Fall is the best time for the fine arts along the Front Range. Folks here are just heading back indoors after summer adventures, and the region’s biggest cultural institutions know their audiences are looking for quality fare. There is plenty of that this season, with both large and small offerings leading the way.
Here are six promising options to consider.
Alma Thomas, “Composing Color,” Denver Art Museum, Sept. 8 through Jan. 12.
Alma Thomas, “Composing Color” will be at the Denver Art Museum Sept. 8 through Jan. 12. (Provided by the Denver Art Museum)
Alma Thomas was a great painter with an even better story. Wide recognition only came to her later in her life, after she retired from decades as a schoolteacher in Washington, D.C., and major museums and galleries caught on. Thomas, who died in 1978 at the age of 86, went from being an inspiration to generations of kids to an international art star whose paintings now sell for millions of dollars at auction. This traveling exhibition of her abstract canvases is organized by the Smithsonian American Art Museum, which has considerable holdings of her work. The paintings show the artist’s skill at using hyphenated, acrylic marks to capture deep emotion and boundless energy.
Location: 100 W. 14th Avenue Parkway. More info: 720-865-5000 or denverartmuseum.org.
Verdi Requiem, Colorado Symphony, Oct. 18-20
This production of Verdi’s choral masterpiece is special for two reasons. First, it is meant to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Colorado Symphony Chorus, which debuted back in 1984 with the same piece of music. Second, it marks the final concert of Duain Wolfe, the chorus’ founder and a beloved institution on the local classical scene. Wolfe outlasted seven separate chief conductors of the symphony during his tenure. It will be a bittersweet weekend, no doubt. Guest conductor Alexander Shelley will be on the podium.
Location: Boettcher Concert Hall, Denver Performing Arts Complex. More info: 303-623-7876 or coloradosymphony.org.
Ethel + Robert Mirabal, “The Red Willow,” Oct. 14
The quartet Ethel with collaborator Robert Mirabal. They perform in Lakewood on Oct. 14. (Provided by the Lakewood Cultural Center)
The Lakewood Cultural Center does not get the regional recognition it deserves. Its annual LCC Presents series has consistently produced gems across the disciplines of music, dance and family entertainment for two decades now, making the suburbs a much more interesting place than they were back in the day. This concert is a good example of LCC Presents at its most interesting. Ethel is one of the top contemporary classical music quartets on the touring circuit, and Mirabal, who hails from the Taos Pueblo in New Mexico, is among the most respected flute players and music makers in the country. Expect a night of sincere, and ethereal, sounds. The concert is meant to coincide with Indigenous Peoples Day.
Location: 470 S. Allison Parkway, Lakewood. More info: 30-398-77845 or lakewood.org.
“Movements Toward Freedom,” Museum of Contemporary Art Denver, Sept. 20-Feb. 2
The MCA is taking a real risk with this show, filling its galleries for more than four months with a high-concept exhibit that looks at the way body movement acts as a form of creative expression across artistic disciplines. This group show, curated by Leilani Lynch, has varied participants, including well-known names like Senga Nengudi and Ronny Quevedo, but also local artists, such as Laura Shill and Ben Coleman. The draw here is that much of the art will be activated through performances during the run of the show. One highlight: an installation by Brendan Fernandes that will resemble a dance studio where performers can interact with his three-dimensional works. This is the kind of adventurous move that deserves support from local art lovers.
Location: 1485 Delgany St. More info: 303-298-7554 or mcadenver.org.
“Sleeping Beauty,” Colorado Ballet, Oct. 4-13
Leah McFadden is set to dance in Colorado Ballet’s “Sleeping Beauty,” Oct. 4- 13. (Rachel Neville, provided by Colorado Ballet)
The Colorado Ballet is expecting a sell-out for its eight performances of “Sleeping Beauty” — remarkable, really, for a title that has been around since 1890. This production goes back to the basics of the work, with music by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky and movement by Marius Petipa, and the type of big, magical sets that keep customers coming for ballet’s biggest numbers. Everybody knows the story, and the Colorado Ballet knows to keep this work traditional in every way. This is a family-friendly event.
Location: Ellie Caulkins Opera House, Denver Performing Arts Complex. More info: 303-837-8888, ext. 2 or coloradoballet.org.
Ivalas Quartet, Sept. 24 and 25
Friends of Chamber Music is offering a lot of options for formal events this season, including promising concerts by the Takács Quartet and soprano Karen Slack. But these two concerts, featuring the emerging musicians of the Ivala Quartet, are a small and welcome special attraction. On Sept. 24, the quartet, which fuses sounds from various genres, will take the stage at downtown’s Dazzle Denver, a venue more traditionally known for straightforward jazz. The next night, they move a few streets over for a second show at the landmark Clocktower theater, which will center around Mendelssohn’s String Quartet No. 2. The ensemble is just off a residency at the Juilliard School in New York City, and this is a chance to — two chances, really — to catch them before they become famous.
More info on both events: 303-388-9839 or friendsofchambermusic.com.