Press Releases
Utah Voices Begins Dynamic Third Season That Includes Performing at Lincoln Center in NYC
Submitted by admin on September 15, 2011 - 9:45pmSALT LAKE CITY, UT—Only in the third season, Utah Voices has already received notable praise from both the press and concert patrons and now has the opportunity to sing Handel’s Messiah, at Avery Fisher Hall in New York City’s Lincoln Center. The choir will perform in New York during Thanksgiving weekend in November, joining other extraordinary choirs from around the country as part of Distinguished Concerts International New York. “The amazing thing about Utah Voices,” says Artistic Director Dr. Michael Huff, “is that they sing all over the musical map.” The professional sounding, but non-auditioned, choir is currently recruiting new members and hopes to increase the number of singers in the bass and tenor sections the most. Rehearsals are held Wednesday nights at South Davis Jr. High in Bountiful from 7:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. The choir meets weekly and is led by Dr. Michael Huff, visiting professor at Utah State University’s Caine College of the Arts Department of Music, and Associate Conductor Kelly DeHaan.
Among other planned performances for the 2011-2012 season are “Hometown Praise,” November 11, featuring sacred choral works by Utah composers and songwriters; a Salt Lake City performance of Messiah, December 12; “Glorious Beethoven,” featuring Symphony No. 9, in March; and another installment of the “Broadway Bingo” in May. The choir’s range in repertoire and professional sound earned an invitation to perform at Centerville City’s 2011 4th of July patriotic program that included Governor Gary Herbert as keynote speaker, and for the last two summers, the choir has performed at the Pioneer Day Sunrise Service at the Tabernacle on Temple Square. For more information visit www.utahvoices.org.
Kurt Bestor’s Timpanogos to Highlight Salt Lake Symphony and Utah Voices Concert in May
Submitted by admin on April 27, 2011 - 5:00pmSALT LAKE CITY—Timpanogos: A Prayer for Mountain Grace, a tone poem by Emmy Award-winning composer Kurt Bestor with libretto by award-winning author Terry Tempest Williams, will be the highlight of Salt Lake Symphony’s next concert, “American Roots,” featuring the acclaimed chorus, Utah Voices and the group’s Artistic Director and Conductor Dr. Michael Huff. The concert will be Saturday, May 21, at 7:30 p.m. at Libby Gardner Hall at the University of Utah. All tickets are $10 and general admission. Ages eight and up are recommended. Tickets are available online at www.utahvoices.org, by calling 801-531-7501 and also at the door.
The concert’s repertoire aptly reflects the theme selected by Salt Lake Symphony Music Director, Dr. Robert Baldwin, who will direct performances of Appalachian Spring by Aaron Copland and Choral Fantasia on Deep River, by Calvin Taylor. This will be the second collaborative concert for Salt Lake Symphony and Utah Voices. Beyond his work as Utah Voices’ artistic director, Dr. Huff is the Director of Special Programs at Utah State University’s Caine College of the Arts and a Visiting Professor with the Department of Music.
A five-movement piece, commissioned and performed by Utah Symphony Chorus, Timpanogos premiered at Abravanel Hall ten years ago, and the May 21 concert will be only its second public performance. The music and libretto suggest everything from the mountain’s origins as an ancient glacier to its backdrop to a busy, suburban lifestyle today. Copland’s Appalachian Spring is a ballet score commissioned by the late renowned choreographer and dancer Martha Graham. It is the spring celebration of American pioneers in the 1800s after building a new Pennsylvania farmhouse. Graham danced the lead role at its premiere in 1944.
As part of the celebration of 50 years of African American presence and contribution to the University of Kentucky, Calvin Taylor was commissioned to write Choral Fantasia on Deep River. The work premiered at the university in 1999 under the direction of Dr. Robert Baldwin, now music director for the Salt Lake Symphony and Director of Orchestral Activities and Interim Director of the School of Music at the University of Utah. Both Kurt Bestor and Calvin Taylor hope to attend the performance. For more information visit www.utahvoices.org.
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Utah Voices Will Present a Concert That’s Both Fun and Games
Submitted by admin on February 1, 2011 - 5:00pmSALT LAKE CITY—For their March concert, Utah Voices will put a new “spin” on Broadway show tunes with “Broadway Bingo,” featuring special guests and hosts Kelly DeHaan and Jennifer Hohl. The performances is Friday, March 11 at 7:00 p.m. at Libby Gardner Hall at the University of Utah School of Music, (1375 E. President’s Circle) in Salt Lake City. All seats are general admission and $10 each. Tickets and more information are available online at www.utahvoices.org.
Under the direction of Artistic Director Dr. Michael Huff and Associate Conductor Kelly DeHaan, Utah Voices will perform a rollercoaster of a repertoire that spans several decades. Except for the opening and closing numbers, the entertaining song sequence will be determined by bingo draw. The audience is welcome to play along with “Broadway Bingo” cards that come in the programs.
There’s something for everyone in this show that features numbers from such hit shows as Carousel, Ragtime, Hair, Les Misérables, Rent, Wicked and Hairspray and medleys that highlight music from Rodgers and Hammerstein, Leonard Bernstein, Marvin Hamlisch, and many more. A collection of Utah’s finest freelance musicians from Ray Smith to Reed LeCheminant to Doug James and others will make up the accompanying ten-piece band. DeHaan and Hohl will fill the bill with solo and duet performances from other beloved musicals and of course, more fun and laughter.
