Alam Khan, master of the sarod, set for SLC events sponsored by Mundi Project, India Cultural Center of Utah; Westminster Concert Series

Alam Khan was seven years old when he started learning to play the sarod, a 25-string instrument with no frets which comprises strings for performing melodies as well as sympathetic strings to create resonating drone-like sounds. The head of the instrument, which resembles a lute, is made from sheepskin and the neck is metal plated. … Read more

Pioneer Theatre Company set to christen new Meldrum Theatre with Utah premiere of The Lehman Trilogy

A new chapter for both the The University of Utah’s 85-year-old Einar Nielsen Fieldhouse and Pioneer Theatre Company opens this week with the Meldrum Theatre, Salt Lake City’s newest venue for chamber theater, being christened by the Utah premiere of the Tony Award winning The Lehman Trilogy. The run opens March 29. “It is the … Read more

From Tucson, experimental quartet Compersion sets Utah Museum of Contemporary Art for March 19 stop on western U.S. tour

The Utah Museum of Contemporary Art (UMOCA) will be one of the stops for the western U.S. tour of Compersion, a Tuscon-based experimental quartet which incorporates strings, wind instruments and percussion into instrumental electro-acoustic topographies. Abstract in its aesthetic conception. Compersion highlights improvisation and organic rhythmic expressions to emphasize the value of deep and immersive … Read more

Continuum: Angela Cheng set to perform Haydn, Beethoven, Chopin on March 15 concert for Gina Bachauer International Piano Foundation

During her teen years, Angela Cheng was expected by her family to prepare for a career as a doctor. Even as a piano major, she took pre-med electives in chemistry and calculus but Cheng also realized, as she recalls in an interview with The Utah Review, “I would have been a miserable doctor.” Her path … Read more

With art and dance integrated, Laura Kaminsky’s Desert Portal set for exciting world premiere at NOVA Chamber Music Series’ March 10 concert

The programming for NOVA Chamber Music Series’ upcoming concert (March 10, 3 p.m., Libby Gardner Hall) is an “embarrassment of riches,” Robert Waters, Fry Street Quartet’s first violinist, said in a previous interview. The centerpiece of a marvelous offering of works spanning more than 130 years will be the world premiere of Laura Kaminsky’s Desert … Read more

Never one to shy away from risk: Repertory Dance Theatre’s newest twist in Regalia: So You Think You Can Choreograph

In its 58 years, Repertory Dance Theatre (RDT) has never shied away from taking risks on stage. Likewise, RDT has embraced risks for its annual fundraiser in ways that few dance companies would dare attempt. In 2006, Charette was launched, in which guest dancers from the community worked with a choreographer to set a movement … Read more

The give and take between music and movement: A closer look at these unique challenges in Ballet West’s production of Swan Lake which opens today

It is fitting that Ballet West’s 60th anniversary season would include a production of Swan Lake, which opens today in the Capitol Theatre and will run through Feb. 17. Willam Christensen, Ballet West founder, staged the first American production of this Russian classic in 1940, during his tenure as San Francisco Ballet’s artistic director. At … Read more

A fresh take on The Merchant of Venice’s Portia: Debora Threedy’s Balthazar set for world premiere in Plan-B Theatre production

Historically, the law firm has symbolized the anchor of a male hierarchy in the workplace and in broader society where males have almost exclusively governed. And, women often had to (and, likely still) fit into that model, to succeed and advance in the profession. Of course, there were breakthroughs in the 1970s and 1980s as … Read more

A Homecoming to celebrate the 60th anniversary season: Ririe-Woodbury Dance Company’s Traverse set to premiere works by two alumni, six current company dancers

It is Homecoming Week for the Ririe-Woodbury Dance Company, which continues to celebrate its 60th anniversary this season. Many alumni also are expected to attend Traverse (Feb. 1-3, in the Jeanné Wagner Theatre of the Rose Wagner Center for Performing Arts), which will feature world and company premieres of works by alumni Keith Johnson and … Read more

Sundance 2024: Documentaries predominate list on deck for The Utah Review festival coverage

EDITOR’S NOTE: Part II summarizes the films and programs from Sundance 2024 that are part of The Utah Review coverage. For Part I which is an overview of the state of the film industry in Utah, see here. One of the potential advantages in this year”s slimmer slate for the 2024 edition of the Sundance … Read more