Andres Cladera may have seemed an odd choice to be the new music school director at Swallow Hill Music. After all, what can an opera singer and conductor bring to a school known for its folk music?
Executive director Tom Scharf felt Cladera was an unusual pick for the job at the time, but sixth months later, Cladera is maybe one of the main reasons Scharf feels he can step down.
It’s a time of transition for the school and concert facility that has been a staple of the Denver music scene for the past 35 years. As Cladera gets his feet wet and expands the outreach of the music school, Scharf leaves his post after seven years and 400 percent growth during his tenure. But Scharf knows he’s leaving matters in good hands.
“This guy has more enthusiasm and ideas — I have to urge him to pace himself,” Scharf said of Cladera. “But his ideas are really fresh.”
Marketing director Gwen Burak will serve as interim director after Scharf leaves at the end of the month. He said he doesn’t have any specific plans but just needed a break after seven years of long hours and wants to spend more time with his family. A national search is underway for a new executive director; Burak hopes to have a replacement named within six months.
One of the biggest things that Scharf started was an outreach program that got educators out of the building and into schools and other places to recruit younger students. About 75 percent of Swallow Hills’s current students are adults, but that number used to be around 90 percent, Scharf said.
Swallow Hill is also expanding its curriculum and opened a second facility in Lowry earlier this year. Swallow Hill has always been known for folk music and specializing in guitar, banjo, fiddle and percussion, but that is also changing.
While those courses are still being offered, there is more diversity and more opportunities to study folk music from other countries.
“What’s great about (Cladera) is he’s bringing in the idea of diversifying music,” said Casey Cormier, who has been teaching ukulele at Swallow Hill for the past year and a half.
Cladera came to Colorado from Uruguay by way of Pittsburgh. He studied at Carnegie Mellon University and specializes in contemporary opera conducting. However, he’s always had a love of folk music and of bringing the joy of music to others.
“I would say he came with a very different background, and I think that brought a different leadership style,” said Cheri Gonzales, associate music school director at Swallow Hill. “He is very development oriented.”
Most classes at Swallow Hill are eight weeks long and wrap up with a performance. Different levels are available based on ability, and private instruction is also an option. The school is now coordinating more with the concert hall and guest artists are doing more and more clinics that are available to students.
Cladera is also expanding outreach. Instead of just going to schools, representatives from Swallow Hill are going to places like senior homes, reaching out to the gay, lesbian and transgender community and doing weekly classes at Brent’s Place in Aurora.
“Mostly the outreach was focused on public schools and assemblies, but I really felt there were other partnerships we could pursue,” Cladera said.
Brent’s Place is a home for children living with cancer who aren’t able to get out and go to school.
“It’s amazing that they want to do outreach,” said Becky Selig, program coordinator for Brent’s Place. “Our kids can’t attend school, so it’s great for them to have that opportunity.”
Joe Vaccarelli: 303-954-2396, jvaccarelli@denverpost.com or twitter.com/joe_vacc
