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Temple Square
Concert Series for May 2001
Never before
have so many done so much for the Temple Square Concert Series as
in May, when the Series fully justifies its existence as a forum
for the many musicians of all types and persuasions along the Wasatch
Front. Instrumentalists and singers present everything from children's
choir to opera. A highlight is Jeff Manookian's oratorio, Symphony
of Tears (May 18).
As always,
concerts are in the Assembly Hall at 7:30 p.m., unless otherwise
noted. Leave your children under eight years at home, and join us
for some outstanding events. Concerts held in the Tabernacle are
now ticketed events. Free tickets for these performances may be
obtained by calling the ticket office in the Conference Center at
801-240-0080.
Wednesday, May
2 - In its member recital, the Utah Flute Association shares the
enjoyment of flute ensembles by some unusual 20th-century composers:
Berthomieu, Davenport, Dubois, Sancan, and Dring. This is an expanded
version of the group's monthly meetings, where all are welcome.
Friday, May
4 - The Rocky Mountain Strings, comprised of 36 juvenile performers,
will present sprightly dances of many lands for a spring evening:
Prelude and Polka (Shostakovich), Irish tunes, Country Dance (Weber),
Hoedown (Copland), Czardas, Waltz and Tanz (Kabalevsky), and concertos
by Bach and Kuchler. The group was formed from the studios of Ramona
Stirling and Deborah Moench in 1996 and has toured to Poland and
the Czech Republic, as well as many performances around the state.
Saturday, May
5 - The International Children's Choir brings in its usual intriguing
assortment of folk songs, old and new music, popular and classical,
and unique novelties. They are assisted by the Viva Voce! women's
chorus conducted by Jean Applonie.
Colorful costumes
and movement add to the charm of this concert. Kathy Sorensen is
founder and conductor, assisted by Sheryl Laukat, piano; Janet Griffin,
organ and harpsichord; Tamara Oswald, harp; and others, including
leaders of preparatory choirs in surrounding towns.
Thursday, May
10 - Kimberly Keller Moody plays the Assembly Hall organ in "Suite
du premier ton" by Clerambault, Prelude and Fugue in E-flat
Major by Bach, Concerto III in G Major by Soler (with Cynthia Wells
at the harpsichord), Sonata in A Major by Mendelssohn, and Variations
Sur un Noël by Dupré.
Moody graduated
in organ from Brigham Young University. She has performed widely,
excelled in competition, and is an occasional Tabernacle guest organist.
Friday, May
11 - The American West Symphony and Chorus, with Joel Rosenberg
conducting, will perform a concert version of Puccini's Turandot.
Singing Turandot
is Heidi Bloyer Slagle. She's performed many roles with Salt Lake
Opera Theatre, including all Puccini heroines. She's a favorite
soloist with the Portland Men's Choir and Salt Lake Men's Choir.
As Calaf, Ken
Shelley brings wide experience at Peabody Institute, from which
he holds a doctor of music degree, and with prestigious small companies
in the East. He too has sung with Salt Lake Opera Theatre. Marie-Adele
McArthur (Liu) has sung major roles with the National Opera of New
Zealand, Wellington Opera, and Opera Queensland. With American West,
she sang Abigaille in Nabucco by Verdi and the Verdi Requiem. Bruce
Despain performs Timur, and a competent cast fills minor roles.
Lyle Archibald is chorus master. Saturday, May 12 - The Cache Children's
Cantate Choir runs a wide gamut of song from Purcell, Bach, and
Vivaldi to Rutter, Ives, George M. Cohan, and David Sargent, among
others.
Cantate Choir
includes children from 10 to 15. They have been conducted since
1989 by Bonnie Slade. They have sung at workshops and conventions
in St. George and Seattle, have sung with the Mormon Tabernacle
Choir, and toured England, among much else. Elissa Jones is assistant
director, with Marrilee Broadbent at the piano.
Wednesday,
May 16 - Two pieces, Sonata in A Major (Kreutzer) by Beethoven and
Sonata No. 3 in D Minor by Brahms, comprise the program of David
Porter, violin, and Vedrana Subotic, piano.
A violinist
with Utah Symphony, David Porter has played with the Grand Teton
and Ravinia Festivals. He studied at Boston Conservatory and Indiana,
teaches in Houston, Texas, and has appeared internationally. Subotic
is Croatian and won the top piano competition in then Yugoslavia
at age 18. In Salt Lake City she performs with the Nova Chamber
Series and University of Utah faculty series. She is head of instrumental
accompanying at Chautauqua Institution and holds graduate degrees
from Michigan State and Indiana Universities.
Friday, May
18 - Symphony of Tears, a new oratorio by Jeff Manookian "Commemorating
1700 Years of Christianity in Armenia," will be performed by
the Oratorio Society of Utah and the Intermountain Classical Orchestra,
Loris Tjeknavorian conducting. Soloists are contralto Doris Brunatti
and boy soprano Zachary Forsberg.
"The aim
of the Symphony of Tears is to capture the spirit and strength of
survival . . . to honor the dead of the Armenian genocide (1915-18),
to comfort its survivors, to educate the public to this tragedy,
to promote hope for the future of all peoples."
The work had
its premiere on April 30, 2000, when it opened the Madeleine's spring
arts festival. Text is by Manookian and Bradford Nelson, with select
passages from the Armenia divine liturgy. The conductor, Loris Tjeknavorian,
has a multitude of credits from Minnesota to Tehran, through Europe
and South America, and with all major orchestras in London. His
recordings are on RCA, Philips, Saraband, EMI, and many other labels.
Manookian has
won many composing competitions and has enjoyed many commissions,
and his music has been performed widely in America and abroad. Symphony
of Tears was awarded the grand prize in the 2001 composers' Guild
International Composition Competition.
The work has
been performed by the Pasadena Symphony and will be played by the
Fresno Philharmonic and Vienna Symphony. This concert will be in
the Tabernacle at 7:30 p.m., with free tickets available at the
Conference Center ticket office, phone 801-240-0080.
Saturday, May
19 - The Eleanor Kennard Chorale offers an attractive mix of classics,
spirituals, and works of favorite composers and arrangers such as
Rutter, Flummerfelt, Foster, Hogan and Hairston, Bizet, and a group
of pops by Shearing, Mercer-Manilow, Shaw, and Zegree, finishing
off with "Rock Around the Clock." Kennard conducts, Leslie
Anderson accompanies, and Carter Knapp is narrator.
Wednesday,
May 23 - A number of Utah's premiere chamber artists will unite
to present a variety of appealing chamber works. "Trauermusik"
("Music of Mourning") for viola and strings will feature
Joel Rosenberg as violist and conductor of the All Saints Chamber
Group.
Two trios for
flute and various strings follow, featuring Erich Graf of the Utah
Symphony (principal), Tussy King, flute, Rosenberg on the viola,
and cellist Julie Zumsteg. The Chamber Group concludes with Bach's
Brandenburg Concerto No. 5 in D Major by Bach, with soloists Graf,
Rosenberg, and Jeffrey Price on piano. Friday, May 25 - Rebekah
Johnson and Marjorie Janove will offer music for violin and piano,
including "Five Melodies for Violin and Piano" by Prokofiev,
which began life as "Five Songs Without Words." Also Sonata
No. 1 in A Major, a strong, youthful work by Gabriel Fauré;
and "Suite Italienne" by Stravinsky, a commission from
Diagilev's Ballet Russe, based on music of the 17th-century composer
Pergolesi. Rebekah Johnson has been a member of the Utah Symphony
and teaches orchestra in primary schools. Marjorie Janove needs
little introduction to Utah chamber music enthusiasts.
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Magazine. All Rights Reserved.
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