 Phil musicians … will head to the nation’s capital after a March 25 presentation of the program at Macky Auditorium…. Dave Sutherland … a Boulder County Parks and Open Space naturalist … will lead nature hikes in D.C.’s Rock Creek Park as part of the week of SHIFT activities…. ‘We are tying into that spirit of nature that permeates the sensibilities here,’ says Butterman.”
Posted December 9, 2016
Pictured: The Boulder Philharmonic Orchestra will appear with Boulder’s Frequent Flyers Aerial Dance troupe at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., during the inaugural SHIFT Festival, March 27 through April 2, 2017. Photo by Glenn Ross
