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
There is an appropriate and gratifying takeaway from Bekah Brunstetter’s comedic play The Cake, which the Salt Lake Acting Company (SLAC) is giving its Utah premiere in a well-acted, polished production. While many anticipated the U.S. Supreme Court to make a momentous decision last summer in the Masterpiece Cakeshop case involving a baker in Colorado … Read more
In the late 1860s, the ideal uses, functions, aesthetic value and presence of photography were as controversial as the numerous digital media tools we have accepted recently in our daily lives. Aaron Hertzmann, scientist at Adobe Acrobat, summarized the three views people put forth about photography in the middle of the 19th century. It was … Read more
In the hands of the collaborators for the recent Ririe-Woodbury Dance Company concert, the stories of the Red Fred Project were transformed into a vibrant, colorful, innocent, joyful, poignant and glistening landscape. For the project’s young authors and their curator Dallas Graham, the live creature and ethereal things concert was like an animated film made … Read more
Just days before the Democratic primary for the U.S. Congressional 14th District seat in New York, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s campaign had just enough money to commission a poll to gauge the first-time candidate’s standing in the electorate. It showed her 35 points behind Joe Crowley, a 10-term incumbent who also was one of the most powerful … Read more
In the documentary film Moonlight Sonata: Deafness in Three Movements which premiered at this year’s Sundance, viewers see Jonas, in his early teens, experiencing something familiar to every musician –amateur or professional, student or virtuoso. At times, Jonas become frustrated at the mistakes and imperfections in his playing, whether he is practicing alone or during … Read more
One of the most controversial elements in the annual reenactment of the Moore’s Ford Bridge quadruple lynching that occurred in 1946 in Georgia is a tiny doll. One of the women in the reenactment carries it under her clothing. In Monroe, Georgia, many local black residents believe that one of the victims was seven months … Read more
Prior to the opening of this year’s Sundance, producer Geralyn Dreyfous said the Cambridge Analytica/Facebook data breach is part of two of the biggest stories of the year. After watching The Great Hack, directed by Karim Amer and Jehane Noujaim, which made its Sundance premiere, Dreyfous’ assertion rings with conviction. The 139-minute documentary, which will … Read more
On Jan. 29, Roger Stone, who served as President Trump’s political consultant to use his skills in opposition research, emerged from a Washington, D.C. court, giving the crowd a Nixon victory salute while others chanted “lock him up.” Stone was pleading not guilty to seven criminal charges as part of special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation. … Read more
In the trade publication Editor and Publisher, when nationally syndicated columnist Molly Ivins died in 2007 after a triple bout with cancer and its complications, Greg Mitchell recalled in a piece headlined Molly Ivins: The Plucking Truth a classic moment that eventually would lead the stuffed shirts at The New York Times to send her … Read more