October is here! The colors are changing, we’re getting cozy and here’s hoping Colorado is finally cooling off. This month is not just for hearing annual doses of "Danse Macabre" and "Night on Bald Mountain," although those are certainly a highlight. Check out what, when and where Colorado ensembles are performing this month.
Hear many of these groups and others every day on Colorado Spotlight.
CPR Classical Presents: Anne Akiko Meyers with the Colorado Symphony
Oct. 4-6
Hear Romanticism at its finest in Tchaikovsky’s "Romeo and Juliet Fantasy Overture" and a transformative time in Jean Sibelius’s life with his Symphony No. 3. The rest of the program? Anne Akiko Meyers plays one of the world’s favorite (and most performed) concertos, Mendelssohn’s energetic Violin Concerto in E minor. Trust me, the excitement of this one is guaranteed to last a few days. Plus, meet CPR Classical’s midday host Karla Walker in the lobby on Friday, Oct. 4.
Academy of St. Martin in the Fields Chamber Ensemble, Friends of Chamber Music
Oct. 18, 7:30 p.m., Newman Center, Denver
Explore the regularly and rarely heard sides of string chamber music with a trio of works played by the legendary Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields Chamber Ensemble. The program includes Felix Mendelssohn’s Octet masterpiece, written when he was 16; a pair of pieces by an 18-year-old Dmitri Shostakovich; and Erwin Schulhoff’s Sextet (started when he was 25 — how ancient). The Chamber Ensemble is made up of the ASMF principal players — a more intimate collection of musicians who have worked together for years or decades.
Mozart/Beethoven: Simone Dinnerstein joins the Colorado Springs Philharmonic
Oct. 19, 7:30 p.m. & Oct. 20, 2:30 p.m., ENT Center for the Arts
Beethoven and Mozart met once before Mozart’s early death, but only for a brief time. Fortunately for us in the 21st century, the two meet in Colorado Springs again this month. Hear this dynamic duo with the Colorado Springs Philharmonic. Beethoven’s happy Symphony No. 2 and Mozart’s popular Piano Concerto No. 21 make for quite the pair. The CSP fleshes out the concert with both new and old — instrumental music from Renaissance composer John Dowland and a moving elegy from contemporary composer Anna Clyne.
Dance! Baroque Chamber Orchestra of Colorado
Oct. 19, 7:30 p.m., First Plymouth Congregational Church, Cherry Hills Village
Oct. 20, 3:00 p.m., Wellshire Presbyterian Church, Denver
It’s the 17th and 18th centuries with the added pizazz of baroque and contemporary dance. Dancer Julia Bengtsson, member of the New York Baroque Dance Company, joins the Baroque Chamber Orchestra of Colorado for her own choreography to Bach’s Goldberg Variations. Longtime violinist and leader Cynthia Miller Freivogel leads the charge as soloist for a Telemann violin concerto. Handel’s celebratory "Water Music Suite in G major" and Pratorius’s "Terpsichore Dances" round out the concert. If you’re stuck at home, BCOC offers a virtual experience of this concert.
Poetry + Music: Church of Beethoven - Northern Colorado
Oct. 20, 3 p.m., Avogadro's Number Bar and Grill, Fort Collins
For those of us holding onto summer for dear life, the Church of Beethoven wraps up their 2024 summer series with the eclectic Synesthesia Chamber Music trio teamed up with Colorado-based poet Bryan Roth. If you’ve never been to the Church of Beethoven, let yourself breathe in modern-day informality and affordability of music, poetry and art. It’s a self-described informal experience, breaking down the proverbial "fourth wall" between the audience and the performers.
And see, I told you Colorado wouldn’t disappoint with the Halloween music.
Boos and Brews! Opera on Tap
Oct. 5, Brewability, Englewood
Opera and musical theater is full of dark, creepy and magical moments – experience it for yourself. Opera on Tap Colorado invites you to don your best costume (if you want), grab a pint and meet some of music’s most wicked characters. Can’t make it? There’s another show at New Image Brewing on Oct. 25.
Monsters of Early Cinema: Wild Beautiful Orchestra
Oct. 13, 3:00 pm Lakewood Cultural Center, Lakewood
Oct. 20, 7:00 p.m., Sie FilmCenter, Denver
Now here’s a fun date night idea: vintage cinema and live orchestral music. Denver’s Wild Beautiful Orchestra reaches back to the dawn of film in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and serves up a collection of sci-fi and horror music this month. It’s the silver screen brought to life by a ten-person orchestra, with a little Ravel, Webern, Bartok and more thrown in for good measure.
Night of the Living Dead (Composers): Denver Philharmonic
Oct. 25, Central Presbyterian Church, Denver
Oct. 26, Mapleton Arts Center, Denver
Prepare for seasonal favorites Berlioz’s “Symphonie fantastique” and Saint-Saens’s “Danse macabre,” which I recently learned features Halloween’s favorite theme, the Dies Irae, in a major key. It’s an event for the whole family: Halloween activities in store, costumes encouraged and free entry for kids under 18.
This is Halloween: Boulder Philharmonic
Oct. 27, 2:00 p.m., Parsons Theatre, Northglenn, CO
Oct. 30, 6:00 p.m., Macky Auditorium, Boulder
Nothing pairs quite like Danny Elfman and Edvard Grieg. At least, nothing leaves you without a doubt at what time of year it is. Celebrate the eeriest season of all with the Boulder Philharmonic. Hear scores from “The Nightmare Before Christmas” and “Harry Potter” with classical favorites like Dukas’ “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice” and Grieg’s “In the Hall of the Mountain King.”
For more Halloween, check out the Colorado Symphony’s "Disney in Concert: The Nightmare Before Christmas" on Oct. 25 and 26, and their "Halloween Spooktacular" on Oct. 27 (and CPR Classical's Jean Inaba is going to be here!).
Check out our Colorado Classical Music Guide. Hear CPR Classical by clicking “Listen Live” at the top of this website, or download the Colorado Public Radio app. Listen on your radio to CPR Classical at 88.1 FM in Denver, or on radio signals around Colorado. You can also tell your smart speaker to “Play CPR Classical."
