Utah Symphony To Honor Veterans And Military

During the 2016-17 season, Utah Symphony | Utah Opera will present its annual cultural festival with an emphasis on supporting veterans and those currently serving in the military through the arts. From February to May, the "Arts in Service to the Military" festival will focus on ways that the local arts community can appreciate and support veterans and military members. Free and discounted tickets to events will be supplied through www.Vettix.org. For a complete list of events, please visit www.usuo.org/festival.

"As part of this festival, many local arts organizations will present events on military themes and will also provide access for active and separated military personnel to a variety of arts performances," said USUO Education and Community Outreach Director Paula Fowler, who helps curate the cultural festival each year. "We will also draw attention to veterans' active art-making as a means of self-expression."

Much of the inspiration for this year's theme was found in Utah Opera's Western U.S. premiere presentation of "The Long Walk," a contemporary chamber opera based on Brian Castner's best-selling memoir, on March 31st and April 1st. This opera offers a visceral look at the realities of modern warfare and the unseen battles that follow veterans and military personnel throughout their lives with the story of an American soldier returning home and coping with the effects of blast-induced traumatic brain injury from bomb disposal work in Iraq.

In addition to events and discussions surrounding "The Long Walk" - attended by the author, Brian Castner himself - the festival will encompass three film screenings, a Ballet West dance performance, Salt Lake Acting Company (SLAC) world premiere, and Utah Opera Resident Artists performing an art song evening on "Songs of Conflict and Peace."

Highlights of this year's cultural festival include:

22nd Annual Local Veterans Creative Arts Festival at the George E. Wahlen VA Medical Center will take place February 7-10. Veterans will compete in the areas of art, music, drama, dance and creative writing.

Salt Lake Acting Company: World Premiere-Harbur Gate by Kathleen Cahill will take place on February 8 through March 12at Salt Lake Acting Company (168 W 500 N) in a ticketed event about three female soldiers in the combat zone, a Purple Heart, a human heart, a blind man, a terrible secret and the transformative power of art.

"The Long Walk" Composer Presentation will take place on Tuesday March 28 at 10:45 am - 12 pm at the Dumke Recital Hall, Gardner Hall at the University of Utah. Jeremy Howard Beck will discuss the music of his opera "The Long Walk" with an opera literature seminar. Public is invited to attend.

Book Discussion on "The Long Walk": a discussion with Hivemind Book Club SL and the author Brian Castner will take place on Tuesday March 28 at 7 pm. at the Art Access building (230 S 500 W #125). Readers of Brian Castner's memoir will discuss the book with its author.

Guest Writers Series: "The Long Walk" will take place on Wednesday March 29 at 12 pm at the Jewel Box in the Carolyn Tanner Irish Humanities Building on the University of Utah Campus. It will include side-by-side readings of prose and lyricized text for the opera "The Long Walk" by writer Brian Castner and librettist Stephanie Fleischmann. Co-sponsored with U of U Creative Writing Department and SLC Arts Council.

Special Collections Exhibit: Utah at War is an exhibit at the Salt Lake City Public Library that will take place between March 20 to April 22. It will include rare books, photos, and periodicals exploring Utah's complicated military history.

Utah Opera: "The Long Walk" Western U.S. premiere: opera by composer Jeremy Howard Beck and librettist Stephanie Fleischmann based on the best-selling memoir by Brian Castner will take place March 31 and April 1 at 7:30 PM at the Jenné Wagner Theatre.

Ballet West: Journey and Reflections, Including The Green Table: a beautiful performance including Kurt Jooss' masterwork, The Green Table, a powerful study of war, taking place at various times from April 7-15 at the Janet Quinney Lawson Capitol Theatre.

Songs of Conflict and Peace: Utah Opera Resident Artists will perform art songs on themes of conflict, combat, military, and peace on April 18 at 7 PM in the UO Production studios.

For a complete listing of events, details and resources, please visit www.usuo.org/festival.

About Utah Symphony | Utah Opera Education Department

The Education Department of Utah Symphony | Utah Opera creates and oversees opportunities in music for audiences of all ages, with special emphasis on musical experiences for K-12 students and teachers. As the largest performing arts organization in Utah, USUO promotes a broad public knowledge and appreciation of music through more than 30 state-assisted community outreach programs, amounting to more than 600 performances annually. USUO Education serves more than 7,000 teachers and 155,000 students each year throughout Utah by bringing both symphony and opera programs, free of charge, to every school district in Utah over a three- to five-year rotation. For more information, visit www.usuoeducation.org or call 801.869.9091.

About Utah Symphony | Utah Opera

Utah Symphony | Utah Opera connects Utah communities with great live music in orchestral and operatic art forms that celebrate past traditions while cultivating present and future audiences. The Utah Symphony, which performs at Abravanel Hall, is one of the nation's only year-round orchestras. Together with Utah Opera, which performs at the Capitol Theatre, USUO reaches 450,000 residents in Utah and the Intermountain region with educational outreach programs serving more than 155,000 students annually. The organization employs 57 staff and 85 full-time musicians and presents four full operas and more than 70 symphony performances in each regular season as well as community concerts throughout Utah and an annual summer series - the Deer Valley® Music Festival - in Park City, Utah. For more information, visit www.usuo.org.

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Season Sponsor for Utah Symphony | Utah Opera is the George S. and Dolores Doré Eccles Foundation.