The public is invited to Deer Valley Music Festival’s free pop-up piano performance
Artists will present opera and musical theater selections
The Utah Symphony | Utah Opera invites the public to a free pop-up piano performance at Trailside Park on Saturday, July 31.
The performance, which is part of the Deer Valley Music Festival, will begin at 4 p.m. and feature pianist Taylor Burkhardt and tenor Addison Marlor, said Paula Fowler, Utah Symphony | Utah Opera’s director of education and community outreach.
“They are planning on a mix of opera selections, art songs and a mix of classic musical theater, specifically some Rodgers and Hammerstein,” Fowler said. “In addition, Taylor is planning to do a solo in the midst of the singing, and she will play ‘La Fille aux Cheveux de Lin,’ ‘The Girl with Flaxen Hair,’ by Debussy.”
The performance will last 30 minutes, so people should show up early, Fowler said.
Burkhardt recently wrapped up her second year in the Utah Symphony | Utah Opera’s resident artist program in May, and Marlor, also a resident artist program alumni, has appeared in a couple of Utah Opera productions in the past, according to Fowler, who selects the artists for the performance.
“In making the decision of who will perform, I always like to choose someone who is associated with our company,” she said. “When we are given these opportunities to do things like the pop-up piano performances during the summer, and we don’t have our resident artists available, I go through a list that includes program graduates and people who have settled locally, who have established themselves as superb artists.”
The pop-up piano concerts are made possible through the Utah Symphony | Utah Opera’s partnership with Mountain Town Music and the Summit County Public Art Advisory Board, which oversees the Art Pianos Project, according to Fowler.
“We’re continually looking for opportunities all the time to connect and collaborate with different organizations in Park City,” she said. “We have worked with the Utah Conservatory and the Egyptian Theatre’s YouTheatre program, and we’ve worked with art galleries as well. But we weren’t able to do those programs this year due to the current coronavirus safety standards and we are looking forward to getting back to those in the future.”
Art Pianos Project attracted the Utah Symphony | Utah Opera a few years ago, because it commissions artists to restore old pianos that are placed in accessible areas to be played by the general public, Fowler said.
The Trailside piano, designed, refinished and painted by Anna Leigh Moore, is the newest of the seven pianos that have been donated to the public art program, she said.
“It is located near a picnic table area, which is covered, and that protects it a bit from the elements,” Fowler said.
Last summer the pop-up piano performances went mobile due to coronavirus concerns.
“Mountain Town Music safely secured one of the pianos on a flatbed truck, and our artists performed during stops in Kamas and at the bottom of Main Street,” she said. “It was exciting to safely hear live music out in a public place, and we’re excited that we were contacted again to participate with Mountain Town Music and the Summit County Public Art Advisory Board for another pop-up performance this year.”
When: 4 p.m. Saturday, July 31
Where: Trailside Park, 5715 Trailside Dr.
Cost: Free
Web:deervalleymusicfestival.org/events/2021/11259/
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