San Juan Symphony to Present “American Idols” Concert on April 17 & 18

 

DURANGO, CO – The San Juan Symphony will conclude its colorful 2009-10 Once Upon a Time season on Saturday, April 17 at 7:30 pm at the Community Concert Hall at Fort Lewis College in Durango and Sunday, April 18 at 3 pm at Henderson Performance Hall in Farmington when music director Arthur Post leads the ensemble in American Idols.  The concert will feature local idol Duane Smith as narrator as our season of stories and fairy tales leads us back home with a performance of American music and beloved American tales.   Get a sneak preview of the concert when Maestro Post enlightens the audience with a free pre-concert talk, Musically Speaking, on Wednesday, April 14 at 6 pm at the Durango Arts Center.

 

For all their familiarity, the stories we grew up with are no less fantastic than those of faraway lands.  American heroes are mischievous rascals or even real-life outlaws, a baseball star who proves only human, or a young girl who’s lost her way.  Like the travelers of Oz discovering their own courage, heart and brains, they are gutsy and resourceful – distinctly American.  Set to equally inventive American music, these timeless stories entertain us, and always bring us home.

 

Highlights of the San Juan Symphony concert program include Aaron Copland’s Billy the Kid Suite, Stephen Simon’s Casey at the Bat, Jerome Kern’s Mark Twain, Deems Taylor’s Jabberwocky from Through the Looking Glass and Stothart/Arlen and Harburg’s The Wizard of Oz, Concert Suite.

 

Duane Smith received his academic degrees from the University of Colorado and completed his Ph.D. in 1964. That year he began to teach at Fort Lewis College where he is a popular Professor of Southwest Studies. His areas of research and writing include Colorado history, Civil War history, mining history, urban history and baseball history.  He is a life-long, die-hard Chicago Cubs fan and still plays slo-pitch softball.  He also relishes any opportunity to don period costume and channel colorful local historical figures.

 

For tickets, call the Community Concert Hall Box Office in Durango at 970.247.7657 or the Henderson Performance Hall Box Office in Farmington at 505.566.3430.

 

For more information, call the San Juan Symphony office at 970.382.9753 or visit www.sanjuansymphony.org.