They came from all over the country, all over the world. And even though they were soon to leave the Pikes Peak region, the student musicians of the Colorado College Summer Music Festival’s Orchestra were of one mind on this June 24 afternoon: the final concert of the festival’s 28th season was dedicated to all who’s lives have been impacted by the Waldo Canyon Fire.

For two hours, local residents were able to be swept into another world. With conductor Scott Yoo setting the tone, the 47-piece orchestra delighted the almost-filled Edith Gaylord Kinney Cornerstone Arts Center at Colorado College. Their journey through three-centuries of musical masterpieces included one the best performances of our current arts season.

With violin in hand, Yoo led Mozart’s brief Symphony No. 32 from the concertmaster’s seat. Even still, the players attacked the music with great spirit and enthusiasm. Coupled with chamber music-like intensity, the performance of this 1779 gem transcended the on-going debate as to whether 18th-century music should be performed on period instruments. It was alive and dynamic.

Then, with augmented forces, the orchestra welcomed festival faculty violinist Mark Fewer to the stage for Alban Berg’s Violin Concerto from 1935. This is one of the great fruits from the last century’s tonal and structural revolutions. It is beautiful and esthetically coherent. This may have been its first performance in Colorado Springs, which would have been enough to make this a special occasion. But what the orchestra, soloist and conductor accomplished went far beyond expectations.

Fewer was flawless in maintaining the dramatic thread throughout the two movement work. He was always intense while honoring the challenging structure of the concerto.

The revelation of this reading came from the Yoo-led orchestra. Berg seldom calls upon massed orchestral expression. He relies on soloists and instrumental sections to punctuate his powerful musical journey. As Fewer navigated the distinct sections, Yoo had his players deftly adding color, texture and rhythmic variety to the music. Their intensity and concentration was nothing short of astounding.

It was a moving performance that captured a world gone wrong. For me, it joined the Colorado Springs Philharmonic’s Mahler Symphony 2 in May as the best orchestral performances of the 2011-2012 season.

Tchaikovsky’s 4th Symphony from 1878 concluded the concert and the festival. Except for some lapses in intensity near the end of the first movement,  it was a great reading,  overflowing with beauty, humor and unbridled excitement. And perfect for the day and circumstances, it is a symphony with hardly any concern for the trials of human existence.

Thanks to one of the most exciting conclusions in all of music, the audience left with fire in their hearts and spirits – a much better place for flames to reside.