FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Denver’s Sphere Ensemble Celebrates 15th Anniversary With Mozart, Lady Gaga, Otis Redding—and a Community Outreach Concert
DENVER, CO — September 2, 2026 — What do Mozart, Lady Gaga, Josef Suk and Otis Redding have in common? For Denver’s Sphere Ensemble, the answer is youth, experimentation, fearlessness and a willingness to break the rules.
The 14-member professional string ensemble launches its 15th anniversary 2026–2027 season with “Forever Young,” a program that places music written by composers early in their careers alongside Sphere’s rhythmically driven, genre-crossing arrangements of contemporary pop and soul.
The concert will be presented Friday, October 2, at First Universalist Church of Denver and Saturday, October 3, at Stewart Auditorium at the Longmont Museum.
At the center of the program is Czech composer Josef Suk’s lush Serenade for Strings, written when he was just 18 years old. Sphere pairs Suk’s youthful masterpiece with early works by Mozart, Schubert, Mendelssohn and Brahms, as well as music by contemporary composer and child prodigy Alma Deutscher. The ensemble then turns toward the popular music that has become a hallmark of its programming, performing custom string arrangements of music by pop icon Lady Gaga, soul legend Otis Redding, and folk hero Bob Dylan.
For Sphere, the juxtaposition reveals a common thread between seemingly different musical worlds: young artists taking risks, finding their voices and pushing against expectations.
Bringing Music Beyond the Concert Hall
Sphere’s mission extends beyond its public performances. Through its Orbit: Sphere in the Community community engagement program, the ensemble goes directly into Colorado communities that may face barriers to accessing traditional concert venues by partnering with service organizations.
Sphere has performed for and partnered with organizations serving youth, people experiencing homelessness, patients and families, older adults and other community members, including Gilliam Youth Services Center, Stout Street Recuperative Care Center, The Gathering Place, Metro Caring, Children’s Hospital Colorado, the University of Colorado Hospital, Rainbow Alley at The Center on Colfax, El Sistema Colorado and schools and care facilities throughout the state.
In October 2026, Sphere will perform at Sage Ridge Supportive Residential Community, part of the Colorado Coalition for the Homeless. Located on a 560-acre campus in Arapahoe County, Sage Ridge provides supportive residential services for people experiencing homelessness who are seeking addiction-recovery support. Residents have access to transitional housing, healthcare, case management, vocational services and peer support.
For Sphere, performing in communities such as Sage Ridge is not separate from its artistic mission—it is an essential part of it. The ensemble aims to make the experience of live music available not only to people who can attend a concert hall, but also to people whose circumstances, health, housing situation or other barriers may make traditional concert attendance difficult. “We believe live music can create connection in places where people may not expect to find it,” says Jesse Werner, Sphere Ensemble’s Creative Director. “Our Orbit community performances allow us to share the same energy, artistry and human connection that we bring to our concert stages with people throughout Colorado.”
Sphere’s community work also reflects the ensemble’s broader approach to classical music: rather than treating the repertoire as something confined to a particular venue or audience, Sphere uses the string ensemble as a vehicle for connection across generations, backgrounds, and musical tastes.
CONCERT SCHEDULE & LOGISTICS
DENVER PERFORMANCE
Friday, October 2, 2026 | 7:30 p.m.
First Universalist Church of Denver
4101 E. Hampden Ave., Denver, CO 80222
LONGMONT PERFORMANCE
Saturday, October 3, 2026 | 7:30 p.m.
Stewart Auditorium, Longmont Museum
400 Quail Rd., Longmont, CO 80501
TICKETS & RESERVATIONS
Tickets are available online through sphereensemble.org. Ticketing is powered by Humanitix, with 100% of booking fees donated to nonprofits that fund education equity and poverty alleviation.
ABOUT SPHERE ENSEMBLE
Founded in Denver, Colorado, Sphere Ensemble is an innovative 14-member professional string ensemble dedicated to expanding the possibilities of string music. Through professional custom arrangements spanning classical repertoire, rock, pop, hip-hop and soul, Sphere creates vibrant acoustic performances that connect diverse audiences with music in unexpected ways.
In addition to its concert series, Sphere’s Orbit: Sphere in the Community program brings live music directly to schools, healthcare facilities, supportive housing communities, youth organizations and other community settings throughout Colorado. Now entering its 15th anniversary season, Sphere continues to challenge traditional ideas about what a string ensemble can sound like, where it can perform and who gets to experience it.
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Media Contact:
Jesse Werner, Creative Director, Sphere Ensemble
jesse@sphereensemble.org
www.sphereensemble.org