The curtains part. Ballerinas pirouette and jeté across the stage. The orchestra fades in with sighing violins and whispering flutes. Gradually all the instruments pool in until they crescendo with the trumpet’s calling, TAH TEE-TEE-TEE-TEE TAH-TEE TAH-TUM. The “Nutcracker” ballet has begun!
“It’s almost one of the most popular things we’re involved in,” says Dr. Thomas Heuser, Music Director and conductor of the San Juan Symphony. He is referring to the orchestra’s longstanding collaboration with the State Street Ballet of Santa Barbara. “There’s that ‘on-repeat’ tradition phenomenon. Every year the kids dress up. Every year we go to the ‘Nutcracker.’”
Formed in 1985 through a merger of two regional symphonies, the San Juan Symphony (SJS) has consistently amplified and intensified the musicality of life in the Four Corners, adding some especially auditory ornaments to the holiday season.
Having absorbed 3rd Avenue Arts a few years back, SJS added a new wing of musical community events to its calendar, including The Majesty of Christmas performance at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church.
“That is an opportunity to have Christmas-themed music that is still sacred in nature, rather than ‘Frosty the Snowman’ or ‘Jingle Bells,’” Heuser explains. “We do try to spice it up if you will with a Hannukah selection or from some other religion so that there is that representation.”
Quite miraculously, the SJS pulls together 50-70 musicians from across the region, and with only two rehearsals, produces musical perfection at every performance. Heuser credits the musicians, all professional players, who practice their parts independently at home for weeks. Through its youth symphony and community education programs, the SJS imparts this zeal and dedication as learned skills to both the next generation and today’s adults. In sum, the SJS is a nonprofit arts and culture gem that puts Durango and Farmington on par with cosmopolitan capitols like New York, Chicago, and Berlin.
The symphony goes bounding into 2025 with a Debussy recital in January. And finally, February’s concert, which Heuser describes as, “[O]ne of the most exciting projects I’ve been involved in in my entire career!”
Dubbed as “What Music Is,” the performance weds the symphony with musical innovator Bill Barclay, creating an orchestral and multimedia rodeo of projections, animations, and narration all united to reveal the scientific nature of harmonics, why we people receive and perceive music the way we do, and why we need music.
“We’re the world premier orchestra!” Heuser beams, explaining that Durango and Farmington residents will experience Barclay’s work before denizens of San Francisco, London, and beyond! For this and all other shows, ticket-holders can attend Heuser’s pre-show lectures to dive deeper into the backstories of the composers and their music.
That such an odd mix of sensations can be yoked harmoniously into a singular experience may seem like an impossible feat, but for Heuser, unification is one of music’s superpowers. He says, “Music is this unifying, spiritual force for all of us. As we all move indoors as it gets darker and colder, there’s a reality to the warming up of our lives with music.”
Ultimately, the human existence is inherently musical. “There’s a life cadence,” Heuser points out. Seasonal cycles create a steady drum beat into which people braid the melodies of birthdays, anniversaries, and cherished holiday traditions. And with year-round musical enrichment, the SJS may well be the local metronome—the pulse at the heart of local life.
“…there’s a reality to the warming up of our lives with music.”