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HAPPY 70th ANNIVERSARY, ARTIST SERIES!The Artist Series, based at the University of Colorado at Boulder College of Music, celebrated its 70th anniversary The origins of the Artist Series date from 1901, when a group of Boulder women known as the Friday Musical Club began sponsoring visiting performers in recital at the University of Colorado. Edward MacDowell, a well-known American composer-pianist, was one of the first guests on this precursor to today’s Artist Series. Some of the better-known performers to be sponsored by the club included pianist Mary Wood-Chase, Mme. Schumann-Heink, Mme. Gadski of the Metropolitan Opera, and violinist Louis Persinger. Upon disbanding in 1915, the club’s treasury of $500 was donated to Macky Auditorium for the purchase of the organ.
The Artist Series, as we know it today, presented its first official season in 1937. Since then, the series has sponsored approximately 420 concerts. Some highlights have included performances by such luminaries as Isaac Stern, Beverly Sills, Wynton Marsalis, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Marilyn Horne, Bobby McFerrin, Van Cliburn, Jean-Pierre Rampal, the Martha Graham Dance Company, and the Cleveland Orchestra. In 2006-2007 the University of Colorado Artist Series celebrates its 70th season and continues to bring the most outstanding, internationally known performers of classical music, jazz, world music, and dance to Boulder. More About the Artist Series: |
The Boulder Musical Society was organized in 1921 and took over the sponsorship of the visiting artist series. The first Boulder Musical Society program included, among others, pianist Artur Rubinstein and violinist Fritz Kreisler.