Author: Mark Arnest

The search for Lawrence Leighton Smith’s successor as Colorado Springs Philharmonic music director got interesting on Saturday night when Australian Kynan Johns, the sixth and last finalist for the position, led the orchestra in a searing performance of Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 5 Until Johns’ appearance, the clear favorite was dark-horse candidate Josep Caballé-Domenech, an applicant…

The Colorado Springs Philharmonic returned to earth on Saturday night when Ward Stare, the fifth of six candidates for music director, led the orchestra in performances of Tchaikovsky, Bruch, and Berlioz. This isn’t really a criticism of Stare. It’s just that the concert emphasized the gulf between Josep Caballé-Domenech – who led February’s fire-breathing performance…

The Colorado Springs Philharmonic returned to earth on Saturday night when Ward Stare, the fifth of six candidates for music director, led the orchestra in performances of Tchaikovsky, Bruch, and Berlioz. This isn’t really a criticism of Stare. It’s just that the concert emphasized the gulf between Josep Caballé-Domenech – who led February’s fire-breathing performance…

Lightning struck Saturday night when Josep Caballé-Domenech appeared as guest conductor with the Colorado Springs Philharmonic. The Spanish maestro was not originally one of the finalists for the position of music director — he was appearing in place of the ailing Lawrence Leighton Smith. But at this week’s rehearsals, he made such a powerful impression…

You don’t have to get any further than reading the cast of characters to realize that “Spamalot,” the Broadway road show appearing Tuesday and Wednesday at the Pikes Peak Center, isn’t exactly “Oklahoma”: They include Sir Bedevere The Strangely Flatulent, the Killer Rabbit of Caerbannog and Not Dead Fred. And yet the musical loosely based…

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Everybody who goes to Tchaikovsky’s “The Nutcracker” knows that Drosselmeyer, the mysterious houseguest who gives Clara the enchanted nutcracker, is a magician. But how often does he perform magic tricks? He will at Colorado Youth Ballet’s December production, when Erik Bryan takes on the role. The 25-year-old Bryan is a second-generation magician — and one…

Everybody who goes to Tchaikovsky’s “The Nutcracker” knows that Drosselmeyer, the mysterious houseguest who gives Clara the enchanted nutcracker, is a magician. But how often does he perform magic tricks? He will at Colorado Youth Ballet’s December production, when Erik Bryan takes on the role. The 25-year-old Bryan is a second-generation magician — and one…

Everybody who goes to Tchaikovsky’s “The Nutcracker” knows that Drosselmeyer, the mysterious houseguest who gives Clara the enchanted nutcracker, is a magician. But how often does he perform magic tricks? He will at Colorado Youth Ballet’s December production, when Erik Bryan takes on the role. The 25-year-old Bryan is a second-generation magician — and one…