Fort Collins Symphony Returns to Lincoln Center for 2021-2022 Concert Series

The Fort Collins Symphony (FCS), under the baton of Maestro Wes Kenney, returns to the Fort Collins Lincoln Center stage for its 2021-22 Season at 7:30 PM, Saturday, October 2, 2021. The emotion-filled Signature Concert 1 features music by Leonard Bernstein, Rodion Shchedrin, and Jessie Montgomery, with guest violinist Linda Wang.

At once profoundly original and a touching homage to immortal classics, Jessie Montgomery’s Banner is a hope-filled re-imagining of the Star-Spangled Banner for the 21^st Century. Leonard Bernstein’s Serenade After Plato’s Symposium is a contemplative and wistful piece, as clever and thoughtful as the ancient philosopher himself. In equal measure heartfelt and mercurial, the Serenade is a nuanced depiction of the mind and soul of humanity. With a nod to Bizet’s famous opera, Rodion Shchedrin’s popular Carmen Suite is a tantalizing, volatile, and occasionally sweet work originally composed for Shchedrin’s wife, Maya Plisetskaya, in a ballet-retelling of the original Carmen.

Violinist Linda Wang joins the orchestra for the performance of Bernstein’s Serenade. Ms. Wang has been praised for her artistry, warm, singing tone, and charismatic performances. At the age of nine, she made her debut with Zubin Mehta and the New York Philharmonic. Since then, she has performed concerti with over seventy-five national and international orchestras in collaboration with such eminent conductors as Sir Georg Solti and the Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival Orchestra, Jorge Mester and the Pasadena Symphony, and JoAnn Falletta and the Virginia Symphony. A devoted pedagogue, Ms. Wang is Professor of Violin and String Chair at University of Denver’s Lamont School of Music. She currently performs on a 1767 J.B. Guadagnini violin and has recorded seven solo albums.

For educational information about the concert, please:

• Visit www.FCSymphony.org for concert program notes by Dr. Dawn Grapes and Dr. William E. Runyan. Free.
• Tune into Maestro Kenney’s World of Symphonic Music at 7 p.m. on Sundays at KRFC 88.9 FM Radio Fort Collins 88.9 FM. Free.
• Attend Dr. Dawn Grapes’ Composer Talk at noon on Wednesday, September 29, 2021, via Zoom at 876 8157 1885 (Meeting ID), 587906 (Passcode). Free.
• Join the FCS at Open Rehearsal at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday, September 30, 2021, at the Lincoln Center. Free. (Masks required)
• Listen to Maestro’s Musings at 6:30 p.m. on Saturday, October 2, 2021, at the Lincoln Center. With the purchase of concert ticket. (Masks required)

For those unable to attend this opening Signature Concert in person, a live stream on the night of the concert and a webcast to view the performance the following weekend are also available.

With the rise in COVID-19 cases from the highly infectious Delta variant impacting Larimer County, we strongly urge those attending concerts to become fully vaccinated. The FCS is also requiring all audience members, musicians, and staff —including those who are fully vaccinated––to wear masks (properly covering mouth and nose) indoors at all times while attending Symphony events. If you are unable or unwilling to wear a mask, please do not attend in-person FCS performances. Masks will be provided to those who arrive without them. Signature Concert 1 is sponsored by Drs. Ann Yanagi and Scott Johnston in honor of Wes and Leslie Kenney, and by Joseph and Jan Carroll. The Fort Collins Symphony’s 2021-2022 Season is sponsored by the City of Fort Collins Fort Fund, Dr. David and Alison Dennis, Dr. Ed Siegel, and Dr. Peter Springberg, and Janet Kowall. Media sponsors are KRFC 88.9 FM Radio Fort Collins and KUNC 91.5 FM Radio NPR.