Southern Utah University’s Symphony Orchestra is performing its fall concert on Wednesday, Nov. 17 at 7:30 p.m. in the Heritage Center Theater as part of the SUU Music Masterworks Series.
The orchestra will be performing feature music from Carl Maria von Weber and Antonin Dvorak. SUU Director of Woodwinds and Assistant Professor of Clarinet Dr. Laura Grantier will be the featured musician in the Weber Concerto in F Minor for the clarinet and orchestra.
The talented group of musicians is made up of students who auditioned and have been rehearsing and performing masterpieces from the standard repertoire and newly composed literature.
“I’ve loved being in the SUU Symphony Orchestra,” said senior music education major Celeste Stephenson. “I get to play in string orchestras often but playing in a symphony orchestra is a chance anyone should take because there’s something different about having entire sections backing you up.”
Grantier earned her Bachelor of Music from the University of Alabama, a Master of Business Administration from Averett University and a Doctor of Musical Arts from Catholic University of America before coming to instruct at SUU in August 2021.
She is an admired musician with experience in the United States Navy Band and has performed in over 2,250 public concerts, military ceremonies, educational workshops and high-profile protocol engagements for high-ranking dignitaries, including the president and vice president of the United States and the Secretary of the Navy.
As a whole, SUU’s College of Performing and Visual Arts presents over 100 performances, lectures, presentations and exhibitions every academic year. They are constantly collaborating with the Southern Utah Museum of Art, Utah Shakespeare Festival and the Center for Shakespeare Studies.
The concert is an opportunity for the SUU Symphony Orchestra to showcase its talents and for the community to fall in love with the sound.
“I’m excited to play at our upcoming concert,” said Stephenson. “The piece shows off all of the instruments in the orchestra and includes almost impossibly quiet moments as well as incredibly powerful ones.”
Tickets are available now at the America First Event Center box office, at the door on the night of the performance and the CPVA website. The website can also be used to find additional information about upcoming SUU Department of Music concerts.
Students can get free tickets with a valid student ID. Tickets are $10 for adults, $8 for alumni with cards and $5 for youth.
Story By: Addie Horsley
accent@suunews.net
Photo Courtesy of SUU Symphony Orchestra
