The Utah Symphony | Utah Opera is giving Park City and Summit County residents first dibs on the 16th annual Deer Valley Music Festival.

Locals can purchase ticket packages and single tickets on Saturday, April 6, at the Visitor Information Center. 1794 Olympic Parkway at Kimball Junction, said USUO spokesperson Renee Huang.

“Locals can bring in proof of residency and purchase ticket packages and individual tickets before they go on sale to the general public on April 9,” she said.

The early sale is the organization’s way of saying “thanks” to locals for welcoming the Utah Symphony’s Deer Valley Music Festival over the past 16 years, said Huang.

“Not only do they get access to tickets before the general public, they also get a 20 percent discount,” she said.

In addition to the discounted advance tickets the Utah Symphony will also show its appreciation by offering other music opportunities to engage the local community, said Paula Fowler, director of education and community outreach.

Three years ago, Fowler met with Utah Conservatory co-founder Debra Cook to find a way to give the conservatory’s summer camp students a way to showcase what they learned.

Cook adjusted her summer camps to coincide with some of the festival’s themed performances, Fowler said.

“We always have a Patriotic Celebration, so Deb came up with the Patriotic Kids Camp, who will get a chance to do a pre-symphony performance at the Snow Park Lodge,” she said.

This year’s Patriotic Kids Camp will perform on July 5, according to Fowler. Another of the conservatory’s summer camps learns about ‘80s rock.

“Since the Deer Valley Music Festival always schedules a rock concert tribute, we give the (‘80s) camp a chance to play before the show,” she said.

This year, the young musicians will perform on Aug. 9, before the Utah Symphony pays tribute to the Rolling Stones, Fowler said.

Bringing an interactive element to the festival is an instrument “petting zoo,” a space where children can learn about and play various instruments that have been provided by Summerhays Music.

This year’s instrument petting zoo will be held July 19, before the Disney in Concert performance, Fowler said.

“We set up tents and the Utah Symphony Youth Guild, who are upper-elementary or secondary school students, teach younger kids how to make their first sounds,” she said. “Who knows, maybe that will get these kids interested in playing music.”

Last year, Fowler and her staff began working with Summit County nonprofits – Mountain Town Music, Art Pianos for All and Park Silly Sunday Market – to showcase events on Main Street.

“Main Street is such a magical place, and it’s wonderful to be able to introduce our artists to the public there,” Fowler said.

Another way the Utah Symphony showcases its musicians on Main Street is through gallery concerts.

This season, those concerts will be held Monday, July 15, and Monday, July 22, at Gallery MAR and Susan Swartz Studios, respectively.

“These are very special and small events,” Fowler said. “Attendance is limited to between 40 and 50 people, and they hear these small ensembles play while surrounded by art.”

These community events are the result of years of experimentation.

“When we started the Deer Valley Music Festival, our main education event was a collaboration with the Muir Quartet, and composer Joan Tower, in the Emerging Quartets and Composers project,” she said. “We featured some Utah composers and string quartets, and it was fun to highlight those works.”

That program ended after 10 years, which gave the Utah Symphony time to look at other opportunities for its professional musicians to interact with amateurs who perform in various community orchestras, Fowler said.

“We thought we could bring those musicians to Park City for instrument workshops called Pro-Am clinics,” she said. “We had to end the clinics because many of these community musicians had commitments to perform with various community theater engagements. But once a door closes on one project, other doors open. And we continue to look for more ways to introduce our artists to the community, and that’s exciting.”