Nine youth artists light up Abravanel Hall in Salute to Youth concert

The Utah Symphony's annual Salute to Youth concert took place Tuesday in Abravanel Hall. Sponsored by the Deseret News, the concert is a showcase for young area musicians, who get the opportunity of a lifetime by soloing with a professional orchestra.

This year's concert was conducted by the symphony's new music director Thierry Fischer, a strong advocate for promoting the performing arts among young people and cultivating their talents. The program featured nine performers ranging in age between 11 and 18. The artistry and musicality exhibited by these youthful players was astonishing. They dazzled the sizable audience who rewarded them with enthusiastic and well earned applause.

Starting the evening rolling were violinists Maren Davis, 15, and Douglas Benson Ferry, 16, playing the first movement from Antonio Vivaldi's Concerto For Two Violins in A minor, op. 3, no. 8. Both are fine musicians in their own right and they displayed excellent ensemble playing. Their reading was articulate and cleanly phrased, and they brought enthusiasm to their performance. It was a great way to start the evening.

They were followed by 17-year-old soprano Anna Victoria Humphries singing "Piangero la sorte mia" from George Frideric Handel's opera "Giulio Cesare." Humphries has a lovely voice that is expressive and lyrical yet also possesses power. She brought feeling and sensibility to the aria in which she has to express both sadness and anger.

Two more movements from violin concertos followed to close out the first half.

David Price, 18, played the first movement from Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's Violin Concerto No. 3, K. 216. It's an exuberant piece and Price captured this with his nuanced playing that was both lyrical and nicely crafted.

Seventeen-year-old Samantha Anderson closed the first half with the opening movement from Jean Sibelius' Violin Concerto. Anderson has musicality and fine technique which she put to good use in her passionate account.

The second half began with Pablo de Sarasate's "Zigeunerweisen" ("Gypsy Airs") played by 12-year-old Shenae Anderson. The youngster brought a maturity to her playing and to her stage presence that was impressive. She put her technical skills to good use here as she delivered a beguiling reading of one of the more demanding pieces in the violin repertoire.

Eighteen-year-old mezzo-soprano Rebecca Pedersen followed, singing "O mio babbino caro" from Giacomo Puccini's opera "Gianni Schicchi." Pedersen possesses a rich, warm voice and she gave a heartfelt rendition filled with feeling and passion and gorgeously crafted phrases.

The concert concluded with two piano concertos. Eleven-year-old Anthony Cheng gave a lyrical and charming reading of the first movement from Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 23, K. 488, while Natalie Coombs, 17, mesmerized the audience with her dramatic account of the first movement from Sergei Rachmaninoff's Concert No. 1 in F sharp minor. Coombs exhibited her incredible technical skills that made the bravura writing look easy. Yet her playing was also lyrical and musical.

e-mail: ereichel@desnews.com