Currents & Crescendos

Water has rhythm. It rushes, ripples, tumbles, and sings — inspiring composers for generations. Currents & Crescendos explores music shaped by the movement and mystery of rivers, streams, fountains, and flowing waters. This program invites guests to listen for the musical qualities of water: the gentle shimmer of a quiet stream, the playful sparkle of a fountain, the steady pulse of a river, and the dramatic force of water in motion.

Through carefully selected works, participants will discover how composers use melody, tempo, texture, and tone to evoke water’s many moods.

Whether peaceful and reflective or bold and sweeping, water-inspired music reminds us of nature’s power to calm, energize, and connect us. Like waterways themselves, the music in this program carries us from one feeling to the next — sometimes quietly, sometimes with grandeur.

Join us for an immersive listening experience that celebrates the beauty, motion, and music of water in the natural world.

About the Speaker: A native of Los Angeles, Marc Shulgold was a music journalist at the Los Angeles Times, and for the Rocky Mountain News. He taught music history at the University of Denver's adult enrichment program for over 20 years and is a contributor to Opera Magazine among other publications. Marc is a program annotator for University of Colorado concerts and a longtime speaker at the Vail summertime music festival.