Nova Chamber Music Series

Two works by Grammy-nominated composer Shawn Okpebholo, along with two Bach cantatas, slated for Nov. 16 NOVA Chamber Music Series concert

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The juxtapositions of music by Bach and Grammy-nominated composer Shawn Okpebholo, in the upcoming concert Sacred Spaces, as part of NOVA Chamber Music Series current season, are wisely chosen. Distance for cello and marimba (2016) and Two Black Churches (2020 by Okpebholo will receive their Utah premieres, running parallel to two Bach cantatas, Liebster Jesu, … Read more

Like great unusual wine pairings, NOVA Chamber Music Series’ 2025-2026 season builds innovative harmonious bridges

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Like great unusual wine pairings that create surprising bridges for innovative harmonious experiences, every concert in NOVA Chamber Music Series’ 2025-2026 season highlights the organization’s long successful programming brand. For example, Elegies and Romances, the theme of the Sept. 21 opener (Libby Gardner Hall, 3 p.m.), pairs music by Rachmaninoff and Mozart with Utah premieres … Read more

Utah Symphony’s percussionists and concertmaster Madeline Adkins among featured musicians for NOVA Chamber Music Series’ American Gamelan concert on May 4

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Percussionists have become a staple in recent NOVA Chamber Music Series seasons and the forthcoming American Gamelan season closer will illuminate the fact that while percussion orchestras might not be commonly found in Western music it is the quintessential practice in many world music cultures.  Two works will drive home the point. One is Lou … Read more

A successful prototype: NOVA Chamber Music Series’ Jessie Montgomery Plays Jessie Montgomery concert thrills large audience

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NOVA Chamber Music Series has been excellent in featuring a good representation of contemporary composers in recent seasons but the recent Jessie Montgomery Plays Jessie Montgomery concert was a wonderful prototype for future periodic programming where the works of a single contemporary figure are showcased. The concert at the Libby Gardner Hall at the University … Read more

NOVA Chamber Music Series’ biggest concert of the year: Grammy-Award-winning composer Jessie Montgomery set to perform, with music by her, Bartók and Okpebholo

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NOVA Chamber Music Series has scored a major coup in securing Grammy-Award-winning composer Jessie Montgomery, not only for her music but also her performance as a violinist on the March 9 concert (3 p.m.) in Libby Gardner Hall.  In 2024.she won the Grammy for best contemporary classical composition, with Rounds, a 15-minute work for piano … Read more

February roundup: UtahPresents, NOVA Chamber Music Series, Westminster Concert Series, Gina Bachauer International Piano Foundation, Ririe-Woodbury Dance Company

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February was a busy month for the performing arts scene in Salt Lake City. Among the top events were the following: Christian McBride and Ursa Major: UtahPresents  A perfect end to UtahPresents’ inaugural jazz concert series for the 2024-25 season, Christian McBride and Ursa Major wowed the Kingsbury Hall crowd on Feb. 22, with plenty … Read more

Emotional and spiritual intelligence: The Utah Review’s Top Ten Moments of the Utah Enlightenment in 2024

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But I grew up in a landscape large enough to hold what I felt when the world of people pushed me away. There, where badgers roamed, where herons speared small fish in shallow pools, I found my place. I took my sketch pad and tackle box to the banks of that small creek and washed … Read more

November concert roundup: NOVA’s Musical Marriages; Bachauer’s Carter Johnson: The Four B’s; Flamenco del Lago’s Why Are the Women Weeping?

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A roundup of several performing arts events this month in Salt Lake City: NOVA Chamber Music Series: Musical Marriages Two musical marriages — one from the 19th century and the other from current times — made for a splendid NOVA Chamber Music Series concert earlier this month. The first half was dedicated to Anthony Cheung … Read more

The strength of acknowledging how representation matters in music: NOVA Chamber Music Series’ 2024-25 will be exciting from start to finish

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Pianist Kimi Kawashima is well known to NOVA Chamber Music Series audiences as a frequent guest artist and now she has taken on a larger role, as the series’ new artistic director. She succeeds the members of the Fry Street Quartet, who will continue curating the Utah Museum of Fine Arts (UMFA) Gallery Series as … Read more

Ahead of Earth Day, NOVA Chamber Music Series to feature two new commissioned works from Gabriela Lena Frank Creative Academy of Music’s Composing Earth project

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NOVA Chamber Music Series’ final Libby Gardner series concert of the 2023-24 season is nicely timed for this month’s celebrations of Earth Day and the ever-intensifying focus on changes in the climate and environmental impacts. The concert will feature two new commissioned works, courtesy of Gabriela Lena Frank Creative Academy of Music’s Composing Earth cohort. … Read more