¡Jaleo!: Spanish pianist José Ramón Mendez set to make his Salt Lake City debut on Nov. 10 Gina Bachauer International Piano Foundation concert

Just last month, internationally known pianist José Ramón Mendez was in Utah to judge the state chapter of the Music Teacher National Association’s piano competitions. Later this week, Mendez will return to perform his Salt Lake City debut, in ¡Jaleo!, a concert of solo piano works by Chopin and Spanish composers Antonio Soler, Isaac Albéniz … Read more

World premiere of Gabriela Lena Frank’s A Psalm of Disquiet by Fry Street Quartet set for Utah State University’s music school, NOVA Chamber Music Series

This week’s world premiere of Gabriela Lena Frank new string quartet A Psalm of Disquiet at Utah State University and then on Nov. 5 at NOVA Chamber Music Series in Salt Lake City, is yet another milestone in the flourishing relationship which the composer and Fry Street Quartet have developed over many years. “I have … Read more

NOVA Chamber Music Series’ 2023-24 season will be personality-driven thrill ride with lots of surprising twists and turns

A prime reason why the NOVA Chamber Music Series consistently excels in its unique programming brand is demonstrating how the deep bench of world-class musical talent in Salt Lake City and throughout Utah can tackle just about any curveball a composer could conceive of throwing their way. For NOVA’s 46th season, the Fry Street Quartet, … Read more

Backstage at the Utah Arts Festival 2023: An opening day homecoming set on the Festival Stage for Tony Holiday and The Soul Service

There is a special brand of musical royalty in Memphis. City residents still remember Stax Records stars such as Isaac Hayes, who would tool around Memphis in a gold Cadillac. Others remember sitting in the congregation when Al Green preached at the Gospel Tabernacle Church on the city’s south side. But, in a music ecosystem … Read more

A diverse array of ways to Connect with the West in April 16 concert by NOVA Chamber Music Series

There has been a decent spate of Utah arts and cultural events in recent months that flesh out a more comprehensive history of the American West. They include theatrical productions about Utah historian Juanita Brooks (Pygmalion Theatre Company) and Wallace Thurman (Plan-B Theatre, which opens this week). This month, Repertory Dance Theatre will present a … Read more

Andrey Gugnin, 2014 gold medalist in Gina Bachauer International Piano Foundation competition, returns to SLC Nov. 11 with Rachmaninoff, Stravinsky, Ravel works

Russian pianist Andrey Gugnin has good reasons to love Rachmaninoff. At the age of 28, in 2014, Gugnin took the gold medal at the Gina Bachauer International Piano Foundation Competition in 2014, with his performance of the composer’s Third Piano Concerto. Two years later, after winning the gold media at the Sydney International Piano Competition, … Read more

Backstage at the Utah Arts Festival 2022: Utah bands — Mothers of Mayhem, The Painted Roses, Southernmost Gravy — set to perform

Three Utah bands, each with a unique story representing different age groups, backgrounds and interests are part of the deep bench of local music talent, which will appear at this year’s Utah Arts Festival. They include a hard rock band of four Ogden Valley mothers, an electronic dance music rock band conceived from a lunch … Read more

Utah Arts Festival: Festival Stage headliners include Jeff Crosby and The Refugees, Will Baxter Band

Among the headliners being featured at this year’s Utah Arts Festival are Salt Lake City’s Will Baxter Band and native Idahoan Jeff Crosby who will be performing with The Refugees. Will Baxter Band (Aug. 27, 8:15 p.m., Festival Stage) When Will Baxter moved from Fort Collins, Colorado to Salt Lake City, it did not take … Read more

Utah Arts Festival 2021: Top Utah bands Brother., Pixie and the Partygrass Boys slated to perform

This year’s Utah Arts Festival features some of the most successful, widely acclaimed local bands. Among them are Pixie and the Partygrass Boys and Brother.  Brother. (Aug. 28, 5:15 p.m., Park Stage) Brother., the indie rock band originating in Provo, had ambitious plans in 2020. Performances were slated at SXSW and Treefort, as part of … Read more

Henry Wolking’s orchestral jazz works featured in outstanding new Parma Recordings release Powell Canyons

Letting midnight out on bail pop- a- da having been detained in jail oop- pop- a- da for sprinkling salt on a dreamer’s tail pop- a -da — Langston Hughes, Jam Session, 1951 Henry Wolking’s orchestral jazz music consistently has that generous, resounding and veritable feel. One of Utah’s most important composers, he once described … Read more