Utah Symphony Brings Hollywood Blockbuster, And Special Guest Artist, To Salt Lake City!
Special guest artist Massamba Diop to join the symphony with his Tama “Talking” Drum.
By: A.A. Cristi Aug. 31, 2023
The Utah Symphony returns for a highly-anticipated 2023-24 season filled with audience favorites.
Welcoming back audiences to downtown Salt Lake City's Maurice Abravanel Hall for the first performance of the new season—and the first performance of the Films in Concert Series—the symphony will present Marvel Studios' Black Panther in Concert. Two evening concerts will take place Friday, September 8 and Saturday, September 9 at 7:00 PM. Featuring an Oscar- and Grammy-winning score composed by Ludwig Göransson, this film has been highly anticipated by Marvel and symphony fans alike.
“I can't wait for Black Panther!” says Marvel enthusiast—and future symphony fan!—Grand Hadley. “I've been telling all my friends and we're getting a group together to go. I just know it's going to be epic!”
In 2018, Marvel Studios' Black Panther quickly became a global sensation and cultural phenomenon, showing a new dimension of what superhero films could be. Rolling Stone raved, “The film lights up the screen with a full-throttle blast of action and fun. That's to be expected. But what sneaks up and floors you is the film's racial conscience and profound, astonishing beauty.”
This cultural significance is further highlighted with the introduction of a special guest soloist. With a percussion-heavy score, this movie-concert experience showcases a traditional instrument from Senegal, the Tama drum, along with one of the world's most renowned masters of the instrument, Massamba Diop. The Tama is sometimes dubbed a “talking” drum due to its famous ability to replicate the sounds of human speech, so it lends a unique quality to the movie's soundtrack. The opportunity to hear the instrument played by Diop, who was front-and-center for the original recording of Ludwig Göransson's score for Black Panther, is not to be missed.
To encourage as many people in the community as possible to witness this master musician at work—and experience the showstopping, blockbuster performance—tickets for best-available main-floor seating are on sale for $29. Students and anyone under the age of 30 qualify to receive 50% off their ticket price.
Throughout the 2023-24 season, Films in Concert performances share the magic of movies on the big screen as the world-class musicians of the orchestra perform every note live to picture. The symphony synchronizes its performance to be right on beat with the film, which is no simple task. To ensure the live music is perfectly timed to the film projection, the conductor (who, for the Black Panther presentation, will be the Utah Symphony's former Associate Conductor Benjamin Manis) wears a specially designed earpiece that provides the exact tempo through soft clicks. In addition, a small light box and stopwatch are attached to the podium to provide a visual reminder of the passing measures, helping the conductor keep the musicians right on cue with the action on screen.
As a result, audiences don't just see and hear the film; they feel it. The orchestra's performance heightens the drama, intensifies the suspense, and deepens the emotions, making for an electrifying cinematic journey.
For a complete listing of Films in Concert performances, please visit utahsymphony.org/tickets/films-in-concert.
Marvel Studios' Black Panther in Concert
Friday & Saturday, September 8 & 9, 2023 / 7:00 PM / Abravanel Hall
(123 W South Temple, Salt Lake City, Utah)
PERFORMERS:
Massamba Diop, Tama
Benjamin Manis, conductor
Utah Symphony
TICKETS start at $29
50% STUDENT & UNDER-30 DISCOUNT
PURCHASE NOW:
- Online: utahsymphony.org
- USUO mobile app
- By Phone: USUO Patron Services, (801) 533-NOTE (6683)
- In person: 123 W South Temple, Salt Lake City, Utah
- ArtTix outlets
Season Sponsor for Utah Symphony | Utah Opera is the George S. and Dolores Doré Eccles Foundation.
Disney Concerts is the concert production and licensing division of Disney Music Group, the music arm of The Walt Disney Company. Disney Concerts produces concerts and tours, and licenses Disney music and visual content to symphony orchestras and presenters on a worldwide basis.
Disney Concerts' concert packages include a variety of formats, such as "live to picture" film concerts and themed instrumental and vocal compilation concerts and range from instrumental-only symphonic performances to multimedia productions featuring live vocalists and choir. Numerous new concert packages and touring productions from Disney's portfolio of studios, including Disney's feature animation and live action studios, Pixar, Lucasfilm, and Marvel, are currently in development.
Current titles include the Star Wars Film Concert Series (Episodes IV-VIII), Toy Story, Aladdin, The Muppets Christmas Carol, Disney Princess - The Concert, Coco, The Lion King, Up, and The Nightmare Before Christmas, which in 2019 accounted for more than 900 performances in many of the world's top concert venues.
Utah Symphony | Utah Opera connects Utah communities through great live music and is the flagship arts organization of the Intermountain West. USUO's 87 full-time symphony musicians and five opera Resident Artists perform for more 450,000 citizens in Utah and the Intermountain region each year, presenting more than 175 symphonic and chamber music performances; week-long runs of four full operas; and music education programs for students and adult learners. The organization's statewide service includes tours featuring outdoor performances against the backdrop of Utah's natural beauty as well as education offerings—most recently, the six-stop Music Elevated Tour in August 2023.
Founded in 1940 and one of just 16 year-round orchestras in the U.S., the Utah Symphony performs at downtown Salt Lake City's Maurice Abravanel Hall, at its Deer Valley Music Festival in Park City, for Utah Opera productions, and at venues throughout the state of Utah. The symphony has embarked on seven international tours and performed at Carnegie Hall in 2016 in honor of its 75th anniversary season. The orchestra's celebrated recording legacy includes more than 100 recordings; in April 2023, its latest album featuring Messiaen's Des canyons aux étoiles—a work inspired by three scenic Utah locations—was released to great critical acclaim. Thierry Fischer, who led the Utah Symphony as Music Director from 2014 to 2023, was named Music Director Emeritus beginning in the 2023-24 season.
Since 1978, Utah Opera has provided citizens with distinguished and entertaining productions at Salt Lake City's historic Janet Quinney Lawson Capitol Theatre—showcasing emerging and established artists, celebrating traditional works, and championing new works and the American operatic tradition. Utah Opera is one of just six opera companies in the U.S. with full production capabilities, including in-house costume design and set-building; the company currently has costumes for 50 productions and 19 full sets in its inventory. Utah Opera's Resident Artist program is nationally recognized for providing invaluable career-training opportunities for professional singers and pianists.
USUO leads in music education, with interactive and immersive education programs that engage and inspire tomorrow's musicians and music-lovers. In the community and in classrooms, these programs serve more than 91,000 students annually and reach every school district in Utah on a three- to five-year rotation.
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