Location: Tracy Aviary

Round trip transportation will be provided from the Hyatt Regency Salt Lake City.

Enjoy an outdoor concert at the historic Tracy Aviary, a serene, wooded oasis in the heart of Salt Lake City, and just minutes from the Hyatt Regency, the Conference hotel. Produced by the Eden Festival and sponsored by Cadenza Artists, this program will explore the intersection of Latin American, classical, and popular musical styles, featuring the multi-instrumentalist and composer Clarice Assad, with a special appearance by celebrated pianist Lara Downes, and alongside Alecia Lawyer, oboist and artistic director of ROCO.

Dinner will be provided and is included in the cost of your ticket.

Cost: $45

Location: Maurice Abravanel Hall

Speaker(s): Marin Alsop, Conductor and Educator, TACF; Jessica Rivero Altarriba, Assistant Conductor, Utah Symphony; Steven Brosvik, the O.C. Tanner president and CEO of Utah Symphony | Utah Opera; Renée Fleming, Goodwill Ambassador for Arts and Health, World Health Organization; and Simon Woods, President and CEO, League of American Orchestras

Performance: Clarice Assad, Composer and Pianist; Quinn Mason, Composer and Conductor; and Barbara Scowcroft, Music Director and Conductor, Utah Youth Philharmonic and Utah Youth Symphony

The opening general session at Maurice Abravanel Hall will feature the Utah Youth Philharmonic and Utah Youth Symphony and Music Director and Conductor Barbara Scowcroft, performing two world premieres by Brazilian-American composer and pianist Clarice Assad and American composer and conductor Quinn Mason.

The opening keynote address will be given by American soprano Renée Fleming, a leading advocate for the study of the powerful connection between art and health. Renée serves as the World Health Organization Goodwill Ambassador for Arts and Health and was the former Artistic Advisor at Large to the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. Renée partnered with Dr. Francis Collins from the National Institutes of Health to develop the Sound Health partnership, a collaboration between the National Institutes of Health, Kennedy Center, and National Endowment for the Arts, exploring the intersection of music, health, and neuroscience.

Another highlight of the opening will be the presentation of the League’s Gold Baton award to American conductor Marin Alsop, Music Director Laureate of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, Principal Guest Conductor of The Philadelphia Orchestra, Chief Conductor of the Ravinia Festival, Music Director of the National Orchestral Institute + Festival (NOI+F) at the University of Maryland, and Director of Graduate Conducting at the Johns Hopkins University’s Peabody Institute, among others. The award will be presented by Latin American conductor Jessica Rivero Altarriba, Assistant Conductor of the Utah Symphony and a Taki Alsop Fellowship Award Recipient from 2024-26.

The Opening Session has been generously co-sponsored by Akustiks, HGA Architects & Engineers, and Schuler Shook.

Location: Maurice Abravanel Hall

Concert tickets can be added on to your Conference registration until May 16, 2025. After that date, please purchase directly from the Utah Symphony.

Hear the Utah Symphony led by Music Director Emeritus Thierry Fischer on Thursday, June 12 at Maurice Abravanel Hall, one of the nation’s premiere concert venues. Violinist Clara-Jumi Kang will make her Utah Symphony debut with the Korngold Violin Concerto on a program bookended by Mexican composers past and present. Revueltas’ Noche de encantamiento warns of the dangers of cultural clashes, while Gabriela Ortiz’s Téenek leaves us with the message that a hopeful future lies in recognizing each other’s respective identities and differences—and weaving them together creates something stronger than the sum of the parts. 

The Conference Tune-Up Party will follow.

Location: Plaza in front of Maurice Abravanel Hall

Following the Utah Symphony’s performance, be sure to join us for the Tune-Up Party. Join the staff, musicians, board, and volunteers of Utah Symphony | Utah Opera to enjoy music by Utah Symphony Principal Clarinet Tad Calcara and his New Deal Swing Orchestra and sample locally sourced refreshments. Come for the performance and festivities; stay for the conversation and company!

This event is open to all Conference registrants; you’ll just need your badge to enter.

Speaker(s): Kinan Azmeh, Composer and Clarinet Player; Martha Gilmer, President and CEO, San Diego Symphony Orchestra; Alan Mason, Board Chair, League of American Orchestras; and Simon Woods, President and CEO, League of American Orchestras

Performance: Kinan Azmeh, Clarinet; Jason Hardink, Piano

During the closing luncheon on Friday, June 13, following the League’s annual meeting, the conclusion of the Conference will feature a performance by and conversation with Kinan Azmeh—Syrian clarinet player, composer of contemporary classical music, and frequent guest artist at orchestras—and a conversation with him and Martha Gilmer, President and CEO of the San Diego Symphony Orchestra, on the themes of home, freedom, and belonging. A champion of artistic freedom, Azmeh plays in his own Arab-Jazz Quartet CityBand and his Hewar trio as well as with the Silkroad Ensemble since 2012, whose 2017 Grammy Award-winning album “Sing Me Home” features Azmeh as a clarinetist and composer.

No additional cost. The Closing Luncheon is included in your Conference registration!

The Closing Luncheon has been generously sponsored by Threshold Acoustics.