Youth Musical Festival
Utah Chamber Artists, in partnership with Art Works for Kids and the R. Harold Burton Foundation, present their third annual YOUTH MUSIC FESTIVAL at Libby Gardner Concert Hall on Jan. 30-31.
As part of Utah Chamber Artists education program, over 1,500 elementary school students from Canyons School District, Granite School District and Monticello Academy will participate in concerts performed by Artistic Director Barlow Bradford and the Utah Chamber Artists Orchestra.
Professor Susan Kenney of Brigham Young University will host the events and lead the students in interactive "mapping" of the music. Mapping is a tool that evolved from the work of American music educator Mary Helen Richards, and incorporates the philosophy of Swiss music educator Emile Jaques-Dalcroze that movement is the key to expressive music understanding. The students will physically participate in the music with the objective of learning musical concepts through movement, thereby experiencing the music in a way that results in better listening and appreciation skills. Kenney conducted a three-hour training session for teachers and parent volunteers who were provided with materials to take back into the classroom to prepare the students for the concerts.
The “Beverley Sorenson Young Artist Concert” takes place Monday, Jan. 30 at 10 a.m.
Jasmine Weiss, one of 20 applicants, was chosen as the winner during the final round of auditions. Weiss attends Lakeridge Jr. High and is a student of Dr. Irene Peery-Fox. She will perform Piano Concerto No. 4, Mvt. IV by Camille Saint-Saens. Beverley Sorenson will present her with a $500 scholarship award at the concert. Fourth and fifth grade students will attend this concert
Two “Music for Kids” concerts for third and fourth graders will be presented on Tuesday, Jan. 31, at 10 and 11 p.m.
Bradford and Kenney will guide the students through various movements from Saint-Saens Piano Concerto No. 4, Mozart’s Symphony No. 35, and Mendelssohn’s Symphony No. 4. Also featured is a piece by Lithuanian composer, Mindaugas Piečaitis called “CATcerto,” a piece based on his cat Nora’s affinity for “playing” the piano. The students will watch a video presentation of the cat at the keyboard as Bradford conducts the orchestra with pianist Michael Stewart providing the aural portion of Nora’s performance.
