By Julie Wiscombe
The Scera Shell Outdoor Theatre hill will be alive with music Aug. 21, 2006, as the Utah Symphony performs under the direction of long-time associate conductor Scott O”Neil for one of the last times.
The symphony will present a classical concert featuring arrangements by Brahms, Tchaikovsky, Shostakovich, Leroy Anderson, Dvorak, Vivaldi, Smetana and Rachmaninoff as viewers sit on their blankets under the stars.
“It is neat to see a symphony outside,” said April Berlin, operations and marketing manager for the Scera. “It adds a bit of magic.”
This year marks the third annual performance for the symphony at the Scera Theatre. Berlin said attendance to the performances has doubled within the past two years and is expected to continue to increase.
“The symphony will be playing all the classical favorites,” Berlin said. “It always draws a large crowd.”
This performance is the last time associate conductor O”Neil will conduct a performance at the Scera, as he is leaving the Utah Symphony this fall to join the Colorado Symphony.
“Scott is a wonderful conductor with a great sense of humor,” Berlin said. “He has turned into a favorite, and it will be great to see him a final time.”
O”Neil started with the symphony in 2000 as an assistant conductor and became an associate conductor in 2002. Spencer Clark, communications manager for the symphony, said most associate conductors stay with a symphony for only three to five years. The Utah Symphony is lucky to have had O”Neil for the time they did, Clark said.
“The thing we are going to miss most is how personable he is,” Clark said. “He is so much fun for the audience because he can take a piece of music and connect it to a movie scene, for example. He talks to the audience and really has a good time with them.”
O”Neil has been a guest conductor with many well-known symphonies, including the Houston Symphony, Phoenix Symphony, Annapolis Symphony and Portland Symphony. He has conducted the Utah Symphony in more than 100 concerts each year, including educational concerts and appearances during some of the Utah Symphony”s performance series.
However, Utah audiences can see O”Neil again this October when he returns to conduct the symphony as a guest conductor.
The Scera performance will begin with Bedrich Smetana”s Overture to “The Bartered Bride” and will be followed by Smitri Shostakovich”s “Tea for Two.” Also featured will be Piotr Ilych Tchaikovsky”s “Swan Lake” and Brahms” “Four Seasons.” The concert will conclude with Russian composer and pianist Sergei Rachmaninoff”s “Symphonic Dances.”
