"Anybody who is conducting symphonies of the great composers is doing it because they love it," he said. "Musicians play their instruments because they love it. You don't think about the clock or the time. It's not like work where you're looking forward to your next break. The time just flies by when you're playing and when you're molding these great works together."

For Jacquelynn Jones, a Sugar House resident and a violinist, the symphony is an outlet where she can enjoy the talents she developed as a child.

"I get to associate with people who have the same love of music that I do," she said. "We don't get paid to do it. We're here because we love music."

Jones said she normally spends an hour practicing on her own each day on top of weekly rehearsals, which run twice as long as usual before an upcoming concert.

While time consuming, the practices under Rosenberg are purposeful and advantageous, said June Christensen, a cellist from Sandy.

"I really think I've become a better musician playing under (Rosenberg)," Christensen said. "He's just excellent and he fine-tunes things; you really feel like the final product is something everyone can be proud of."

Playing in an orchestra is a unique experience because it requires all of the members to work toward a common goal at the same time, she said.

"It's inspiring," Christensen said. "It's almost like sculpture to watch something go from a rough form to something finished, something beautiful."

The end product lifts everyone involved, both the audience and the performers, she said.

"I think music fills a need in my life that I can't really fulfill in any other way," Christensen said. "It is very comforting and enriching. I feel like I need to feed my soul and (playing music) is how I do it."

She explained that her mother had recently died and the loss had been especially hard on her.

"It's been very healing to continue playing," she said. "Although it's hard because she's always been my biggest fan since I was a child."

Christensen, who has performed with symphonies and quartets for most of her life, said she considers the Orchestra and Chorus of Sandy City to be a great asset for musicians in the community like herself.

"There would be a great void if you had to go great distances or if there wasn't one at all," she said. "I know I'd feel it."

Sandy is one of a handful of cities in the valley that has its own orchestra. Murray and Taylorsville also have community orchestras.

People often don't realize that this outlet exists and that they can bring their families to enjoy it, Jones said. Sandy's orchestra is a family friendly alternative to the Utah Symphony for parents who want to expose their children to the arts.

Sandy's orchestra will perform a symphony by Beethoven and Mussorgsky's "Pictures of an Exhibition" as part of two educational youth concerts March 3 and 4 at the Good Shepard Lutheran Church.

Rosenberg said he hopes young people and their families will attend the concert, which will include a discussion about the music and the instruments that are featured. The concert begins at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $8 for adults and $15 for families.

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E-mail: sbills@desnews.com