The Utah Symphony and Opera will be taking their show on the road this summer, pairing live classical music with Utah’s natural landscape. In a new partnership with the Office of Tourism, the Symphony announced Tuesday it will be offering free open-air concerts at Utah’s Mighty 5 national parks this August.
The announcement took place in the new Momentum climbing gym in Millcreek. Behind a woodwind trio were dozens of people with harnesses, ropes, and carabineers, climbing up and repelling down. Utah Symphony Music Director Thierry Fischer says combining these worlds is a dream come true.
“Some people know that one of the reasons I came to Utah is because I am an outdoor man. This is one of my dreams - to combine the different energies we are constantly surrounded by, sounds and nature, and to have these spectacular sceneries around the full symphony orchestra performing pieces, that is really something I think nobody will forget,” Fischer says.
The performances will take place August 11-17 in outdoor venues surrounded by the landscape of Capitol Reef, Arches, Canyonlands, Bryce Canyon and Zion National Parks. Vicki Varela from the state’s Office of Tourism says this partnership takes the Mighty 5 concept to another level.
“Thank you for the courage and the vision to make your symphony hall the spires and the hoodoos and the arches and the cliffs that are part of our natural landscape," Varela says. "We know that Utahns and people from all over the world are going to want to have this experience.”
Free advance tickets will be available beginning in May. The George S. and Dolores Dore Eccles Foundation is the presenting sponsor. The tour also has major support from the Sorenson Legacy Foundation and the Utah State Legislature.
