Brilliant programs: NOVA Chamber Music Series’ Odyssey, Cédric Pescia’s all-Bach Bachauer concert

NOVA CHAMBER MUSIC SERIES’ ODYSSEY With Odyssey, its most recent Gallery Series concert, NOVA Chamber Music Series once again flexed its perfectly tuned muscles, by curating intellectually inspiring music from two Pulitzer Prize winning composers: the Israeli-born Shulamit Ran (1949-) and Steve Reich (1936-), who unquestionably has influenced the direction of American classical music more … Read more

Cédric Pescia, 2002 Bachauer gold medalist, to perform all-Bach recital March 8

In 2002, Cédric Pescia was 26 when he won the gold medal in the international competition of The Gina Bachauer International Piano Foundation. It was the first and only competition Pescia, a dual citizen of France and Switzerland, in which he participated. He had shied away from the competitive performance arena, assuming that everyone else … Read more

NOVA Chamber Music Series’ Reflections concert a fun grand slam of a musical experience

Reflections, the most recent NOVA Chamber Music Series concert, eloquently conveyed its theme in a cohesive, imaginative way that any artistic director should envy. Throughout the season, Madeline Adkins, NOVA’s music director, has expanded upon the organization’s unique branding for programming concerts with themes that elucidate new dimensions of music appreciation. Adkins, the Utah Symphony … Read more

NOVA Chamber Music Series’ Reflections concert to feature three Andrew Norman works

Composer Andrew Norman’s fascination with architecture arises from his admiration for the fearlessness exhibited in some of the most innovative examples from the field. There are, of course, the creations of architecture’s two ‘Franks’ who have been represented in his music: Frank Gehry, now in his late 80s and Norman has had discussions with him, … Read more

Slamdance 2019: Utah premiere of Dons of Disco, first-class documentary about previously little-known lip synching scandal in pop music

Some of the music industry’s most intriguing controversies have revolved around the lip-synched performances of singers. In 1991, Whitney Houston lip-synched the actual performance of the national anthem at Super Bowl XXV but the prerecorded version that millions heard that day became a top 10 Billboard single. The group Muse was instructed to lip sync … Read more

Earthbound theme set for Jan. 20 concert of NOVA Chamber Music Series

Choreographer Natalie Desch says the experience of setting movement for a duet of dancers to Gity Razaz’s Chance Has Spoken emulates perfectly the mysterious yet clear-directed nature of the young Iranian-American composer’s music for string quartet and vibraphone. “It is a very haunting piece with beautiful lyricism and movement sensibility,” Desch says. Composed in 2011, … Read more

Audacious, experimental, unflinching: Top Ten Moments of the Utah Enlightenment for 2018

More apparent every year, the Utah Enlightenment is audacious, experimental and unflinching in its artistic entrepreneurship. In 2018, the pool for considering the most definitive moments of the Utah Enlightenment was as expansive and diverse as ever. The Utah Review presents the top ten moments for 2018, precisely because of promise and strength among its … Read more

NOVA Chamber Music Series set to present R/Evolution: A Millennium of Musical Mavericks

One of the most popular programming approaches to highlight the string quartet’s extraordinary versatility as a chamber music ensemble is to organize cycles of a particular composer’s output in the genre or to juxtapose a series that emphasize parallels between how two composers developed their musical language for string players. The case is strong for … Read more

Gratitude in three wonderful Utah programs: Repertory Dance Theatre’s Mosaic, NOVA Chamber Music Series’ Royal Musings, Spy Hop’s PitchNic

This month, three leading organizations in Utah’s arts and culture scene presented programs: Repertory Dance Theatre’s Mosaic, NOVA Chamber Music Series’ Royal Musings and Spy Hop Productions’ 16th annual PitchNic premieres. Reviews of all three programs are presented. REPERTORY DANCE THEATRE: MOSAIC It took 93 minutes of dance to create the opulent mosaic of movement … Read more

Royal Musings: NOVA Chamber Music Series All-British concert to feature composers from Purcell to Adès

Compared to its European neighbors, especially in the latter half of the 18th century and through most of the 19th century, Britain did not produce the same depth and breadth of composers whose works have endured. While Henry Purcell (1659-1695) is considered that nation’s preeminent Baroque composer, it was Benjamin Britten (1913-1976), one of the … Read more