Utah Symphony brings performance to Logan
Editor’s note: This article was updated on Sept. 23 at 3:26 p.m. to correct the composer’s name.
Utah State University, a school built on traditions, brought the Utah Symphony back to its concert halls.
The symphony filled the Newel & Jean Daines Concert Hall on Sept. 11, giving students and the community a chance to experience a professional orchestra without leaving campus.
The event, part of an annual tradition, drew a packed crowd of students, faculty and residents from around Cache Valley. The performance included works by Edvard Grieg, a living composer, a piano concerto by Norwegian composer Edvard Grieg and Robert Schumann’s Symphony No.1, conducted by guest conductor Anja Bihlmaier.
For many in the audience, the highlight was the chance to see a full symphony orchestra in Logan. The Utah Symphony is one of only 17 full-time orchestras in the United States, making its proximity a unique opportunity.
“It’s a world class orchestra, right?” said Nicholas Morrison, director of the Caine School of the Arts. “They’re from 90 miles away, but these are folks that could hold their own with the best musicians in the world.”
According to Morrison, the visit was more than a performance. Before the concert, several symphony musicians led master classes with Utah State music students. Principal trumpet Alex Mann was among those who shared instruction, and students had the chance to ask questions and learn directly from performers who play on professional stages.
Steve Brosvik, president and CEO of the symphony, said the interactions between students and musicians were a key part of the trip.
“It’s always great to see a professional musician interacting with people who are still learning,” Brosvik said. “We’re all still learning, no matter where we are.”
Morrison said the classes are a major benefit to students.
“We have great faculty here, but sometimes for a student to hear the same ideas in different words from a professional is also really impactful,” he said.
Morrison added if students were to seek out a private lesson with musicians of this caliber, the cost would be significant, making this opportunity uniquely valuable.
Tickets for the event were provided at no cost to students through support from the Tanner Trust for Universities. Morrison said the free admission matters.
“Students pay tuition. They deserve something,” he said.
For students who attended, the night offered not only exposure to professional music but also the chance to connect with each other in a shared setting. Brosvik said live performance has a different energy than recordings and creates relationships between the audience and musicians.
“You go to a live performance, it’s always different,” he said. “Anything can happen. And what’s even better is when you’ve got musicians now that our players have been working with — there’s this like, ‘I know that person.’ I just spent two hours with that person. And you build a relationship that way, and that matters.”
That sense of community was a major theme of the evening. Morrison said one of the most important takeaways is the way music can bring people together across differences.
“We do so much now where we have our playlist on our phones and we’re listening by ourselves,” he said. “The opportunity to attend an arts event together — there’ll be people from all ages, from all kinds of backgrounds, all kinds of different religious and political affiliations all in the same room, all having the same experience listening to something. There are not very many opportunities in our society today when that happens.”
Bringing people together was a key theme throughout the night. After the opening piece, Morrison came onto the stage to welcome and thank the symphony for coming. He then gave a brief speech, mentioning political violence in light of recent events as well as the events that occurred on 9/11. A moment of silence then followed.
The Utah Symphony has performed at Utah State nearly every year for the past decade, and both Morrison and Brosvik said they hope the tradition continues. Brosvik added the symphony views visits outside Salt Lake City as part of its mission.
“We take the Utah in our name really seriously,” he said. “Getting up here to Logan and to the university is really important to us. It’s a relationship that we really value.”
The evening closed with a reminder of the ongoing partnership between Utah State and the Utah Symphony. Both organizations expressed optimism the annual visits will continue to bring professional music to the campus and the surrounding community.