April brings guest conductor Russell Guyver to town for his first appearance, and also the return of pianist Andrew Staupe, an audience favorite from last season. A cornerstone of the orchestral repertoire, Schubert’s Unfinished Symphony will be played alongside two lesser-known works, Malcolm Arnold’s Scottish Dances and Tchaikovsky’s thrilling “other piano concerto,” the Piano Concerto No. 2. Come hear the familiar and soon-to-be familiar music at Libby Gardner Concert Hall!
Mozart’s Requiem has long been hailed as one of the great masterpieces of western art. To listen to this music is to be transported to a different time and space. Come hear the Salt Lake Symphony, Utah Voices and U of U Faculty Voice Quartet perform this masterpiece, as we bring our season to a close with style and gravitas. It’s a fitting end to a grand season of music.
Conductors
Robert Baldwin
We open our season with a salute to rhythm. Stravinsky’s Petroushka is one if the composer’s earliest examples of mastery. In many ways, the piece set the stage for the Rite of Spring, appearing only two years after this ballet. We will be performing the original 1911 version, the version the young Stravinsky intended when it was composed. Also on the program is Silvestre Revueltas’ homage to sacrifice, Sensemaya. Revueltas’ music is highly evocative and will transport audiences to long-forgotten rituals and new musical vistas. Add to that Utah native and favorite pianist Josh Wright playing Saint-Saëns’ Piano Concerto No. 2, and it’s an evening to remember. Don’t miss it!
Local talent shines for our November concert. Dr. Peyden Shelton joins us from the University of Utah School of Music, performing Alexandra Pakhmutova’s dazzling Concerto for Trumpet and Orchestra. We will also perform the premiere of Utah composer Nathaniel Eschler’s Cherish, written specifically for the Salt Lake Symphony and marking the 10th Anniversary of the Salt Cricket Composers Collective. The SLS is pleased to collaborate with this organization and support our local composers. We also continue our tradition of playing side-by-side with some of the talented young musicians from the Salt Lake region. Youthful talent will join us to play Rossini’s effervescent Overture to Gazza Ladra. All of this AND Sibelius’ beloved Symphony No. 5, featuring YOUR Salt Lake Symphony! It’s an evening chock full of talent, music, and energy!
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 to choose from (November 29 – December 1) 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 15th in “Christmas Through the Ages.” Holiday favorites like Tchaikovsky’s Overture from The Nutcracker, Corelli’s Christmas Concerto, and Leroy Anderson’s Sleigh Ride are sure to help even the grinchiest Grinch experience plenty of holiday cheer! Happy Holidays from YOUR Salt Lake Symphony!
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 to choose from (November 29 – December 1) 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 15th in “Christmas Through the Ages.” Holiday favorites like Tchaikovsky’s Overture from The Nutcracker, Corelli’s Christmas Concerto, and Leroy Anderson’s Sleigh Ride are sure to help even the grinchiest Grinch experience plenty of holiday cheer! Happy Holidays from YOUR Salt Lake Symphony!
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!