Every October, the Pikes Peak region turns up the volume on creativity. Now in its 13th year, Arts Month, orchestrated by the Cultural Office of the Pikes Peak Region, shines a spotlight on the artists, venues, and organizations that make our community a vibrant place to live. This year’s invitation is one we take to heart: experience real art, made for the moment.
That idea is at the core of what an orchestra does. No two performances are ever the same. The music happens once, in the room, shared by everyone who showed up to hear it. As the Colorado Springs Philharmonic celebrates its Centennial Season, we’ve spent a hundred years creating those moments for this community, and this October we have three very different ways to experience the power of live music.
Counterpoint, a new Collaboration: Appalachian Spring
This Arts Month marks the first-ever performance of the Garbee Family Counterpoint, the Philharmonic’s brand-new series created in partnership with Theatreworks. Counterpoint brings orchestral music and the spoken word together on one stage, and its debut is rooted in a story we all share: the American landscape. Led by conductor Aku Sorensen with stage direction by Theatreworks’ Max Shulman, it’s a chance to hear Copland’s beloved Appalachian Spring in a whole new light, and to experience a kind of concert Colorado Springs has never seen before.
Bring the family: The Sunday, October 18 matinee is a Free for Kids performance. Young people ages 7–17 attend free with a full-price adult ticket (up to two kids per adult). Simply request your free kids’ tickets in person at the Ent Center for the Arts box office. Get Tickets
From Our Pops Series: Edward Scissorhands in Concert
There may be no better way to spend Halloween weekend. Tim Burton’s tender, bittersweet tale of an outsider searching for belonging returns to the big screen at the Pikes Peak Center, while the Philharmonic performs Danny Elfman’s shimmering, beautifully tragic score live, conducted by Thomas Wilson.
Live-to-film concerts are a perfect example of art made for the moment. You know the story, but hearing every swell of the strings live from the stage, perfectly in sync with the film, is an experience no streaming service can recreate. Bring a friend, make it a date night, and fall in love with this cult classic all over again.
Get Tickets: Edward Scissorhands
Geared Special for the Littles
Philharmonic Kids: Circus of the Animals
Arts Month is for everyone, and that includes our youngest music lovers. Philharmonic Kids: Circus of the Animals is a concert created just for kids.
For many children, a concert like this is their very first time hearing a live orchestra, and we can’t think of a better way to celebrate Arts Month than by sparking a lifelong love of music.
Learn More: Philharmonic Kids – Circus of the Animals
Can’t Pick Just One? Compose Your Own
If Arts Month leaves you wanting more (and we hope it does), you don’t have to choose just one night. With a Compose Your Own Series, you pick 4 or more concerts at the Pikes Peak Center, mixing and matching Masterworks, Philharmonic Pops, and Holiday performances on the dates that fit your schedule, and you save over single-ticket prices.
Start with Edward Scissorhands, then add the season’s biggest moments: The Nutcracker, Rhapsody in Blue on New Year’s Eve, Star Wars: Return of the Jedi, Beethoven’s Ninth, or any of our Centennial Masterworks. You’ll get the best available seats and a season that’s entirely your own.
- Premium (Seating Levels 1–2): $62 per concert, $73 for movie concerts
- Standard (Seating Levels 3–4): $45 per concert, $49 for movie concerts
Make the Most of Arts Month
The Philharmonic is proud to be one of the many arts organizations celebrating across the region this October. A few ways to join in:
- Explore the full calendar of Arts Month events at artsoctober.com.
- Play Arts Month Digital Bingo. The free Arts Month Digital Bingo Passport from Visit Colorado Springs runs through October 31. Check in at participating arts and cultural stops to earn collectible stickers by local artists and chances to win a Creative Stays getaway. Sign up for the passport.
- Share your experience. Snap a photo in the lobby and tag us @csphilharmonic with #ArtsOctober.
See You in the Hall
One hundred years in, our promise to Colorado Springs hasn’t changed: to bring people together for music that can only happen live, in this room, at this moment. Whether you’re discovering a brand-new kind of concert at Counterpoint, cheering on Edward under the Pikes Peak Center lights, or watching a young listener’s face light up at Phil Kids, we hope you’ll join us this Arts Month and be here when it happens.