Colorado Symphony has historic run in New York City on Grammy weekend
The Colorado Symphony is having a historic weekend in New York City, performing three sold‑out concerts across two of the nation's most iconic venues.
The tour opened with two shows at Radio City Music Hall alongside Colorado singer‑songwriter Gregory Alan Isakov, before culminating in a highly anticipated performance at Carnegie Hall with 16‑time Grammy‑winning violinist Itzhak Perlman.
For principal oboist Peter Cooper, his return to Carnegie Hall represents a personal and professional landmark. Cooper previously performed there with the San Francisco Symphony early in his career and said he never expected to stand on the famed stage again.
"33 years later (…) going back is an incredible thrill for me," Cooper said in an interview with CBS News Colorado before the tour. "This orchestra has never played in a hall with absolute world-class acoustics, so we're very excited about that."
Cooper said performing with Perlman, one of the most celebrated violinists of all time, brings an added sense of meaning.
"The idea of performing with Itzhak Perlman is such a thrill. Sharing the stage with him is just an amazing honor," he said.
The Carnegie Hall performance featured works showcasing Perlman's reach, including the theme from Schindler's List, which he originally recorded for the Oscar‑winning film. The Symphony also performed the New York premiere of John Adams' Frenzy, followed by Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition conducted by Colorado Symphony music director Peter Oundjian.
Oundjian, whose international career has taken him to major musical centers around the world, said the New York tour carried special meaning for both the orchestra and the community it represents.
"This is like a grand slam in tennis, or something like that, you know, the Super Bowl," Oundjian said. "Every performance we care about deeply (…) but yeah, (this is) a little bit different."
Ahead of the tour, Oundjian described the trip as "history in the making," noting that the Symphony would perform for nearly 15,000 people in less than two days. He also emphasized what the moment reflects about the arts in Colorado.
"In the early 2000s, when I first came here, a lot of people would apologize for Denver not really being a city of culture," he said. "I've always felt like, let's not apologize and say that this is a cow town (…) that's absolutely not true any longer. I think it's our responsibility as an orchestra to try to be as excellent as we can possibly be."
For the musicians, that message now echoes from two of the world's most prestigious stages and signals a defining chapter in the Colorado Symphony's history.
"The Colorado Symphony really has become a world-class orchestra," said Cooper.
