Denver Symphony Orchestra

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The Denver Municipal Auditorium, located at 1323 Champa Street in Denver, Colorado. The building is now (2005- ) called the Ellie Caulkins Opera House, and the main entrance is now on the other side of the building.

The Denver Symphony Orchestra, established in 1934 and dissolved in 1989, was a professional American orchestra in

Colorado Symphony, although the two ensembles were legally and structurally separate.[1]

Founding and early period

A community ensemble called the Civic Symphony Orchestra had been formed in Denver in 1922. During the Great Depression, the orchestra struggled to pay its musicians and find paying customers. In 1934 Helen Marie Black, the symphony's volunteer publicist,[2] Jeanne Cramner, and Lucille Wilkin founded the Denver Symphony Orchestra to consolidate all the musicians in the city and guarantee union wages. In 1935 they founded the Denver Symphony Guild to develop projects and fundraise for the orchestra.[3] Black served as the Denver Symphony Orchestra's business manager for more than 30 years, twelve of them as an unpaid volunteer. She was the first female symphony manager in the United States.[3][4]

The orchestra's first concert was offered on November 30, 1934, at Denver's Broadway Theatre. Its Tuesday-night concerts were usually performed in the Municipal Auditorium. Both the community and professional orchestras were maintained through the 1946–47 season. Conductor Horace Tureman led both until his 1944 retirement due to illness.[1]

In 1945, Saul Caston, who had been associate conductor of the Philadelphia Orchestra under both Leopold Stokowski and Eugene Ormandy, was hired as the Denver Symphony's Conductor and Music Director. Caston built the orchestra significantly during his tenure, through touring, school performances, low-priced family ticket plans, and outdoor performances at the Red Rocks Amphitheatre, west of Denver. A 1951 Time article documented his leadership, declaring, "Last season the Denver Symphony was among the leaders in performing American music".[1][5]

In 1938,

Leon Fleischer were among the symphony's guest artists.[6]

By the early 1960s, Saul Caston was losing the support of some musicians and members of the community. He was replaced in 1964 by

Baltimore Symphony.[1]

The Priestman, Delogu eras

Under Brian Priestman, the orchestra experienced artistic and financial success, along with strong community support. They toured with guest conductors, including

May D&F department store conducted an annual, weekend-long fundraising event, setting up a broadcast studio and performance space in the windows of the downtown store.[1]

In 1972, Denver voters approved a bond issue to build a new performance space specifically for the symphony, and Boettcher Concert Hall opened in 1978,[1] the first U.S. symphony hall to be built in the round.

Sixten Ehrling was appointed Principal Guest Conductor in 1978, and Gaetano Delogu became Music Director and conductor in 1979. Concert pianist and former Music Director of the New Orleans Symphony, Philippe Entremont, became Principal Conductor in 1986 and Music Director in 1988.[1][7]

Labor and financial difficulties

A series of labor disputes began in the late 1970s, forcing a 9-week delay of the 1977 season. The 1980 season start was delayed for twelve weeks. Other financial difficulties began to mount, and significant losses were incurred in the 1984 summer outdoor season due to unusually wet weather. In 1986, the musicians agreed to a 20% pay cut.[1]

In 1988, the first three weeks of the season were cancelled for financial reasons. During the season, the Board Chairperson, the Executive Director, and Music Director Entremont all resigned. In March, 1989, immediately after the annual Marathon fund-raising weekend, the Symphony Association cancelled the remainder of the season. It filed for bankruptcy on October 4. In May 1990, the Denver Symphony Association merged with the newly formed Colorado Symphony Association, which formed the Colorado Symphony, a new and initially smaller orchestra employing many of the Denver Symphony musicians.[1]

The Denver Symphony Orchestra performed its final concert March 25, 1989.[1]

Conductors and directors

Horace Tureman Conductor 1934–44[1]
Saul Caston Music Director 1945–64[1]
Vladimir Golschmann Music Director 1964–69[1]
Brian Priestman Music Director 1970–79[1]
Sixten Ehrling Principal Guest Conductor 1978–79[1]
Gaetano Delogu Music Director 1979–80[1]
Philippe Entremont Principal Conductor 1986–88[1]
Music Director 1988–89[7]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Goble, Gary and Joanne, 2005 historical note, Denver Public Library archival collection: Denver Symphony Orchestra and Association papers, 1922-1990
  2. ^ "Denver Symphony Orchestra and Association, WH941, Western History Collection". Denver Public Library. Archived from the original on 25 July 2011. Retrieved 19 February 2017.
  3. ^
    ISBN 1555662145
    .
  4. ^ "Helen Marie Black". Colorado Women's Hall of Fame. 2016. Retrieved 19 February 2017.
  5. ^ "Music: Denver's Happy Orchestra". Time. Vol. LVIII. October 29, 1951.
  6. ISBN 978-0199720514
    .
  7. ^ a b "Entremont Leaving Denver Symphony", January 5, 1989 The New York Times,
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