USUO to Host Community Outreach Events this Month

The end of January will see the return of a special traditional USUO outreach event, the inauguration of a brand new program, and the 3rd iteration of an offering proving itself to be of particular value to community orchestra musicians.

"We are always glad to hear about musical needs and interests in our community that we can use our professional symphony and opera resources to address," said Paula Fowler, community outreach and education director. "Three exciting projects are coming up in the last week of January that are unique and/or relatively new in our community."

At 6 pm on Thursday, January 23, the Capitol Theatre lobby doors will open to welcome those who have registered in advance for USUO's annual Access to Music concert for children with special needs and their families. "We began our special needs concert, now titled Access to Music, 14 years ago as a cultural event for families with special needs children," explained Ms. Fowler. "These families have few opportunities to attend musical events together because of potentially disruptive but expected behavior of their special needs children." Music in the lobby leading up to the concert will be offered by the Blair Lyon family; the 45-minute concert in Capitol Theatre, which begins at 7 pm, will feature the Utah Opera Resident Artists and the Utah Symphony onstage, surrounded by scenery from La Traviata. The concert will be conducted by the new Utah Opera Chorus Master/Assistant Conductor, Caleb Harris.

Friday January 24 is the deadline for applications for the 3rd annual Pro-Am Event, during which community instrumentalists - both professional and amateur - get the chance to rehearse and play side-by-side with the Utah Symphony all in one evening. The actual event takes place on April 3, but now is the time to apply for the opportunity. Musicians selected will be sent the music for the concert, which this year includes two movements from Prokofiev's Romeo and Juliet, so they can prepare in upcoming months. Look for more information here: www.usuo.org/pro-am. Family and friends can attend part or all of the evening; tickets are $10 for adults and free for students 18 and under.

On Saturday, January 25, USUO Education presents its first-ever Brass Day at Utah Opera Production Studios for high school musicians in Grades 9 through 12. During the 6-hour colloquium, members of the Utah Symphony Brass Section will lead active workshops, masterclasses, discussions and a brass quintet performance. "We are especially thrilled about adding Brass Day to our roster of music education events. A teacher requested an event to focus on brass musicianship," said Ms. Fowler. "We hope to alternate this event with Woodwind Days in the future." Application materials and more information can be found at: http://www.usuoeducation.org/brassday.