Music

Two stellar happenings in Utah’s music scene: Salt Lake Electric Ensemble’s Return album; NOVA Chamber Music Series’ Nordic Spirit concert

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SALT LAKE ELECTRIC ENSEMBLE: RETURN ALBUM Return, the newest album release of the Salt Lake Electric Ensemble (SLEE), transmits listeners to their own virtual interstellar journey, exploring a legion of cosmic soundscapes with surprising pleasures in timbral shifts and rhythmic modulations which listeners can enjoy and immerse themselves in as they see fit. A masterpiece … Read more

NOVA Chamber Music Series’ Fierce Grace excellent musical stemwinder call to history

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Fierce Grace, the most recent NOVA Chamber Music Series’ concert, was more than a credible parallel where music and song stood in for the stemwinders one might have heard at a political rally during the suffragette and civil rights movements. Rousing spiritual moments highlighted the three works, including the Utah premiere of the cycle of … Read more

Fifth, final preliminary round for Bachauer’s 2020 Junior and Young Artists International Piano Competition slated in SLC Jan. 16-18

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Salt Lake City this week will be the fifth and final stop for the preliminary rounds of the 2020 Junior and Young Artists International Piano Competition of the Gina Bachauer International Piano Foundation. For local audiences, it will be a chance to see the final group of preliminary round contestants: 39 young pianists, ranging in age … Read more

Fascinating, innovative, collaborative: Top Ten Moments of the Utah Enlightenment for 2019

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Since The Utah Review started publishing in 2014, the emphasis on the Utah Enlightenment has dominated the coverage of what is new and original in the arts and culture landscape locally. Utah’s natural beauty always has appealed strongly as a branding asset. But, as we have covered the arts and cultural scene, there is no … Read more

A cornucopia of kinetic performances highlight Repertory Dance Theatre’s Sounds Familiar Concert

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EDITOR’S NOTE: All photos are credited to Sharon Kain. Before recounting the overflowing cornucopia of kinetic performances that embodied Repertory Dance Theatre’s (RDT) most recent concert Sounds Familiar, it is worth considering the aesthetic epiphany that emerged from asking a dozen choreographers to set a work of their own interpretation to some of the most … Read more

Concert roundup: Alexander Korsantia for Bachauer, Red Desert Ensemble, NOVA Chamber Music Series’ Contrasts, Samba Fogo

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Salt Lake City’s music calendar is filled regularly with concerts offering a superior level of musicianship that would be envied in any major U.S. urban cultural center. The Utah Review summarizes four concerts from the last four weeks as a sampler of what is available in the local community throughout the fall, winter and spring … Read more

Utah Symphony’s America’s Wonders concert in 3-D registered plenty of sensory delights

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What does it mean to taste sound, or connect it to other senses besides hearing? Some individuals have synesthesia, a neurological phenomenon, in which music, for example, allows the listener to see musical notes in different shades of colors. Scientists also believe that even individuals who do not have synesthesia actually can experience similar effects … Read more

Repertory Dance Theatre’s Sounds Familiar concert to be double-barreled adventure of music, dance appreciation

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Anthony Tommasini, a New York Times music critic who has written some of the best-selling books about classical music, says that no one really has to be knowledgeable about the art to appreciate it. “Newcomers to other performing arts, like theater or dance, don’t seem to feel this level of intimidation. I’d encourage those who … Read more

NOVA Chamber Music Series upcoming Contrasts concert to feature Utah composer world premiere; Fry Street Quartet’s Gallery Series concert sparkles in Mozart, Britten offerings

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Countermeasures is an apt title for a piece of music. The term typically refers to political or military tactics or to a biological instinct of nature where plants and animals respond to a threat or combat danger. Like authors, composers sometimes struggle with titles. “My working title initially for this piece was ‘Four for the … Read more

Samba Fogo upcoming Xiré concert to feature dances, music signifying the Candomblé tradition honoring the Orixá

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The upcoming Xiré concert by Samba Fogo will offer a different facet of Utah’s Brazilian dance and music company, which many audiences have known for their exuberant celebrations especially of Carnaval culture. The concert (with two performances Nov. 15 and Nov. 16 at 7 p.m. in the Regent Street Black Box Theatre at the The … Read more