Community Partner

Members and their guests are invited to an
Honors Concert
by the Lamont School of Music Summer Academy

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 24
at The Academy, 8081 E. Orchard Road

2:30 Reception – Cookies + Iced Tea or Lemonade
3:00-4:00 Concert

The concert will feature the top chamber ensembles from the Summer Academy, presenting a wide variety of the great classics, including selections from string quartets, piano quintets, musical theater, and wind quintets.

About the Lamont School of Music Summer Academy: A highly regarded pre-college music program serving national and international students talented in instrumental, vocal, piano and composition. The program features private lessons and master classes with University and guest-artist faculty.  The curriculum features choir, orchestra, wind ensemble, chamber ensembles, music theatre, theory, performance, recitals, music technology, modern and world music, conducting and more.

Lamont Academy invites you to join them for their other concerts, free and open to the public. Concert schedule: du.edu/lamont/summeracademy and click on Concert and Master Class Schedule near the bottom of the page.  *Tax deductible contributions to the Summer Academy are welcomed and gratefully acknowledged in all Lamont Academy concert programs. Donations may be made payable to: University of Denver, with notation: Gift for the Lamont Summer Music Academy, and mailed to:  Nancy Cochran, Director, Lamont School of Music, University of Denver, 2344 E. Iliff Ave, Denver, CO 80208.

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It’s time to party!

Join the fun at the free performance by Opera Colorado singers, Thursday, Feb. 27^th, 10:00 to noon at The Academy. The concert will celebrate both the launch of The Academy’s spring semester and the first public performance at The Academy featuring its magnificent grand piano, recently donated by the Westin Hotel Downtown Denver.

In this delightful celebration, Opera Colorado’s corps of young artists will sing highlights from the operatic and musical theater repertoire. Arias and ensemble selections are performed as they would be on stage, but without the use of sets and costumes. The result? An intimate and engaging experience. And it’s all capped with a lively Q&A with the vocalists. No RSVPs are needed for the concert: just show up and enjoy!

And now for the back-story: Except for an amazing instance of serendipity, The Westin’s grand piano might never have made it to The Academy’s stage. The Academy asked Greg Carpenter, Opera Colorado’s director and a longtime Academy programming partner, if he could help them find a piano when they moved to their new Greenwood Village campus last year. “It was fortuitous that at the same time,” he said, “Susan Stiff of The Westin Denver Downtown Hotel approached Opera Colorado to find a home for a grand piano.  Given Opera Colorado’s strong collaborative ties to both The Academy and The Westin Denver Downtown, it was only natural that we act as a facilitator.”

Westin spokesperson Susan Stiff believes that the piano has found a perfect home at The Academy, since it was first purchased for a gala benefiting the arts, when the hotel opened. “The piano donation represents The Westin Denver Downtown’s commitment to the arts that has continued since the hotel’s opening 30 years ago,” she said.

Applauding both “The Westin Denver Downtown’s tremendous support for the arts community of Denver and . . . the educational opportunities The Academy offers residents of the Denver metro area,” Greg also noted that Opera Colorado is “thrilled that the first public performance on the donated piano will be by our own Opera Colorado Young Artists.”

The piano will also greatly enhance The Academy’s many music classes, including The Classical Period in Music, starting Feb. 25. Click on the Registration icon on the top right of our home page for more information on dozens of exciting liberal arts and current-event courses, with start dates staggered from Feb. 25 to mid-April.

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On February 11, 2014 Dr. Huntington Potter, Director of the Anschutz Alzheimer’s Program, discussed the latest findings in the area of Alzheimer’s.

Cutting-edge research spearheaded by Dr. Potter has discovered the same genetic hallmarks in Down syndrome and Alzheimer’s—3 copies of chromosome 21. This cellular mistake triggers a disastrous cycle of plaque-building protein in both groups of patients, though those with Down syndrome start accumulating the protein earlier and Alzheimer’s patients start generating it later. Since 100% of Down patients develop Alzheimer’s-like plaques and tangles in their brains, but only 50% ultimately develop dementia, Dr. Potter’s latest research focuses on whether differences in diet, lifestyle or environment contribute to the Down distinction.

The hope: his work will lead to revolutionary drugs and other therapies for preventing and treating Alzheimer’s disease.

In 2012 Denver was thrilled to be able to lure renowned, award-winning scientist, Huntington Potter, PhD, to the CU Anschutz Medical Campus where he has launched a new clinical care center. His lab studies the mechanism by which Alzheimer’s disease and Down syndrome arise.  They research drugs that could ameliorate or prevent the onset of Alzheimer’s disease.

Previously, Potter studied, researched and taught for 30 years at Harvard. He went on to direct acclaimed Alzheimer’s disease research centers and institutes, where he developed seven new treatments for Alzheimer’s disease in preparation for human trials.  He is the author of more than 100 scientific articles and books, is the holder of 15 U.S. and foreign patents, has sat on scientific advisory and review committees in academia, industry and government, and has received numerous awards for his work.

“Alzheimer’s disease is an immense and increasing problem across the population, and particularly for adults with Down syndrome,” said John J. Sie. “The appointment of Hunt Potter demonstrates that the Crnic Institute is engaged in research that will change the outcome for these individuals.”

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One of the Academy’s most treasured community partners, the Denver Art Museum offers our participants an unparalleled, intimate, insiders’ look at the museum’s newest and permanent exhibits every term.  Board member Joanne Mendes has created several DAM Great Art courses, each with a focus on a different area.  This fall’s Art Sampler at the Denver Art Museum (co-hosted by Dr. Joan Bub) will focus on various parts of the DAM, including the new textile exhibition.  The exhibition, called Spun, is actually a dozen exhibits, all variations on the theme, and it is designed to address a chronic problem at museums: getting visitors to look at their permanent collections. Longtime and first-time fans of this series fill the small class quickly, so register now!

But don’t wait until fall to savor DAM’s current exhibitions. Visit one or all of these great shows—

• Figure to Field: Mark Rothko in the 1940s
• Passport to Paris, “bringing together the rock stars of the art world”—Monet, Degas Pissaro, Toulouse-Lautrec and other masters from more than three centuries of French art
• Spun: Adventures in Textiles, featuring historic and contemporary textiles from an array of cultures

You’ll also want to explore one of the DAM’s best-kept secrets, the Wednesday and Friday Nooner Tour series, available with your general admission ticket. Each tour, from 12:00 to 12:30, focuses on a tempting appetizer from the museum’s 5-star menu of art collections. For upcoming topics in the series, go to the Denver Art Museum’s website.

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