Despite the COVID-19 pandemic throwing the arts and entertainment sector into chaos, with performances on hold for the near future and the finances suffering, the Longmont Symphony Orchestra’s annual Super Conductor Contest has declared a winner.
Candidates Craig Mansanares, Denise Kloster and Tim O’Neill competed over the course of multiple months to raise more money than each other, all for the sake of the symphony. Collectively they raised more than $10,000, with Mansanares leading the charge.
The Super Conductor Contest goes back to 1988, with the first three prominent community members selected to raise funds and compete to conduct a piece for the symphony. Normally the contest begins in February and ends with the winner conducting a piece at the symphony’s May pops concert. With the COVID-19 pandemic postponing performances, where much of the “voting” occurs as patrons drop their dollars in one of the three candidates’ buckets, the fundraiser was extended through July 31.
The contest has historically brought in anywhere from $8,000 to $30,000, but given the economic strife associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, Carol Minelli, the symphony’s board president, said she was “thrilled” the contest raised as much as it did.
Around 50% of the symphony’s budget comes from ticket sales, and with in-person concerts postponed for an indeterminate length of time, donations have become crucial. There are only a few paid staff at the symphony, though Minelli noted that before COVID-19 hit, the staff and board were looking into ways to expand their pay for musicians, many of whom still perform on a volunteer basis. The board is exploring how to continue this goal amidst what will be a “new normal” during and after the pandemic.
Mansanares credits much of his fundraising success to former bandmates from Monte Vista High School, in southern Colorado, who picked up on his Facebook campaign and helped share it to other alumni and friends.
“It just kind of all came together,” Mansanares said. “I’m humbled and proud to be part of this, to help (the symphony) raise money so they can continue to do the things they do in the community.”
Many folks recognize Mansanares as a former school resource officer, or SRO, for Skyline High School. He started as one of Skyline’s first SROs in the 1990s in a then-new program that sought to respond to increased need for more resources in the community.
Mansanares considered the program and his work in it to be progressive and multi-dimensional, beyond traditional policing. He said he focused on developing relationships and trust with students and the community to “lower the threshold of silence” and build a more welcoming, safe learning environment. He also helped start a student police academy, which included a civics class on rights and responsibilities that grew to enroll over 150 seniors at one point. After 18 years at Skyline, Mansanares transitioned back into detective work for the Longmont Police Department in 2014.
“Skyline was a big part of me, and I was a big part of Skyline,” Mansanares said.
In a way, winning the fundraising contest brought Mansanares full circle. In his senior year of high school, his band director Gary Gaston gave him the opportunity to set down the saxophone and conduct his bandmates for their last concert. A few of Masanares’ bandmates dedicated their donations to the contest in memory of Gaston, who was well known throughout the state and region’s school band community before he passed away in 2015.
It also remains unclear when the symphony will be able to complete the contest with a concert, and properly close that circle of Mansanares’ life, but that doesn’t bother him too much.
“The whole reason for this was to raise money for the symphony," he said. “If I never get to conduct, I’m still satisfied that I was able to help.”
The symphony started a separate fundraising campaign in July, seeking to raise $90,000 over the course of 90 days to help weather the pandemic’s financial impact. As of this publication, which is occurring about halfway through the fundraising timeline, just over $39,000 has been raised.
