Tommy and Hayden: The music of the rock opera Tommy paired with a Hayden Symphony

Date and Time

• Wednesday, May 13, 2026  7:30am - 9:30am

Location

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Details

THE WHO | Tommy
HAYDN | Symphony No. 104 in D major
Get ready for The Who’s Tommy, here in Boulder! It’s paired with a symphony by Hayden.

These 2 masterpieces are presented as part of Boulder’s Mahlerfest, and represent the affinity between two gifted, creative composers who marked their own new beginnings with a ground breaking composition.

For Hayden, it was moving from Hungary to London. For Pete Townshend of the rock group “The Who”, it was his transformative spiritual awakening.

This creative reinventing is the theme of Mahlerfest this year, and the festival highlights Gustave Mahler’s encounter with his own radical change. This concert explores how Hayden, a century before Mahler, and Townshend, almost a century after, also turned their new beginnings into timeless, stunning works of musical composition.

This event is part of MahlerFest, held in Boulder from May 13-17 at various Boulder venues. This year, the 39th MahlerFest, celebrates “Reinvention: Channeling Change into Creativity”. Artistic Director Kenneth Woods (Director of the English Symphony) conducts the outstanding MahlerFest Orchestra, together with superb soloists and extraordinary ensembles.

TOMMY
Ken Woods, Guitars & Vocals
Tony Escueta, Keyboards & Vocals
Sean Flora, Bass & Vocals
Brad Harner, Drums & Vocals

HAYDN | Symphony No. 104 in D major
MahlerFest Chamber Orchestra, Ken Woods, Conductor