Mezzo Soprano, Alice Simmons and Violinist Sarah Off present an evening of chamber music inspired by our individual connections to nature. Featuring the works of Ralph Vaughn Williams, Rebecca Clarke, Paul Elwood and the world premiere of Dylan Fixmer’s “Songs of Skellig Catherine,” this program is sure to inspire and capture the heart of our experiences in nature.

Tickets Here - https://stpetersmarlborough.org.uk/events

Mezzo Soprano, Alice Simmons and Violinist Sarah Off present an evening of chamber music inspired by our individual connections to nature. Featuring the works of Ralph Vaughn Williams, Rebecca Clarke, Paul Elwood and the world premiere of Dylan Fixmer’s “Songs of Skellig Catherine,” this program is sure to inspire and capture the heart of our experiences in nature.

Tickets Here - https://www.lauderdalehouse.org.uk/whats-on/living-among

Old Machines play the music of Dylan Fixmer at Wildwood Sound in Del Norte, Colorado.

http://www.wildwoodsounds.com/concerts.html?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTAAAR1KWzx1XnD2BEFfD5CT1mZtCuGOmxyS-PmhjKqFVc9HytZkXyYooa84gTc_aem_AZEtDgnW0eERb-CDH0CW9GCp_3dszgDw0tOl1gCbluaAGy04CMx-cddZuwNnzU47GhGsgav5Dqs5Yx0wmtb72jnt

Dylan Fixmer and Sarah Off perform live at the Cottonwood Cottage. A mixture of original Irish Trad, folk and art music.

Old Machines will premiere Dylan Fixmer’s “Bare Skin on Nature” and “Prelude: Why the Dove Cries” for solo cello at the Cottonwood Cottage.

https://cottonwoodcottageconcerts.com/

When Will Then Be Now?

A Reflection on Meditative Spaces with Old Machines Duo

Sarah Off, violin & Mathieu D’Ordine, cello

When we first planned a recital program around the idea of mindfulness I had my doubts. Would such a program be uniform and colorless, without contrast? Doesn’t the very idea of creating a meditative space in a concert hall interfere with the tension we feel as artists to market ourselves? To struggle mightily to attract a seemingly indifferent audience? Maybe even to feign aloof nonchalance as we watch project after promising project be presented to mostly empty concert halls?

When I first heard the term “mindfulness” many years ago, I thought that it somehow was synonymous with inner peace, that it magically drained the practitioner of emotion like the Vulcan ritual of Kohlinar from Star Trek. Of course, the reality is more complex - as complex as people, and as multifaceted as our emotions. Not only is there no single way to practice mindfulness (e.g. you don’t have to be sitting in meditation, a practicing Buddhist, etc.), but the path of mindfulness practice is not so much a staircase as it is a winding trail. It is a journey which we all start from different places: we start from where we are.

Researching the translated term where we get “mindfulness” from, I am also reminded the practitioner’s experiences are not limited, that “any feeling [they] may experience exists in relation to a whole variety or world of feelings that may be skillful or unskillful, with faults or faultless, relatively inferior or refined, dark or pure.” (Gethin, 1992)

Suffice to say, the practice and experience of mindfulness is not limiting but expansive.

In selecting music for this evening, we chose to bring pieces that were meaningful to us and that would demonstrate the range of meditative spaces a concert hall can evoke. Some of these represent mindfulness or meditation in an explicit way - our world premiere of Dylan Fixmer’s November Walk captures the tone of a walking meditation through the high prairie in winter - and some are metaphorical, allegorical, or even religious. Schnittke’s madrigal in memoriam Oleg Kagan is an open expression of loss, and even though grief is a distant specter from the oft-stated goal of “inner peace” its inclusion in the program is meant to highlight that any starting point on the journey of mindfulness is a valid one. 

Our journeys (in mindfulness or in life) are often not smooth, sunny, or pleasant, but we all are walking the path in our own way. We deserve support and empathy from one another, and we can only do our best to help provide that support in whatever way we can.

Musical Palette, Rhapsody in Raag Jog and Form Follows Movement Fri, Jan 19 | 7:30pm | FREE

Through Lines is the University of Northern Colorado’s series of interdisciplinary projects created by our performing and visual arts faculty members. These multi-part experiences take the audience across artistic lines in a melding of music, theatre, visual art and dance all in one evening.

Created by UNC faculty Kati Rittner, Drew Zaremba & Samuel Dong Saul this mixed bill will have you on the edge of your seat with a highly immersive interdiciplinary performance, including music by Dylan Fixmer with live painting by Bethony Coons, dance with Hindustani fusion music and motion tracker technology with dance and 3D printing.

The Laramie County Community College Wind Ensemble under the direction of Frank Cook plays a fun selection of holiday favorites including the premiere of Dylan Fixmer’s Bells of the Winter Range arranged for wind band.

Greeley’s favorite holiday tradition takes the poinsettia-adorned Monfort Concert Hall stage. The concert opens with the semi-annual Magic Baton Melody Contest winning composition from a Greeley-Evans School District 6 middle school student. Then, enjoy your favorite holiday classics featuring your Greeley Philharmonic Orchestra, Greeley Chorale, and Greeley Children’s Chorale, including Dylan Fixmer’s “Bells of the Winter Range”. Your ticket gains you admission to the last night of the Festival of Trees. 

This concert is sponsored by Robert and Diane Miller.

Tickets here

A First Breath: Welcome to the World - Written for and commissioned by the UCHealth Greeley Hospital Birth Center, is played throughout the hospital to announce the arrival of every newborn baby. It’s inaugural performance will be presented at the UCHealth Greeley Hospital reception hall.

Fully narrated, Sounds of Cinema on May 20th brings the sounds of the screen, including Jurassic Park, A Clockwork Orange, War Horse and the winner of the 2023 Magic Baton Melody Contest to the Union Colony Civic Center stage. Student tickets are $5 with the code “EXPERIENCE,” and educator tickets are $10 with the code “CONNECT.” Tickets are available at www.greeleyphil.org/tickets.

Greeley Philharmonic Orchestra (GPO) Composer-in-Residence Dylan Fixmer launched the Magic Baton Melody Contest in the fall of 2022 with middle school students from the Greeley-Evans School District 6 who competed for a chance to have their original music orchestrated and played by the GPO at the Poinsettia Pops concert in December 2022. Now in its second semester, high school students from the district have submitted their entries and a winner has been selected.

Alex Sewell, a sophomore violinist from Greeley West High School won the GPO Magic Baton Melody Contest with her melody "Fleurs dans les nuages (Flowers in the Clouds)” which was written during and after a composition workshop with Fixmer. The composition has been orchestrated by Fixmer and will be premiered at the GPO’s final concert of the season, Sounds of Cinema. Sewell is excited to hear her melody played by the GPO since it will be able to bring out the "splashes of color" and the "beauty of the French language" that she wants to capture in her piece. She is looking forward to bringing her mom and friend to the show.

Sounds of Cinema is sponsored in part by the High Plains Library District.

The Front Range Chamber Players will perform Dylan Fixmer’s “A Poem Without Words” at the Montview Boulevard Presbyterian Church. The work is inspired by the poem “Eskimos Have No Word for War” by Mary Oliver. Other works on the program include Schubert’s “Death and the Maiden” and Schumann’s “Piano Quartet in Eb.”

Tickets available here

The Front Range Chamber Players will premiere Dylan Fixmer’s “A Poem Without Words” at the McNeal Performing Arts Center at Fort Collins High School. The work is inspired by the poem “Eskimos Have No Word for War” by Mary Oliver. Other works on the program include Schubert’s “Death and the Maiden” and Schumann’s “Piano Quartet in Eb.”

Tickets available here

The Burroughs join the Greeley Philharmonic once again with new arrangements for symphony orchestra and soul band by Composer in Residence Dylan Fixmer and others. Last year’s collaboration on “Made for Love” was featured in 303 Magazine’s “New Colorado Music You Should Know.” Bigger & Bolder than 2021!

Click Here for Burroughs LIVE with the GPO Tickets

Dr. Steven Siegel - Trumpet and Dr. Sarah Off - Violin present trio works by Ewazen, Fixmer and Morales.

Premiere of Dylan Fixmer’s Trio for Trumpet Violin and Piano, Bare Skin on Nature and Maps #1

Tickets here - https://www.uwsuper.edu/calendar/university-recital-series-sarah-off-violin--steve-siegel-trumpet_calendar651340698

Sarah Off and Mathieu D’Ordine present music from their upcoming album OLD MACHINES: Duos for Violin and Cello – including music by award-winning Colorado composer and Greeley Philharmonic Orchestra Composer-In-Residence Dylan Fixmer.

Cottonwood Cottage Concerts, based in Greeley, Colorado, is a place where people can meet and listen to unique music in an intimate, local house setting.  Your hosts, Doug and Susan, have a deep love for music and are dedicated to bringing artists together with other music lovers to help the artists gain exposure and grow their fan base.

Cottonwood Cottage Concerts is a Folk Alliance International-certified house concert venue. Folk International is a non-profit founded in 1989 that brings together artists, managers, agents, record labels and fans to promote the folk music genre. 

Throughout the year Cottonwood Cottage Concerts will host gatherings and provide opportunities for music fans in Northern Colorado to hear different genres of music be performed by artists as they tour across Colorado and the entire U.S.   

Contact  cottonwoodcottageconcerts@gmail.com to join our mailing list to be notified of upcoming events. Location details are not disclosed until attendance is confirmed. 

Register here - https://cottonwoodcottageconcerts.com/old-machines/

A tradition unmatched in Northern Colorado, the Poinsettia Pops has kicked off the Holiday Season in Greeley for over thirty years! Featuring your Greeley Philharmonic Orchestra the festive overture, “Bells of the Winter Range,” by composer in residence Dylan Fixmer, and highlighting The Greeley Chorale and Greeley Children’s Chorale in a performance of seasonal favorites and beloved carols. The entire family will create lasting memories at this joyous concert in the poinsettia-adorned Monfort Concert Hall.

Tickets available here

Dr. Steven Siegel - Trumpet, Dr. Sarah Off - Violin and Dr. Ivana Muncan - Piano present trio works by Ewazen, Fixmer and Morales.

Tickets available here

The Greeley Philharmonic Orchestra will premiere Dylan Fixmer’s “Violin Concerto” featuring violinist Sarah Off at UNC Greeley’s Campus Commons performance hall.

The work was created in memory of violinist Terri Sternberg who after becoming homeless in 2009 became an activist for programs to assist those without homes to transition back to stability. The concert will be a benefit for homeless transition programs in northern Colorado and Sarah Off will be performing the concert on Terri’s violin.

Hear the story on Colorado Public Radio - https://www.cpr.org/2022/09/23/terri-sternberg-violinist-homelessness/

Tickets available here

The Greeley Philharmonic Orchestra will premiere Dylan Fixmer’s “Violin Concerto” featuring violinist Sarah Off at UNC Greeley’s Campus Commons performance hall.

The work was created in memory of violinist Terri Sternberg who after becoming homeless in 2009 became an activist for programs to assist those without homes to transition back to stability. The concert will be a benefit for homeless transition programs in northern Colorado and Sarah Off will be performing the concert on Terri’s violin.

Hear the story on Colorado Public Radio - https://www.cpr.org/2022/09/23/terri-sternberg-violinist-homelessness/

Tickets available here

A stunning location plays host to even more amazing music. You’ll experience two masterpiece works, by Mozart and Brahms, that represent the pinnacle of both the Classical and Romantic periods, and the world premier of Dylan Fixmer’s String Quintet no. 1 written for Fingernoise. Fingernoise’s all-star lineup performs both works with its trademark infectious energy, virtuosity, and connection with audience members.

Performer: Fingernoise

Emily Ondracek-Peterson, violin

Sarah Off, violin

Stephanie Mientka, viola

Andrew Krimm, viola

Jake Saunders, cello

Repertoire

Mozart: Quintet in G Minor, K. 516

Fixmer: String Quintet no. 1

Brahms: Quintet in G Major, Op. 111

Students from the Chappelow K8 Advanced Orchestra will premiere the work “Dark Magic” written as a class collaborative effort during a week-long educational outreach program with GPO Composer in Residence Dylan Fixmer.

The performance will take place with the Greeley Philharmonic Orchestra’s final concert of the 21-22 season “Night at the Movies”.

Violin and Cello duo “Old Machines” will play music by Dylan Fixmer at the First Mennonite Church in Denver, CO along with other members of the Mount Blanca Summer Music Conservatory Staff as a fundraiser for music students of the San Luis Valley in southern Colorado.

Now in its 14th year, the Open Space Festival of New Music is a forum for composers and performers to present new works in collaboration with students and faculty of at the University of Northern Colorado. Past festivals featured composers Christian Wolff, Gabriela Ortiz, Alvin Lucier, Kate Soper, and Nicole Mitchell, among others. Guest performers included sound artist Ellen Fullman, Wet Ink, the Callithumpian Consort of the New England Conservatory, and the Jake Schepps Quintet.

The 2022 Festival, directed by Dr. Paul Elwood and Professor Vijay Chalasani, features composer, bandleader, and improvisor Graham Reynolds, "the quintessential modern composer." UNC music faculty and students and the UNCommon Ensemble join to collaborate on 3 evenings of concerts, including "Music for Climate," - contemporary music written about nature and/or climate change featuring Dylan Fixmer’s world premiere of “Wildfire” for piano tio.

Festival is active for the 9th, 10th, and 11th of March! For more information about this festival, or for ticketing information follow the link below!
https://tickets.unco.edu/online/article/music/

Understanding the basic elements of art music (melody, harmony, rhythm, dynamics, tempo, texture, etc.) is an essential part of every musician's education. The ability to manipulate these elements in creative ways can help solidify knowledge of these elements in ways that simply encountering them in repertoire cannot. At the secondary level, directors often lack the time or resources to give their students creative license over materials played in the classroom. This session offers classroom-tested strategies for arranging and composing with secondary level ensembles that focus on engaging all students in the creative process while teaching and reinforcing the knowledge of musical elements.

https://emamo.com/event/2022-colorado-music-educators-association-conference