Utah Symphony - Sara Neal

SALT LAKE CITY – Throughout the month of May, Utah Symphony | Utah Opera (USUO) will again collaborate with the Alzheimer’s Association Utah Chapter for “Making Sense of Alzheimer’s Month,” providing those afflicted with Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias with more access to classical music.

Several recent studies have continued to assert the positive effect that music therapy can have, specifically, on those living with AD and related dementias. USUO and the Alzheimer’s Association do not see “Making Sense of Alzheimer’s Month” as a direct form of therapy, but they hope it will give the local Alzheimer’s population a chance to enjoy the soothing and energizing aspects of music that contribute to the success of such therapeutic treatments.

As part of the collaboration, USUO will offer participants discounted and complimentary tickets for May performances to those with Alzheimer’s and related dementias, their families and their caregivers. The organization will also provide small outreach performances by professional musicians associated with USUO at local care centers. These musicians include Utah Opera’s current resident artists and pianists as well as groups of musicians from the Utah Symphony. “Making Sense of Alzheimer’s Month” began as a similar project in early 2010, and has since been offered to the community in May of each year.

The Alzheimer’s Association asserts that music can serve as therapy to those with Alzheimer’s because it stirs past memories and emotions.

For more information about “Making Sense of Alzheimer’s Month,” please call 801-533-NOTE (6683).

“Making Sense of Alzheimer’s Month” Event Listings

May 7 | 7:30 PM Of Mice and Men
Utah Opera, Capitol Theatre
Complimentary ticket for Alzheimer’s Care Recipient & one companion, 20% off for other companions

May 18 | 10 AM Finishing Touches: “Brahms’ Piano Concerto No. 1”
Utah Symphony, Abravanel Hall
Complimentary ticket for Alzheimer’s Care Recipient & one companion, $10 for other companions

May 25 | 7 PM “Beethoven Cycle Concludes” Pre-concert Chat
Utah Symphony, Abravanel Hall
Free with performance ticket

May 25 | 8 PM “Beethoven Cycle Concludes”
Utah Symphony, Abravanel Hall
Complimentary ticket for Alzheimer’s Care Recipient & one companion, 20% off for other companions

Facilities are wheelchair accessible. Please ask for wheelchair and other accessible seating when purchasing tickets.

About the Alzheimer’s Association
The Alzheimer’s Association seeks to eliminate Alzheimer's disease through the advancement of research; to provide and enhance care and support for all affected through community partnerships; and to reduce the risk of dementia through the promotion of brain health.

Published in Press Releases

Monday, April 30, 2012

Local Youth Musicians to Perform with the Utah Symphony

SALT LAKE CITY – Members of the Utah Symphony, performing side-by-side with some of the state’s most elite youth musicians, will again present an evening of classical masterworks as Vladimir Kulenovic conducts this annual “All-Star Evening” performance for the first time as Associate Conductor of the Utah Symphony.

This All-Star Evening will be held Tuesday, May 15 at 7 p.m. in Abravanel Hall, and will feature a program of works by Wagner, Tchaikovsky, Prokofiev and Sibelius with young violinist Aubree Oliverson soloing on Tchaikovsky’s Concerto in D for Violin and Orchestra.

Tickets for the performance range from $8 to $20 and can be purchased by calling (801) 355-ARTS (2787), in person at the Abravanel Hall ticket office (123 W. South Temple) or by visiting www.usuo.org. Season ticket holders and those desiring group discounts should call (801) 533-NOTE (6683). Prices and sections are subject to change and availability. Ticket prices will increase $2 when purchased the day of the performance.

About Aubree Oliverson
Thirteen-year-old Aubree Oliverson from Orem, Utah is a particularly accomplished young violinist who made her solo debut with the Utah Symphony in the annual Salute to Youth competition performance at age eleven. Recently, she was invited to appear as a soloist on National Public Radio’s program “From the Top.” Aubree has also performed as principal violin with the Suzuki Youth Orchestra of the Americas, and in 2010, she won a first prize in the Utah Stradivarius Competition and was the youngest of three final evening soloists. At age 12, Aubree won first prize in the highly competitive American Protege International Strings Competition and gave a stunning solo performance at Carnegie Hall. Aubree was the Best-of-State winner as Utah’s top individual instrumentalist for 2011 and also received the Boss trophy for being Utah’s overall winner in the Arts and Entertainment category as the state’s top entertainer.

Aubree is also an accomplished composer, having won numerous state and national competitions, and was twice named a “composer of great promise” by the New York Arts Ensemble. She composed her first song at age five. As a performing and composing team, she and her father have performed concerts from Washington D.C. to Seattle at conventions, special events, and helped raise money for charity. Aubree has recorded and released two original CDs. Her third CD will be released in June of 2012.

Aubree is a member of the Gifted Music School Orchestra of Salt Lake, currently studies under the direction of Eugene Watanabe and is a former student of Debbie Moench.

Youth Orchestras with Participating Students
American Heritage Lyceum Philharmonic
Canyons Symphony Orchestra
Davis Youth Symphony
Granite Youth Symphony
Jordan Symphony Orchestra
Lincoln Youth Symphony
Nebo Youth Philharmonic
Timpanogos Chamber Orchestra
Utah Valley Youth Symphony
Utah Youth Symphony and Philharmonic
Young Artist Chamber Players

Program
Pyotr Tchaikovsky         Polonaise from Eugene Onegin
Pyotr Tchaikovsky          Concerto in D Major for Violin and Orchestra, op. 35

INTERMISSION

Sergei Prokofiev             'Montagues and Capulets" from Romeo and Juliet, Suite No.2
Richard Wagner             "Siegfried's Tod und Trauer-Marsch" from Die Götterdämmerung
Jean Sibelius                 Finlandia, op. 26, No. 7

Published in Press Releases