Arapahoe Philharmonic

Background Statement

Founded by late conductor T. Gordon Parks, the Arapahoe Philharmonic (or “AP”) has been a pillar of the South Metro Denver arts community since 1953. Our second music director, Vincent C. LaGuardia, Jr., led the ensemble from 1993 until his passing in 2012. Our third music director in 69 years, Devin Patrick Hughes, was appointed to the position in 2013 and has brought a renewed focus on artistic excellence and innovation to the organization.

The AP is dedicated to presenting high-quality, engaging, accessible symphonic performances and music education to our diverse community. The orchestra provides a musical home to grow and develop amateur musicians, music educators, and pre-professional musicians and offers compensated performance opportunities for professional musicians in our community. This model ensures high-quality performances while providing development for our volunteers and income opportunities and experience for our musicians in leadership positions. Repertoire includes works by the greatest names in classical music spanning all eras, including recent works from diverse composers.

The AP is committed to educating and fostering the next generation of classical music lovers by presenting the annual Children’s Discovery Concert and sending musicians into schools to give extra coaching to band and orchestra students.

In 2019, we launched a music therapy-inspired program for individuals with dementia residing in memory care facilities. A professional string trio from the AP undertook this initiative together with a licensed music therapist. During the pandemic, to reach a more diverse group of seniors safely, we modified this program by sending instrumental duos out to all sorts of senior living facilities focusing on subsidized housing.