Inductees Category: Spotlight

John Moriarty served in various leadership roles with the Central City Opera (CCO) for more than three decades, and his successes as a conductor, director, vocal coach and educator at the venerable institution make him more than worthy of induction into Colorado Music Hall of Fame.

But as the supremely gifted singer’s induction into the Colorado Music Hall of Fame indicates, her unplanned move to the state was a lucky break for everyone involved.

Big Head Todd and the Monsters’ story demonstrates how perseverance can lead to triumph. Rather than coasting on the national fame earned during their early recordings for major labels, the group’s members kept working, kept playing and kept inspiring fans one gig at a time for decades. The result is one of the most enduring and remarkable careers in the history of Colorado music.

Cynthia Lawrence is one of the most renowned sopranos in recent opera history thanks to stellar performances opposite many of classical music’s greatest vocal stars in locations as far-flung as Lima, Peru and Martigy, Switzerland.

Keith Miller’s musical journey isn’t simply a unique Colorado story. The path of his career, in which he went from professional football player to major opera star, is one of the most unusual for a creative artist anywhere on the planet.

Central City Opera is one of Colorado’s cultural treasures. So it’s appropriate that its roots can be traced to a gold strike.

Founded by Nick and Helen Forster in 1991, eTown is a live, music-based radio show recorded in front of an audience but with a new twist.

Admirers of George Morrison Sr., of which there are many, feel he is to Denver jazz what Louis Armstrong was to the sound of New Orleans. But while Morrison, appropriately referred to as “Denver’s godfather of Jazz,”

Bill Frisell released a new album, Four, on Blue Note Records, described by the record label as “a stunning 13-track meditation on loss, renewal and friendships.” Four is dedicated to fellow Hall of Famer and good friend, Ron Miles, who passed away earlier this year.

Otis Taylor was born in Chicago in 1948 but grew up in Denver. His parents were both jazz fans. “My dad worked for the railroad and knew a lot of jazz people. He was a socialist and a real bebopper,” Taylor recalls. His mother loved everything from Etta James to Pat Boone. The first instrument Taylor learned to play was the banjo.