When yours truly finds herself at a loss for words, it’s either a sign the world is coming to an end, or she has had a truly memorable experience.
The latter is the case for the San Juan Symphony’s Spring Gala. It was an evening of splendid music and great food, with a few surprises thrown in as well.
For the last several years, the event has been held shortly after the symphony’s final concert of the season, so it serves as a celebration of another fine season as well as a teaser of the season to come. Next year will be even more special than ever because it’s dubbed “The Farewell Season,” Music Director Arthur Post’s finale after 13 years at the baton.
Post said he is planning a reprise of a few favorites from over the years, including Beethoven’s 5th Symphony, Dvorák’s 8th Symphony, a November concert of popular opera arias featuring Gemma Kavanagh and the Durango Choral Society, conducted by Linda Mack Berven, and a grand finale next April with “the best he can do, and he wants to do it here.”
This is a lesson to not spill wine on your notes, because I can’t read what that will be, so it will be a fun and unintended surprise for concertgoers. The SJS is also commissioning a piece for Post’s final concert that it will then own.
Also marking the occasion will be a commissioned piece of art. Paul Folwell will paint Post conducting, and the art will serve as the program art for the season. It will be Post’s farewell gift from his time in Southwest Colorado.
Guests enjoyed a variety of music throughout the evening. In the lobby at the Silverpick Lodge, a quartet consisting of cellist Katherine Jeter, violist Hayley Bair and violinists Tenille Taylor and Bethany Wankett, performed.
As guests moved up to the bar level, they enjoyed performances by several of the San Juan Symphony Youth Orchestra performers, including Nolan Reed, Casey Reed, Mallory Shanks and Oskar Searfus. And then it was time for jazz with dinner. Chad MacCluskey on bass guitar, Bob Newnam on trumpet and Jonathan Latta on drums were joined by special guest bassist Post. He said he hadn’t picked up his bass for three years and had to do some serious practicing over the last couple of months to get up to speed.
I have to rhapsodize about the food – and somehow, bravo, kudos or compliments to the chef don’t seem to cover it. Owner and chef George Mehaffie and his small crew managed to seamlessly plate and serve seven courses of tapas, and each course was beautifully presented. Sometimes, they even had to wash plates between courses, because who has 400 plates?
So, while I seldom mention everyone at a restaurant who work an event, I’m making an exception for a crew that helped make it so memorable: assistant chefs Ki Istre and Matt McKeon; front of house manager Chrissy DoFFermyre, servers Claudia Stone and Brian Claxton and Kaden Fjerstad.
Without further ado, here’s the menu: Alaskan king crab, mango and mint salad with yuzu vinaigrette and ginger aioli; a seared sea scallop with braised pork belly, grilled pineapple, sweet pork crackling, a black pepper gastrique (reduced apple cider vinegar) and radish micro greens (quite possibly one of the most sublime things I have ever tasted); an oven-dried tomato, kalamata olive and goat cheese tart with arugula and aged balsamic vinegar; housemade ricotta and rabbit sausage ravioli with morel mushroom-sherry cream and fresh wild ramps; a duck confit rillette crostini with apricot chutney; boneless beef short ribs with Vidalia onion-applewood-smoked bacon jam, crispy sage polenta and oyster mushroom ragoût; and a sweet touch with chocolate panna cotta served with port wine-glazed cherries and orange-basil sorbet.
The event is a significant fund- raiser for the San Juan Symphony. Several special items were donated for a live auction, with Ron Dunavant of First National Bank of Durango serving as auctioneer. On the block were the 30th anniversary performance of the Arioso Duo, also known as Scott Hagler and Rochelle Mann; the opportunity to conduct “The Star-Spangled Banner” at the October concert; a chance to “sit in the pit,” in other words, with the symphony on stage; a salsa dance party and Mexican dinner donated by Erin Sinberg and Bette Serzen; a wine tasting and brunch at Guy Drew Vineyards in McElmo Canyon southwest of Cortez; and a particularly fine bottle of wine from Stan Crapo at Star Liquors.
Kudos go to the planning committee of Kathy Myrick, executive director of the symphony, Julia Dodd, Sinberg and Serzen. Gisela Lott and Marti Kiely handled the decorations, including simple flowers in Ball jars, with votive candles in tiny Ball jars. The wrought-iron chandeliers at Sow’s Ear were also decorated with garlands of flowers. And last, but far from least, Dr. Bruce Andrea and Andrea Mull donated the wine. Good for the partygoers, not so good for a reporter’s notes!
HHH
Happy birthday for the Geminis out there – Shelley Plomske, Randy Hatcher, Scott Hagler, Will Connelly, Ruth Wagner, Ment Goehring, Monique Morrison, Mary Helen Watkins, Linnea Close, Karen Johnson, June Mason, Shane Benjamin, Mary Lou Hall, Sandra Mapel, Betsy Williams, Robert Anderson, Drew Lewis, Shannon Bassett, Karaline Bassett, Michelle Hendrickson, Kathy Stottlemyer, Deb Barnes, Sloan Mazur, Stanton Gustavson, Ken Jenkins, Benjamin Wiley, Billy Greer, Tracy Kennedy, Tom Maloney, Becky Owen, Avery Begg, Julie Downs, Lina Hoffner, Jen Colomb and Nancy Wynne.
HHH
It’s hard to decide when summer really starts in Durango, despite the day on the calendar that astronomers have declared makes it official. Memorial Day is when it starts feeling like summer, but it’s the Women’s Resource Center’s Men Who Grill event that makes me feel like summer is fully underway.
So it’s a good thing it’s taking place this weekend, because it’s impossible to deny that we’re having summer temperatures. The men (and women) will be marinating, chopping and cooking the rest of the week, and the grills will be lit up bright and early Saturday morning. Gates open at 11 a.m., with serving ending at 2 p.m., at Buckley Park, which should make it a little cooler and more comfortable on what the National Weather Service is predicting will be an 87-degree day.
So far, items that will be on offer include bratwurst, shrimp, baby back pork ribs, brisket with tequila sauce, Arkansas baked beans and frog legs, which will be a first for me. I’ll be continuing my streak of judging – which I’ve done all 11 years – and am always astonished by the amazing food these folks turn out. So that means there’s no getting around those frog’s legs. Many people have used the old canard that they taste like chicken. I guess we’ll see.
The Kirk James Band will provide the soundtrack for the day, and it’s a chance to see half the town.
Tickets are $20 in advance, $25 at the gate, $10 for kids ages 5 to 12 and free for kids younger than 5. They’re available at Backcountry Experience, Maria’s Bookshop, at www.wrcdurango.org and at the WRC, 679 East Second Ave., Suite 6.
This is an important organization in our community, which helps women and girls thrive. And our community thrives when they are able to make a sustainable living and handle other challenges that confront all of us.
See you there.
HHH
All those June brides and grooms are now beginning to celebrate their anniversaries – Darrell and Sonja Smith, Jack and Bert Baker, Gip and Karen Aldrich, Jerry and Jane Maxey, Gary and Jan Scott, Carter and Sue Hampton and Kenny and Michelle Schramko.
HHH
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