Staring At The Crossroads In Salt Lake

Executive oversight is an issue which is high on the minds of the Utah Symphony & Opera (US&O) stakeholders. The two Salt Lake organizations officially merged at the beginning of this decade with the promise from their now CEO, Anne Ewers, that the new organization would be greater then the sum of its parts.  Prior the merger, Ms. Ewers served as the Utah Opera General Director and had built a positive …

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Something Special In St. Louis Part 2

Part 1 left off with the promise of examining how the musicians from 14 American orchestras performed a grand concert to thank the St. Louis community for their support over the recent months.  The best way to fully understand just how much of an impact this concert had, you will need to hear from the musicians. In Their Own Words Nicolae Bica, Violinist, St. Louis Symphony Orchestra (pictured right in the blue …

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Something Special In St. Louis Part 1

On Sunday, March 13, 2005 the musicians of the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra along with colleagues from 14 orchestras* joined together to present a free concert to the greater St. Louis community.  In all, there were 109 musicians led by Maestro Benjamin Zander in a performance of works by Beethoven, Tchaikovsky, Shostakovich, and Elgar**. The musicians gathered for a single, two hour rehearsal and then performed to an overflow audience at …

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Meet Me In St. Louis

Thanks to the generosity of some bighearted fans of the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, I’ve been offered an opportunity to attend the mass orchestra concert which the musicians of the SLSO organized as a way to say thank you to their supporters. The musicians of the SLSO will be joined by a host of professional orchestra musicians from 14 other orchestras for a one time only performance.  You can learn more …

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Getting Up To Speed In Utah

Over the past week, there’s been a flurry of media attention in the Salt Lake are about the Utah Symphony & Opera (US&O) organization.  Salt Lake Tribune music critic, Celia Baker, has written a few articles about the issues.  They’re both excellent examples of reporting the facts; you can read them here, and here. Much of the attention is the result of consultant’s report which examines the internal organization and the …

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