Utah Valley University’s School of the Arts hosted the Utah Symphony’s Serenade of Strings on Jan. 24 at 7:30 p.m.
The string section of the Utah Symphony not only maintained a persona of professionalism and class during their performance, but they also inspired young artists and students in the crowd to follow their dreams.The Serenade of Strings is a spectacular show enjoyed by all age groups, not just the middle aged and older.
For the night’s performance, the string section played four songs, Divertimento no. 17 in D by Mozart, Battalia by Biber, St. Paul Suite by Holst and lastly Serenade for Strings by Tchaikovsky. Mozart’s Divertimento no. 17 in D is a great song to start the evening with because it sparked up the mood of the room. The song was peppy with staccato notes which created a spring-like sound- it would be Bambi’s theme song. It was great song to start the evening off with.
After Mozart was Biber’s Battalia piece, which was was revolutionary to the baroque period according to Madeline Adkins, concertmaster for the Utah Symphony 2016 -2107 season. Biber created unique and inventive pieces throughout his career.
“The baroque period is usually associated with structure and rules. Biber breaks that and creates his own battle scene with music,” said Adkins.
Biber’s composition called Battalia was meant to reflect a battle scene. With it’s four movements, Biber constructs a scene before the battle begins, during the battle and after the battle has ended. These three scenes were produced by staccato notes that progressed into long, slow notes.
“Early in the baroque period, symphonies did not have a conductor,” said Adkins. “Tonight, we are going back to that style of performing.”
The musicians maintained professionalism and pose despite having no conductor and adding and removing musicians every now and again during the performance.
“It’s a lot of fun for us because we get to do this all the time,” said Adkins, “It’s our passion and we thank you.”
The performance is meant to inspire not only young artists, but students, to follow their passions in life and continue their education. Kodi Frost, behavioral science junior, agreed that this performance is for more than entertainment. The Serenade for Strings show inspires students and young performers to follow their dreams.
“After seeing this performance, it’s for more people than just performing arts students and aspiring musicians,” said Frost, “It is inspiring professionals in their field of work, living their dream. It shows that any dream is attainable and possible.”
