red desert

Live from their living room: Red Desert ensemble set April 13 for evening of deep listening experiences, including new music, Utah premieres

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Last spring, the Red Desert ensemble, the duo project of clarinetist Katie Porter and composer/percussionist Devin Maxwell, were planning to leave Utah. To mark the occasion, they organized an outstanding public jam session of deep listening music at the Utah Museum of Fine Arts featuring works by Maxwell, Morton Feldman, Pauline Oliveros and a fabulous all-star conglomeration performing Terry Riley’s In … Read more

Utah arts organizations make transition to online, interactive, live stream platforms, during coronavirus pandemic

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Several major arts organizations in the Salt Lake City metropolitan area have adapted their programming and classes to streaming and interactive platforms. Initial responses and numbers of participants also have been encouraging, indicating that arts and culture are just as essential (if not more so), even as regular routines have been upended by the coronavirus … Read more

Red Desert ensemble’s spring concert a mesmerizing jam session

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The Red Desert ensemble, the duo project of clarinetist Katie Porter and composer/percussionist Devin Maxwell, organized one of the most interesting public jam session concerts to happen recently in Salt Lake City. Joining forces with numerous local musicians, Westminster College students, and University of Utah students from Radical Quiet, Phillip Bimstein’s honors college course about cultivating a heightened … Read more

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

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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

Red Desert’s experimental music program excellent, highly absorbing stretch of artistic entrepreneurialism

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Just how adventuresome and experimental can Salt Lake City’s performing arts scene become? More so than some might expect. In the last few years, there have been numerous examples suggesting just how Utah’s pioneer legacy is translated and transformed into boundary-busting expressions. Per capita, Salt Lake City stacks up competitively to much larger metropolitan centers … Read more