The Playground Ensemble, Artists-in-Residence at DU's Lamont School of Music, is a group of professional musicians and composers dedicated to presenting classical music as a living art form.
In addition to an annual concert season that features the work of recognized composers, we cultivate a thriving local composition community and we conduct dynamic educational programs for people of all ages. With exciting outreach programs like "Living Music, Living Composer" and "American Made" the Playground is working to show young people that classical music is not a museum piece. It is vibrant, adventurous and relevant to the world they live in.
Now in its 6th year, our Colorado Composers Concert (CoCoCo), has featured 49 works by 39 different Colorado-based composers including a number of K-12 composers. Be watching our web site for the next deadline and be sure to alert any composers you know to this opportunity.
The Playground has performed at many notable venues and festivals including the Arvada Center, the Denver Art Museum, the International Society of Improvised Music Annual Conference, the National Performing Arts Convention, the Mile High Voltage Festival, and the Denver Music Summit. We have performed with, or shared a bill with a number of new music luminaries including So Percussion, Evan Ziporyn, Tatsuya Nakatani and Ron Miles. Our efforts have been recognized with awards and funding from the American Music Center, the Aaron Copland Fund for Music, the Gay & Lesbian Fund for Colorado, as well as numerous regional foundations and individuals.
In the Spring of 2011 The Playground released its debut CD, Dreams Go Through Me. This project features a number of Colorado based composers and is supported by the American Music Center's CAP Recording Program, made possible by endowment funds from the Mary Flagler Cary Charitable Trust and with funds from The Alice M. Ditson Fund of Columbia University, along with the Newman Center, and Colorado Public Radio.
The Playground's mission is to provide stimulating performances, expand common perceptions of both contemporary music and the chamber ensemble, and nurture a community around this music that we love.
If you want to get involved, please write us at playground@du.edu.
The Playground Ensemble, Artists-in-Residence at DU's Lamont School of Music, is a group of professional musicians and composers dedicated to presenting classical music as a living art form.
In addition to an annual concert season that features the work of recognized composers, we cultivate a thriving local composition community and we conduct dynamic educational programs for people of all ages. With exciting outreach programs like "Living Music, Living Composer" and "American Made" the Playground is working to show young people that classical music is not a museum piece. It is vibrant, adventurous and relevant to the world they live in.
Now in its 6th year, our Colorado Composers Concert (CoCoCo), has featured 49 works by 39 different Colorado-based composers including a number of K-12 composers. Be watching our web site for the next deadline and be sure to alert any composers you know to this opportunity.
The Playground has performed at many notable venues and festivals including the Arvada Center, the Denver Art Museum, the International Society of Improvised Music Annual Conference, the National Performing Arts Convention, the Mile High Voltage Festival, and the Denver Music Summit. We have performed with, or shared a bill with a number of new music luminaries including So Percussion, Evan Ziporyn, Tatsuya Nakatani and Ron Miles. Our efforts have been recognized with awards and funding from the American Music Center, the Aaron Copland Fund for Music, the Gay & Lesbian Fund for Colorado, as well as numerous regional foundations and individuals.
In the Spring of 2011 The Playground released its debut CD, Dreams Go Through Me. This project features a number of Colorado based composers and is supported by the American Music Center's CAP Recording Program, made possible by endowment funds from the Mary Flagler Cary Charitable Trust and with funds from The Alice M. Ditson Fund of Columbia University, along with the Newman Center, and Colorado Public Radio.
The Playground's mission is to provide stimulating performances, expand common perceptions of both contemporary music and the chamber ensemble, and nurture a community around this music that we love.
If you want to get involved, please write us at playground@du.edu.
In 2001, a group of students and graduates from the University of Denver's Lamont School of Music formed The Playground with the purpose of performing their own compositions. By 2005, the ensemble broadened its artistic mission by encompassing all music of the 20th and 21st centuries. The Playground began performing concerts to diverse audiences of all ages, and providing additional education to audience members. The first full concert season (2005-2006) included seven concerts and educational events. The next year the group attained Artist- in-Residence status at the University of Denver's Lamont School of Music, and became a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.
Since that first full season the group has experienced growth in all aspects of the organization: board, budget and programming. There is no other ensemble in Colorado whose sole focus is modern music. This places the Playground in a unique position when it comes to programming, educational outreach and its relationship with area composers.
The Playground now holds approximately 40 events each season, including performances, community music making events, educational programs for students in K-12 schools and colleges in the Denver Metro area, and special events for seniors. We hope to see you at an event soon and please contact us about getting involved.
The Playground ensemble promotes the music of our time through performance, new music commissions, education, and community outreach. Our goal is to provide stimulating performances, expand common perceptions of both contemporary music and the chamber ensemble, and nurture a community around this music that we love.
Vision
We will establish ourselves as a new music ensemble of national prominence. We will do so with superior quality performances and adventurous programming.
We dare to take programming risks; both of repertoire and venue and do so unashamedly and without fear.
We believe in the power of a positive musical experience over the perfect musical performance. We do not support low standards or poor performance practice. We believe that musical pretension, ideas of genre superiority, and "we're trained professionals, don't try this at home" arrogance must not just be abandoned but actively destroyed. We empower our audience to believe in their abilities as musicians.
We imperatively urge young classical musicians to participate in music composed in their lifetime.
We continue to expand our program offerings in the public schools and reach out to youth in schools with and without music programs.
We maintain working relationships with all higher education music programs in the Denver greater metropolitan area. We will work to establish and maintain these relationships throughout the state of Colorado and throughout the nation.
We are a service organization to all of those creating new music in Colorado. We are also a resource for all organizations, media, press, and educators interested in modern music. We wish to share our knowledge and experience in more ways than just concertizing. We believe that this music is for everyone and that community building is an important role of any performing ensemble. We will continue to develop new and continuing audiences for this music that we love.
The personal fulfillment of our performers, the camaraderie and enjoyment of working together and personal growth through playing this music we that love is a primary focus of our ensemble.
