History
Named one of the top five chamber groups in Colorado by the Denver Post, the Colorado Chamber Players celebrates its 31st Season in 2024-2025. The ensemble performed at the Denver Center for the Performing Arts in May 2023 with The Falcon: Music of Flight.
The ensemble has received numerous awards, including the prestigious Chamber Music America Residency Awards (2000 and 2008). The CCP has received awards from the Argosy Foundation, Denver Mayor’s Fund, Colorado Creative Industries, National Endowment for the Arts, National Endowment for the Humanities, Energize Colorado, Xcel Energy Foundation, and the Scientific and Cultural Facilities District (SCFD).
The CCP has a core of string quartet, double bass, piano, harp, clarinet and flute. In 2017, CCP added harpsichord, viola d’amore, baroque violin, lute and gamba to their core players. Favorite guest artists have included cellists Lynn Harrell and David Geber, clarinetist Derek Bermel, guitarist Sharon Isbin, violists Jesse Levine, Patricia McCarty and Roger Tapping, and pianist Jeffrey Kahane.
Critic Marc Shulgold wrote of a performance with Lynn Harrell in 2018 (from thescen3.org):
“From the hushed opening chords, growing majestically out of silence, the ensemble played as if with a single voice, the two cellos and then two violins soaring exquisitely through the First Movement’s unforgettable theme. The gorgeous Adagio unfolded with a wisely chosen tempo – not too fast, but just slow enough to maintain momentum and keep our focus on the subtly emerging melody. The final two movements bubbled with confidence, each of the numerous transitions managed with solid control. No surprise that the audience, clearly engaged in Schubert’s heavenly music, barely made a peep during the performance.”