Events

The SLS Family Concerts are beloved events, introducing music and other arts to kids and their families for over three decades. This year's concert promises something for everyone, as we pay homage to our fantastic flying friends. Music celebrating the kingdom of the air will feature birds, insects, dragons and other flying creatures. Special guests from the University of Utah School of Dance will help to illustrate music that takes off and leaves you breathless. So grab your wingsuit and your imagination and join us for SOAR: Fantastic Flying Friends.

The SLS proudly partners with the University of Utah’s Summer Arts Piano Competition to present some of the finest young talent in the Intermountain West. Join us for an evening of youthful energy, dazzling technique and great piano concertos.

Nature is in focus on the SLS March concert with music by Ludwig van Beethoven, Benjamin Britten and Peter Boyer. Beethoven’s Symphony No. 6, the Pastorale Symphony may be known to audiences from its use in Walt Disney’s classic Fantasia. Beethoven’s homage to personal feelings he experienced while being in the countryside pervade this work, one of the finest examples of Classical-era programmatic writing. In contrast, Benjamin Britten’s Four Sea Interludes from the opera Peter Grimes, provides a stark contrast, as the orchestra paints pictures of different aspects of the sea that can be interpreted differently by each listener. Peter Boyer’s bright Festivities will open the concert with bright colors and musical sunshine, a feature for our brass and percussion sections.

Guest conductor Robert Seebacher leads the SLS on a journey to France, the land of art and inspiration. Join the SLS for a concert of French classics. One of the most evocative works ever composed, Debussy’s La Mer presents both images and moods of the sea. His Petite Suite will provide contrast to the depth of this remarkable Impressionist composer. Maurice Ravel’s Pavane pour une infante défunte and the little-heard Overture to Raymond by Ambroise Thomas round out our salute to France: Nuances de bleu (Shades of Blue)

Mere mention of the name Gustav Mahler evokes images of struggle and triumph. His music is the pinnacle of orchestral writing and achievement. The Salt Lake Symphony and Utah Voices will share one of the monuments of the repertoire on Thursday, May 16 as we perform Mahler’s Symphony No. 2, also known as the Resurrection Symphony. It is a powerful exploration of life, death, spirituality and eternity. Mahler’s score attempts to answers life’s biggest questions with one of the largest group of musicians ever assembled for a symphony—over 120 players, two soloists, and a chorus of over 200. In addition to our frequent collaborators, the Utah Voices, we will also be joined by renowned vocalists Melissa Heath, soprano, and Kirstin Chávez, mezzo-soprano, to perform this memorable masterpiece. Rarely does an audience remain unmoved and unchanged by this powerful work. Join us for the season-ender for the ages!

The Salt Lake Symphony joins the Choral Arts Society of Utah for the Annual Days of '47 Pops Concert in Abravanel Hall to kick off Utah's Pioneer Celebration. Sterling Poulson and Robert Baldwin share conducting duties leading the choir, orchestra and special guests in two nights of family friendly music celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Apollo moon landing..

Sponsored by:
Days of ’47
KUTV 2News
Northrop Grumman
Sorenson Legacy Foundation
Med One
Salt Lake Zoo Arts and Parks

Beware the idée fixe! Berlioz broke the mold and changed history with his monumental score to Symphonie Fantastique. More than merely a big work with massive forces, it’s a deeply personal vision of both love and obsession that touches from every corner of the mind, with a final stop in an imagined Hell of the artist’s own devices. Berlioz’s inventive compositional style and thrilling music set the standard for most of the programmatic music that followed in the 19^th century, especially where a touch of the supernatural was involved. We open the program with one of those very pieces he influenced, César Franck’s rarely performed Le Chasseur maudit (The Accursed Huntsman). It’s a thrilling, and slightly chilling, way to open our 44^th season that we know you will love to death!

From the gauchos of Argentina to some of the most sweeping symphonic notes every composed, we’re travelling to the New World for our November concert. Now considered a standard of the orchestral repertoire, Argentinian composer Alberto Ginastera's energetic Estancia was one of the first to introduce the rhythms and melodies from South America to a wider audience.

Joining the orchestra will be some of Salt Lake's finest high school student musicians for a side-by-side performance of John Williams' delightfully swaggering overture to motion picture, The Cowboys.

The evening will be capped off with what many consider to be the finest ever symphony by an American composer, the Symphony No. 3 by Aaron Copland. Though non-programmatic, the work nonetheless reminds the listeners of the broad vistas and powerful stories of the American narrative and of the distinctive benign, noble self-confidence that has historically defined the American spirit. It is no surprise that the aptly named Fanfare for the Common Man, which forms the motivic backbone of the entire symphony, still resonates so strongly within us. It's an immersive experience that simply must be experienced in person!

Two inspiring events await our audiences to ring in the holiday season. The SLS is collaborating with the University of Utah Lyric Opera Ensemble to present Menotti’s beloved Christmas opera: Amahl and the Night Visitors. This will be presented as a double-bill with Utah composer Michael Leavitt’s new setting of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol. With four performances (December 5 – 7) this performance allows flexibility for your busy schedule with room to remember the spirit of the season.

The orchestra will also present Christmas favorites on December 14th in ‘Let There Be Peace”, and this program will feature beloved and new works to remind us of the special messages of the season. We are thrilled to be joined by the Utah Voices for our annual celebration of holiday music.

Two inspiring events await our audiences to ring in the holiday season. The SLS is collaborating with the University of Utah Lyric Opera Ensemble to present Menotti’s beloved Christmas opera: Amahl and the Night Visitors. This will be presented as a double-bill with Utah composer Michael Leavitt’s new setting of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol. With four performances (December 5 – 7) this performance allows flexibility for your busy schedule with room to remember the spirit of the season.

The orchestra will also present Christmas favorites on December 14th in ‘Let There Be Peace”, and this program will feature beloved and new works to remind us of the special messages of the season. We are thrilled to be joined by the Utah Voices for our annual celebration of holiday music.

Experience the thrill of being in the orchestra as the Salt Lake Symphony presents some of the most exciting music ever written. This program, designed especially for families, will introduce the instruments of the orchestra in ways unlike any you've ever experienced. Parents: bring the kids. Kids: bring the parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles. Bring the neighbors, too! This concert is appropriate for ages 1-100!

Guest conductor from South Korea, Jinhyuon Baek, joins the orchestra to conduct our annual collaboration with the University of Utah Summer Arts Piano Competition. This year, we are presenting all of the works from the collegiate division winners. Come hear tomorrow's piano stars on the fabulous Libby stage!