A new twist to annual list of crowning achievements: The Utah Review’s Top 10 Moments of the Utah Enlightenment in 2022

This year’s selection in The Utah Review of the top ten moments of the Utah Enlightenment in 2022 was easily the quickest to lock in, considering the possibilities. There were no close calls. The ten selections were a slam dunk. This year, however, presented the opportunity for a twist. While nine of the ten selections … Read more

Lots of March Goodness: Concord/Revisited, NOVA Chamber Music Series, Gina Bachauer International Piano Foundation, How Flowers Bloom, Échale Ganas: The Villa’s Tacos Story

There were more signs in March of how arts and cultural events are returning with a full head of steam to Salt Lake City.  Within 10 days, there were two musical events – NOVA Chamber Music Series’ Songs of Play and Jason Hardink’s Concord/Revisited Project – with six world premieres by composers, including two who … Read more

Pianist Jason Hardink’s Concord/Revisited Project set for Westminster College, featuring world premieres by 4 composers, Ives’ Concord Sonata

“Sometimes, on Sundays, I heard the bells, the Lincoln, Acton, Bedford, or Concord bell, when the wind was favorable, a faint, sweet, and, as it were, natural melody, worth importing into the wilderness. At a sufficient distance over the woods this sound acquires a certain vibratory hum, as if the pine needles in the horizon … Read more

Concert roundup: Alexander Korsantia for Bachauer, Red Desert Ensemble, NOVA Chamber Music Series’ Contrasts, Samba Fogo

Salt Lake City’s music calendar is filled regularly with concerts offering a superior level of musicianship that would be envied in any major U.S. urban cultural center. The Utah Review summarizes four concerts from the last four weeks as a sampler of what is available in the local community throughout the fall, winter and spring … Read more

NOVA Chamber Music Series upcoming Contrasts concert to feature Utah composer world premiere; Fry Street Quartet’s Gallery Series concert sparkles in Mozart, Britten offerings

Countermeasures is an apt title for a piece of music. The term typically refers to political or military tactics or to a biological instinct of nature where plants and animals respond to a threat or combat danger. Like authors, composers sometimes struggle with titles. “My working title initially for this piece was ‘Four for the … Read more

The revolution in chamber music programming continues: Fry Street Quartet takes music director reins as NOVA Chamber Music Series announces 2019-2020 season

It is a revolutionary move but it also makes perfect sense. The Fry Street Quartet, which is in residence at Utah State University, will take the reins as music director of NOVA Chamber Music Series, beginning next season. And the announcement of concerts for 2019-2020 — NOVA Chamber Music Series’ 42nd season — indicates that … Read more