Spotlight on the Opera Colorado Orchestra
By: Suzanne Whitney
Over the past year, we’ve missed the entire Opera Colorado family. This includes our staff, visiting artists, crew, production team, and of course, the members of our very own Opera Colorado Orchestra!
We are so proud of the incredible ensemble Music Director Ari Pelto has cultivated over the years. We cannot wait to sit listening in anticipation to the orchestra tune before our first performance back at the Ellie. Opera is an art form that benefits from so many different artists, and the orchestra is truly the glue that pulls it all together. They tell the story as much as any of the artists on stage.
We were delighted to hear a few of our orchestra members perform at Canciones de Nuestra Tierras. The performance was their first time playing for an Opera Colorado event since March 1, 2020. In honor of this performance, we would love to introduce a few orchestra members to you. Enjoy getting to know the artists who support all of our operas from the pit!
Byron Hitchcock, violin
What is your favorite piece you will perform for Canciones de Nuestras Tierras?
I’m really looking forward to the slow movement from Mozart’s “Dissonance” Quartet. It’s later Mozart, and the maturity of the lines paired with the exquisite, unique harmonies give me more appreciation every time I hear it, play it, or study it.
What is the best habit or hobby you have picked up in the last year?
Physical Fitness! I never played sports when I was young, and once I started making music professionally, life was so busy there didn’t seem to be any time for it. I signed up for a 90-day fitness program in July last year, and I learned so much! Now, I’m excited for life to return to normal because I think I’ve learned not just how to be healthy, but how to maintain good health with a minimum of effort and time.
What are you most looking forward to as we return to live performances at the Ellie Caulkins Opera House?
The uncanny feeling of participating in live music of that scale gives me chills whenever I think of it. Sixty to eighty people all committing themselves completely to one artistic idea. It used to be commonplace, and I can’t believe how we used to take it for granted. I’m also looking forward to hearing the gasps of surprise, excitement, and delight from our audience. There’s nothing like it, and for me, that will feel like the moment the pandemic ends.
Margaret Gutierrez, violin
What is your favorite piece you will perform for Canciones de Nuestras Tierras?
My favorite piece is the last movement of the Beethoven Op. 18 no. 3 quartet. We chose it as a bit of an homage to the Latin theme of the event, as its opening theme is almost note-for-note the Mexican Hat Dance! However, Beethoven spins out an extended version of the twirling melody. It becomes a whirling dervish—a romp that barely catches its breath. I played the piece as a student in college and later as a member of a professional quartet. It never ceases to get my adrenaline flowing and toes tapping with its quick triplets and playful character.
What is the best habit or hobby you have picked up in the last year?
My silver lining during the past year has been to slow down, find my breath, and my center again. As a busy freelance musician, my life was a blur of teaching and performing, with long car commutes and 7-day work weeks. It was good for me emotionally, physically, and spiritually to downshift. I rediscovered the joy of daily walks, tending to my garden, and maintaining a consistent yoga practice. I can’t wait to return to performing again, but I learned I need to carve out time for myself. Otherwise, I have nothing to give as a musician or as a teacher.
What are you most looking forward to as we return to live performances at the Ellie Caulkins Opera House?
I have missed making live music with my colleagues and feeling the electricity of a hall filled with eager audience members! I can’t wait to be back in the pit with my musician “family” again, guided by Ari’s deft baton and incredible musical insights, connecting and blending with the singers on stage to create musical magic for the audience. There’s truly something magical about making live music, being in the moment with many individuals moving, breathing, playing, or singing as one entity, together. I have missed that so very much! The lack of it, and the isolation this past year, has brought home to me the connective power of music and, most especially, of live music!
Matthew Dane, viola
What is your favorite piece you will perform for Canciones de Nuestras Tierras?
I love several of these, so I’ll limit myself to a couple. The Haydn “Emperor” Quartet movement that we’re playing is fantastic. The mood is celebratory, but it is the dialogue between the parts that grabs and amazes me. Each of the four parts has a role to play, but we constantly change roles, like quick costume changes. The piece is full of other surprises, sudden changes of character and dynamics. The Mozart duo that Margaret and I play has one of the most beautiful slow movements that Mozart wrote, and that is saying something!
What is the best habit or hobby you have picked up in the last year?
Musically the past year has been very challenging. Without much performing to do, I focused on a couple of different aspects of music. In my private teaching, I tried to challenge my private students more than ever. I also researched and read more about some of my favorite composers, including Shostakovich. Outside of music, I cooked a lot more and got deeply into number puzzles.
What are you most looking forward to as we return to live performances at the Ellie Caulkins Opera House?
Live performance! Interacting with the whole group, the feeling of being “in the moment,” hearing the singers, being part of a larger whole.
Charles Lee, cello
What is your favorite piece you will perform for Canciones de Nuestras Tierras?
My favorite is the slow movement from Mozart’s “dissonance” quartet. Just about anything Mozart writes can be thought of as an opera, with scenes, characters, stories, and moods. I think my colleagues from the Opera Colorado Orchestra will bring something special to the table with this piece.
What is the best habit or hobby you have picked up in the last year?
I’ve been spending a lot of time outdoors with my kids. I hope to keep that even after the pandemic. We’re lucky to live in Colorado!
What are you most looking forward to as we return to live performances at the Ellie Caulkins Opera House?
I really miss all those rituals and habits surrounding the stage: the warmups, rehearsals, backstage banter, all leading to the excitement and intense focus of the performance. Especially opening nights. The opera house itself is an important part of that experience, and I can’t wait to have it back in my life.