By Laurel Matsuda
It?s not often one gets to experience his or her favorite comics at a concert, but the Utah Symphony and Opera?s production of ?A Comic Tale? at Abravanel Hall will provide just such an opportunity Saturday.
The concert, based on Charles Schultz?s ?Peanuts? characters, will be conducted by symphony associate director Scott O?Neil.
?It is a series we have developed to appeal to the youngest members of the Utah Symphony audience,? Public Relations Coordinator Spencer Clark said. ?Even the very small children will come to this and really enjoy it.?
?A Comic Tale? is written in six movements including ?Schroeder?s Beethoven Fantasy,? ?Lullaby for Linus,? ?Snoopy Does the Samba,? ?Charlie Brown?s Lament,? ?Lucy Freaks Out? and ?Peppermint Patty and Marcie Lead the Parade.?
Clark said ?A Comic Tale? is the grand finale of a series that included a Halloween concert and a Christmas concert. The symphony has numerous series including a Discovery Series and Pops Series.
?The Discovery Series is focused on children in their early teens,? Clark said. ?With ?Beethoven Alive? they had actors portraying Beethoven and the music he composed. They are educational, but try to be entertaining at the same time so they can cultivate a new audience and get children to understand how important music really is.?
Bravo Broadway will be featured in the Pops Series, which has dancers and vocalists who honor ?Hollywood?s golden era? by paying tribute to Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, according to the symphony?s Web site.
The symphony?s hall was named after Maestro Maurice Abravanel who founded the symphony in 1940. Under Abravanel?s direction, the symphony was able to record its first and most important albums known as the Mahler Cycle.
?Maurice was conducting when it wasn?t a full-time job to be a member of the symphony,? Clark said. ?What he really fought for was to make this a real 52-week orchestra where it was people?s full-time job.?
Tickets are $5-$10 and can be purchased by calling (801) 355-ARTS or going to utahsymphonyopera.org. The concert is at 11:00 a.m. Saturday.