2021 Festival Highlights
Some of our favorite moments from our 2021 summer festival
After being forced to cancel our 2020 festival due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Music in the Mountains made our joyful return to the stage for our 35th Anniversary Season from July 11-August 1, 2021.
Our 2021 Festival was a true celebration of our community and our ability to once again gather together to share world-class classical music together, surrounded by our beautiful Colorado mountains.
From our new mobile stage to exciting performances at new venues, our 2021 festival was full of unforgettable and special moments. Read on for some of the highlights from 2021’s triumphant return of our summer classical music festival.
Taking the Show on the Road: Our Mobile Stage Brings Music Across the Region
Our 2021 festival kicked off with three days of free community concerts on our brand-new, custom-built mobile stage!
We commissioned our mobile stage as a way to deliver free world-class classical music concerts throughout the Southwest Colorado region.
Over the course of three days, nearly a dozen free community concerts were held from Bayfield to Pagosa Springs, Cortez to Durango, featuring performances by various ensembles of our Festival Musicians.
Our mobile stage Road Show concerts provided an incredible, intimate way for our community to connect with the music and one another, kicking off our festival in such a special way.
World-Class Music in Unparalleled Mountain Venues
Our 2021 Festival featured an incredible lineup of chamber concerts hosted at equally incredible intimate venues around the region.
The exclusive Keyah Grande ranch played host to our 35th Anniversary Celebration. Together we commemorated our past and toasted to our future while enjoying the expansive mountain views and a beautiful chamber performance by members of our Festival Orchestra, featuring works by Martinu, Chopin, Schubert, and Dvorak.
Our beloved Chocolate Indulgence event took place at Reising Stage Events Center, featuring artisan dessert pairings from Animas Chocolate Company and a wonderful chamber performance in the one-of-a-kind Reising Stage event space.
LePlatt’s Pond was the site of our “Sunday Picnic at the Pond,” an afternoon picnic and concert surrounded by the beauty of the San Juan Mountains and featuring performances by our world-class Festival wind, brass, and piano ensembles.
Finally, our eagerly-anticipated “Bach & Burritos” was held at River Bend Ranch, featuring delicious margarita and burrito pairings followed by some of classical music’s most celebrated chamber pieces, all under the richly hued Hermosa Cliffs.
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Our Festival Orchestra Makes Its Return to the Community Concert Hall
Nearly two years after they last left it, Maestro Guillermo Figueroa and our Festival Orchestra finally made their return to the Community Concert Hall stage in 2021!
Performances included “Playful Interludes,” featuring Haydn’s Symphony N. 77 in B-flat, Hob.1:77 and Stravinsky’s Suite from Pulcinella; “New Appreciation”, featuring Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto in A, K. 622 with soloist James Shields, clarinet, and Dvořák’s Symphony No. 9 in E minor, “From the New World”, Op. 95; and “Triumphant and Resilient,” featuring Beethoven’s Egmont Overture, Op. 84, Brahms’ Symphony No. 1 in C minor, and the world premiere of Tone Poem of Triumph by Nan Schwartz, a piece commissioned specifically for the Music in the Mountains Festival Orchestra to celebrate the resiliency of our community.
From Elton John to Tyrannosaurus Sue!
Our 2021 Dinner & Family Concert was an adventure back to the time of the dinosaurs! Families and children of all ages enjoyed a hot dog dinner, followed by a performance by our Festival Orchestra designed just for them. Maestro Guillermo Figueroa narrated the delightful tale of Adolphe’s Tyrannosaurus Sue, A Cretaceous Concerto, and the audience experienced a classic, entertaining performance of L. Mozart’s Toy Symphony.
Dinosaurs weren’t the only special guests during our 2021 Festival! Our friends TAKE3 joined us at the Community Concert Hall for an incredible, captivating performance showcasing their genre-defying style.
Plus, our final weekend of the 2021 Festival included a very special performance by the one and only “Almost Elton John” at our Pops Passport Benefit Event! Considered to be one of the premiere Elton John tribute artists in the world, Almost Elton John served up an unforgettable performance at our biggest fundraiser of the year (which also featured food and beverage pairings from around the world!).
A Triumphant Return for our Summer Festival
Our 2021 summer classical music festival was an incredible success, and marked a heartwarming, triumphant return to the stage.
We’re so grateful for everyone who made our 35th Anniversary Season such a wonderful event! It was incredible to once again share music in our beautiful mountains!
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