Philosophy
Music is fun to listen to and fun to perform. Our rehearsals are filled with music, personal stories, and laughter. We think that our concerts should be too. The Ute Pass Chamber Players celebrate music as an integral part of life which brings those who participate either as listeners, performers, or volunteers a sense of community and shared experience.
Mission
Our mission is to provide residents of the Ute Pass region, especially those in rural areas, affordable access to high-caliber, live, classical chamber music and the associated education to make each performance a meaningful and enjoyable experience.
Giving Back to our Community
The Ute Pass Chamber Players play one concert each year to benefit a local nonprofit organization. Our contributions were recognized through our 2016 selections as a 216 Teller County Award winner. In 2018, our gift to our community was a Concerto Festival free and open to the public. It featured three of our founding Board members as soloists supported by an orchestra comprised of 35 professionals from across the Front Range.
Our past beneficiaries includes:
Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 11411 and Auxillary
Woodland Park Senior Citizens Organization
Habitat for Humanity
Mountain Top Cycling Club
Community Cupboard of Teller County
KCME 88.7 Classical Music Radio
Reel Recovery (support for men with cancer)
History
Ute Pass Chamber Players (UPCP) grew out of the dream of several local professional musicians to form a superb chamber music ensemble for the benefit of the Teller County community and to enjoy the camaraderie of like-minded musicians in the performance of a wide variety of chamber music. Momentum was fueled by the enthusiasm of a core group of musicians who played together for the Tweeds Musical Tapestry concerts. These core musicians include Guy Dutra-Silveira (recently retired Principal Oboe of the Colorado Springs Philharmonic), Sally Ann Wilson (Pikes Peak Community College, French Horn), Clark Wilson (former Principal Bassoon of the Colorado Springs Philharmonic), Dina Hollingworth (flute), and Barb Riley-Cunningham (Piano).
Over two dozen musicians have augmented the core group since UPCP’s first concert in 2013, thus establishing its reputation for variety as well as excellence. Our musicians include graduates of such prestigious music conservatories as The Juilliard School, the Cleveland Institute of Music, and The Conservatory of Versailles in France. We have performed over ten seasons full of concerts in an intimate setting, creating a special connection among the musicians and audience. The musicians reflect on the pieces they play, providing a personal and educational link to the music to make the performance meaningful to everyone attending, including those unfamiliar with classical music. Humor, one of our core organizational values, helps breathe life into our performances and strengthens the bond with our audience.
UPCP was established as a nonprofit corporation in 2012, and received designation as a 501(c)3 organization from the IRS in August, 2014. That same year, the Ute Pass Chamber Players received a generous bequest from the estate of Cheryl Lynne Shoemaker, which has allowed us to maintain affordable prices and boosted accessibility to our concerts. In its short life span, UPCP has already made significant contributions to our local community. Outreach to the Woodland Park Senior Organization (WPSO) has included several fundraisers to support Senior wellbeing, as well as frequent mini-concerts for the Senior Center’s monthly music program. We supported the Pikes Peak Community College (PPCC) Music Department with the donation of a new, badly needed baby grand piano for the performance classroom, perform an annual joint recital with the PPCC Music Department faculty, and have participated in music symposia for PPCC music majors.