Entering a new year provides a time for reflection, and as we begin 2025, I decided to explore the word “Community” in our name. When asked who we serve, I explain that we serve the Fort Lewis College community and the Durango and La Plata County surrounding area community.
On the surface, the community can mean different things to different folks. Communities may include the town where we live, our neighborhood, people we identify with, places we go for support, our workplace, our family and more. For some, community may be a physical location; for others, it may be that community is a feeling we have when we are with people with whom we share common interests.
For the Community Concert Hall, our common interest revolves around providing a gathering place to share experiences in a safe and supportive environment where we can have fun, marvel at amazing feats, attend arts events and experience great music. It is also a place where we celebrate achievement and sometimes a place to remember people in our community. Recent events celebrating community at the Community Concert Hall were the Durango Choral Society’s Holiday Concert; FLC’s Music Department end-of-semester concerts; and Nutcracker performances featuring community dancers, Durango Youth Chorus and Children’s Chorale and Durango’s San Juan Symphony.
Recently, we gathered to honor and remember Duane Smith, a stalwart community member. A leader of both FLC and Durango, Smith expressed his love of our community through his books, lectures and support of FLC students. Opportunities to gather and honor people who are important to us are another way the Community Concert Hall exemplifies community in our name. We have embraced this role in the past, and we will continue to do so.
This winter and spring, the Community Concert Hall hosts more gatherings that allow us to support friends in our community. Performances by 444 Dance; Southwest Civic Winds; San Juan Symphony; FLC choir, band and percussion ensembles; the Durango Celtic Festival; and Music in the Mountains; as well as the Durango Youth Soccer Association Awards; Animas High School Graduation; GOAL Academy Graduation; Durango Chamber of Commerce; and even Community Concert Hall Volunteer Training, help strengthen our sense of community.
At the Community Concert Hall, we hope to add a sense of community when presenting touring artists. Together, we marvel at the athleticism and artistry of the dancers of Ailey 2 Dance Company or Cirque Mechanics Pedal Punk; experience the musical virtuosity of International Guitar Night or Jarabe Mexicano; hear the rock ’n’ roll of Big Head Todd and the Monsters or American Authors; or share the intimacy of a Backstage Concert with Stephen Espaniola and Matt Blake and the sardonic wit of David Sedaris.
We hope you can join the community at any event at the Community Concert Hall at FLC. For tickets and more information, visit Durangoconcerts.com or call 247-7657 (1 to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday).
Charles Leslie is director of the Community Concert Hall at Fort Lewis College.
