Last weekend the Department heads of Utah Symphony | Utah Opera hosted a company picnic in Sugar house.  The food was fantastic, and the cooks were entertaining with costumes to boot to entertain the summer theme.  It was a nice break as we are still working hard to get the summer season at Deer Valley prepared and ready to go!  There was great socializing that ended in a water fight breaking apart the various conversations, and games of croquet that had begun.

Kirsten Brochinsky headed up a food drive as a competition between the company at Abravanel Hall and the Production Studios.  It was a race to the finish, and Kirsten even collected a few more items at the picnic itself but Production Studios had them beat by over one thousand ounces as the winners were announced after lunch.  The prizes were bubbles and small water guns for everyone at the winning building which were used in abundance during the water fight.  The afternoon was great fun!

Pictures can be found http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=23046&id=6381784924

Looking for something to do in Salt Lake, Park City, or Provo for the Fourth of July holiday this summer? Treat yourself to one of the Utah Symphony’s patriotic performances!

Each summer, the Utah Symphony travels throughout Salt Lake, Summit, and Utah Counties to present patriotic music in local communities. Bring your family and patriotic spirit as the orchestra performs all your red, white, and blue favorites from Sousa Marches to Film music.

Deer Valley Patriotic Celebrations

Utah Symphony Patriotic Celebration in Deer Valley
July 4 - 7:30 PM
Our annual July 4th celebration of all things America at the Deer Valley Resort.
Buy tickets online

1812 Overture!
July 19 - 7:30 PM
This year’s Deer Valley Music Festival will start with a bang!
Buy tickets online

New World Symphony
August 1 - 7:30 PM
Time for Three joins the Utah Symphony and conductor Keith Lockhart for a patriotic evening.
Buy tickets online

Utah County Patriotic Celebrations

Utah Symphony Patriotic Celebration in Sundance
July 5 - 8:00 PM
Buy tickets online

Patriotic Celebrations Sponsored by Salt Lake County Zoo, Arts, and Parks

To thank Salt Lake County voters for their support of the arts through the Zoo, Arts, and Parks program, the Utah Symphony presents free concerts in local communities each summer. Other than the Abravanel Hall concert, tickets are not required for these performances.

Utah Symphony Patriotic Celebration in Taylorsville
June 30 - 8:00 PM
Valley Regional Park
5100 South 2700 West in Taylorsville

Utah Symphony Patriotic Celebration in West Valley
July 1 - 8:30 PM
Utah Cultural Celebration Center
1355 West 3100 South in West Valley City

March with the Utah Symphony at Abravanel Hall
July 9 - 8:00 PM
Abravanel Hall
123 West South Temple in Salt Lake City

March with the Utah Symphony in Sandy
July 16 - 8:00 PM
Sandy City Amphitheater
1245 East 9400 South in Sandy

A short video featuring an interesting tour of our costume shop has been added to the Utah Opera Rentals website. You can view the video by visiting the About the Utah Opera Costume Shop page.

The video was written, filmed, and directed by Jimmy Martin, USUO’s Grant Writer, and was narrated by Rose Brown, our costume shop director. It was first presented to our season subscribers during the 2008-2009 Utah Opera sneak preview and was a hit with all our Opera fans. Jimmy, Rose, and the entire costume shop did a great job in putting this video together.

If you didn’t see Sunday’s Tribune article entitled “Piano prodigies prepare for elite competition” you can find it at SLTrib.com. And we are pleased to note that both of the two Utah pianists selected to participate in the Junior (Weiyi Le) and Young Artist (Song Choi) Gina Bachauer International Piano Competition are members of the Utah Symphony Youth Guild. 

You’ll enjoy reading the Tribune article and we hope you will take advantage of this splendid opportunity to hear some of the competition in the next two weeks.  Scheduling information can be found in the article or at the Bachauer website at http://www.bachauer.com/.

Good luck to Weiyi and Song!

USUO’s regular 2007-2008 season is over and it’s time to start thinking about which concerts you’d like to attend during our 2008-2009 season. If you’re not a full-season subscriber (which you really should consider becoming - it’s the best way to get the most our of our seasons), the next best alternative is to become a Design-A-Series subscriber.

Becoming a Design-A-Series subscriber is easy - all you need to do is order tickets to four or more Utah Symphony or Utah Opera performances at one time. As a Design-A-Series subscriber, you get most of the perks that come with being a full season subscriber, including a free subscription to TEMPO magazine, our Subscriber Advantages Card, and a great discount - 20% off single ticket prices!

The highlights of the upcoming season include:

• Utah Opera’s production of audience-favorite Madame Butterfly.
• Keith Lockhart’s finale concert as the Utah Symphony’s Music Director (featuring Bernstein’s Mass).
• Memorable performances from Garrick Ohlsson, Natalie Clein, Peter Serkin, Viviane Hagner, and more.
• Exciting guest conductors, including Marvin Hamlisch, Hannu Lintu, Theirry Fischer, and Thomas Wilkins.

To become a Design-A-Series subscriber, decide which concerts you’d like to attend next season and call the ticket office at 801.533.6683. You can learn more about the USUO subscriber program by visting myUSUO.org.

Hi!

I’m Larry Zalkind, Principal Trombonist of the Utah Symphony, and on Friday and Saturday nights, May 30th and 31st, I’ll be performing the Trombone Concerto by award winning American composer Christopher Rouse with the Utah Symphony and Joseph Silverstein (former Utah Symphony Music Director, 1983 - 1998).

The Rouse Concerto is considered the most significant piece of music ever written for the trombone, and its demands and musical depth take trombone playing to a new and exciting level. In 1993 the Rouse Trombone Concerto was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Music, one of the most prestigious prizes in the field of music.

This concerto was commissioned by the New York Philharmonic to help celebrate the 150th anniversary of the orchestra and was to be premiered by its own world renowned Principal Trombonist, Joseph Alessi. At the time Rouse was told Leonard Bernstein would conduct the premiere, but as Rouse began composing this piece in 1990, Bernstein passed away. With Rouse’s deep connection to Bernstein and the timing of his death, Rouse decided to dedicate the concerto to the memory of Bernstein.

The premiere of the Rouse Trombone Concerto took place in December of 1992, with Leonard Slatkin conducting Alessi and the New York Philharmonic in Avery Fisher Hall. While references to Bernstein are apparent throughout the concerto, the most powerful reference comes at the very end, with a direct quote of the beautiful theme from Bernstein’s Symphony number 3, the Kaddish Symphony.

Bernstein composed the Kaddish Symphony in 1963 after the assassination of John F. Kennedy. The Kaddish is a Jewish prayer, mostly recited in memory of the dead, and Bernstein wrote his Kaddish melody to express his profound grief at Kennedy’s untimely passing. Rouse, in turn uses the same poignant and beautiful prayer melody at the end of his Trombone Concerto to eulogize Bernstein.

After the premiere, conductor Leonard Slatkin was quoted as saying the second movement of this concerto is the most difficult piece he had conducted. Because of its difficulty, the concerto is rarely performed. Along with putting unprecedented technical demands on the soloist, he places the same level of demand on the players in the orchestra, showcasing the musicians in solo roles, and in interesting combinations with the solo trombone.

Don’t miss this exciting musical event, featuring the Trombone Concerto by Christopher Rouse, with the Utah Symphony, under the direction of Maestro Joseph Silverstein.

I hope to see you at this weekend’s concert - our 2007-2008 season finale!

When Larry Meets Joey
May 30 & 31 (Fri. & Sat.) @ 8:00 PM
Abravanel Hall
Concert Details

Last night I went to a special concert, FREE for children with Autism and their families, featuring the Utah Opera Ensemble Artists as they performed favorite Opera scenes with the Utah Symphony.  

They had a light dinner right of snackables and chips right before the concert.  It was delightful to see the children flood in snatching up the brilliant idea of enclosed peanut butter and jelly sandwhiches.  There were smiles all around on the kids faces on the choice of catering.

The concert was only 45 minutes, a perfect length for them AND me, consisting of upbeat songs in which the audience would burst out clapping along with the beat as well as highly entertaining opera numbers full of choreography and costumes!  Looking around I watched the children moving around to the music, dancing in the isles, and quite a few even leading the musicians from their own seats and doing quite a remarkable job!

It was also quite impressive to see the Symphony performing on the set that is up for the current Opera, Don Giovanni. The stage is at a slant and so all the musicians were performing crooked, as it were, compared to a normal flat stage.  It was a beautiful set and ambiance for the whole concert.

A couple parents wrote of the concert:

Dear Ms. Fowler, Staff, Musicans, and Singers:

I just wanted to thank all of you for the free performance tonight for children with autism and their families.  This was a wonderful experience that we could have not enjoyed otherwise.  It was so comforting to be able to enjoy the performance with other families in our situation and not have to worry if our son moved around in his seat too much or talked to loudly.  My son, age 11, has always loved listen to classical music, but this was his first time actually seeing it performed.  The look on his face was priceless….even though he is non-verbal, his expression clearly said, “OH, that’s how they make this music”.  I saw so many children clapping and dancing to the music…..it was heartwarming.  So, thank you, thank you, thank you for giving these children (and their families) the opportunity to experience something fun and new.

Debbie Joplin
South Jordan, UT

I just wanted to thank you and everyone involved with the orginizing and perfect performance last night at Capitol Theatre. Me and my two kids had a wonderful time and from the way all those great kids around us were acting I could tell they were having fun as well. So THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!Trevor Saiz

It is wonderful to be a part of an organization that provides children of all ages and their families such an opportunity to catch the fever of the Utah Opera or Utah Symphony when they might not be able to otherwise. 

To support programs like these or catch the fever of Utah Symphony | Utah Opera go to www.utahsymphonyopera.org

Utah Symphony | Utah Opera’s Vivace group, a funkified bunch of 20,30,40 somethings – single/partnered/married – who just happen to get their groove on to classical music and opera, was awarded a Best of Utah Award by City Weekly! Basically this means that as we all already knew, Vivace is the coolest thing ever since sliced bread. Specifically, Vivace was awarded with “Best Classical Night on a PBR budget.” If you’re acronym challenged like myself, let me elaborate. No, it’s not a typo for PB&J, but it means essentially the same thing. PBR is Pabst Blue Ribbon beer that apparently tastes really good but has a low impact on the budget. Sounds just like Vivace: intoxicating, leads to a great time, sounds great (i.e. tastes good), and is CHEAP.Check out the story at: http://www.slweekly.com/

How will Vivace celebrate the illustrious award? By doing what we do best – partying it up big time at our next event: Mozart’s Don Giovanni. Click here for info on the next event: www.usuo.org/vivace

Hello! My name is Tad Calcara, principal clarinet of the Utah Symphony. This week I will be hosting the Utah Symphony’s program of classic Big Band Swing music. Swing music was the popular music of the 1930s and 1940s. It is an energetic Jazz-based dance music that became hugely popular in the mid 1930s during Roosevelt’s New Deal. It also served as a soundtrack during WWII. One would hear swing music everywhere at the time - on the radio, in the movies, at the store, at school, etc….

The leaders of the Big Bands were quite literally household names at the time: Benny Goodman, Duke Ellington, Tommy Dorsey, Glenn Miller, Artie Shaw. These musicians were as famous as Elvis was in the 1950s or the Beatles in the 1960s. They were also amazing instrumentalist on each of their instruments. Arguments would occur when discussing who played clarinet better - Artie Shaw or Benny Goodman; or who was a hotter trumpet man: Harry James or Louis Armstrong?

An interesting phenomenon about this style of music is its appeal to other generations. The reason for this is quite simple - it has an irresistible lively youthfulness that is quite exciting - even if you were born 20, 40, or 50 years after the Swing Era! This is teenager music from the 1930s.

It is one thing to hear this music from recordings - but to really get the full experience you must hear it LIVE! There is nothing quite like seeing and hearing a Big Band in person. My band, the New Deal Swing, will be enhanced and enlarged by the full Utah Symphony. In addition we have spent countless hours researching archives and digging through music to locate the original arrangements played by the famous bands 70 years ago. Every piece on the concert is taken from the original manuscripts - no re-creations here!

Our program will also feature Jazz vocalist Melissa Pace Tanner as well as the Salt Lake Jitterbug Club. It is important to note that Swing music was first and foremost - dance music - and the Salt Lake Jitterbug Club has all of the moves down! Check out their period costumes also; everything from two tone shoes to zoot suits! In addition one should not forget that Swing Music was also a vocal music that featured many great singers. In fact many famous vocalist began their careers with the Big Bands; Doris Day (Les Brown), Peggy Lee (Benny Goodman), Ella Fitzgearld (Chick Webb), Billie Holiday (Artie Shaw), Tony Bennett and a skinny kid from Jersey - Frank Sinatra - sang with both Harry James and Tommy Dorsey.

In addition many Utah Symphony musicians will featured as soloists; principal trombone Larry “Slide” Zalkind will dazzle you with Tommy Dorsey’s Trombonology; Tony DiLorenzo will play some “smokin’” trumpet solos; and retired Utah Symphony principal bassoon Doug “Cap’n” Craig will return to Abravenel Hall on alto sax!

So Swing into Spring with the New Deal Swing Band and the Utah Symphony this Friday or Saturday at Abravanel Hall.

Tad Calcara & New Deal Swing
Utah Symphony Pops
May 2 & 3 (Fri & Sat) @ 8:00 PM
Learn more >>

Today’s gossip rags highlight celebrity romances of “Bennifer” or “Brangelina,” but if you were alive during the mid to late 1800s, Johannes Brahms and Clara Schumann (”Jolara,” perhaps?) might have graced the cover of the National Enquirer.

Clara, a respected pianist during the Romantic era, was the wife of composer Robert Schumann. When her husband attempted suicide and later died, it was Robert’s good friend Johannes Brahms who provided comfort and support to Clara and her family.

A close relationship between Brahms and Clara developed and became the source of speculation and gossip. But, to the deep dismay of Brahms, the relationship never advanced past that phrase that smitten men dread hearing - “just friends.”

It was at this time that Brahms composed his first piano concerto. This concerto, which Horacio Gutiérrez will perform with the Utah Symphony this weekend, reflects this stormy period in Brahms’s life.

Brahms Piano Concerto
Keith Lockhart, conductor
Horacio Gutiérrez, piano
Music Exposed: Thursday, April 17 @ 7:00 PM - More Details
Classical: Fri & Sat, April 18 & 19 @ 8:00 PM - More Details