Public Health Updates from Utah Symphony | Utah Opera

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah (May 12, 2020) – Utah Symphony announced the postponement of the six-week, 19-concert Deer Valley® Music Festival in Park City after consulting with local community partners and Summit County health officials for precautions on public gatherings. For more information, visit deervalleymusicfestival.org.

“We are saddened that it has become necessary to postpone the Deer Valley® Music Festival this summer, and we are working hard to reschedule performances into summer 2021. Our first priority is the health and safety of our musicians, staff and the public,” said Patricia A. Richards, Interim President & CEO for Utah Symphony | Utah Opera. “Our decision has been made with careful consideration of recommendations for reopening large public gatherings and on the advice of county health officials. We look forward to presenting a renewed and vibrant outdoor season in summer 2021 when we can once again join together as a community over great live music.”

The six-week, 19-concert music festival was scheduled to run from Friday, July 3, 2020 to Wednesday, August 12, 2020 with 11 full orchestra concerts at Deer Valley’s Snow Park Outdoor Amphitheater, eight chamber groups at St. Mary’s Church, and various pop up concerts including small Utah Symphony musician ensembles performing at art galleries on historic Main St. This summer lineup included Utah Symphony performances with Rock and Roll Hall of Famers The Beach Boys, multi-platinum selling singer-songwriter Ben Folds, legendary R&B/funk band Kool & the Gang, the keepers of New Orleans jazz tradition Preservation Hall Jazz Band and rock group Little River Band.

The Utah Symphony is working to reschedule the concerts from the 2020 season. Current Deer Valley Music Festival ticket buyers will be issued tickets for new performance dates when they are announced and do not need to take any action at this time. They will be contacted by the ticket office when new dates are announced. Patrons may also consider a full or partial contribution of their ticket value towards the organization. In the event certain concerts cannot be rescheduled, gift certificates will be issued as with previous cancellations. Gift certificates are valid through August 31, 2021 and will be valid for next summer’s concerts. Additional information is available at https://usuo.org/gift-certificate-redemption/.

Deer Valley Resort, along with The State Room Presents, The Utah Symphony and Mountain Town Music made the collective decision to not present any concert series in the Snow Park Outdoor Amphitheater for the 2020 summer season.

“Although it was a difficult decision to not offer any of the highly anticipated annual concerts, we all agree that pausing these events this year is in the best interest of the health and safety of our community, our guests and our staff members,” said Deer Valley® President and COO Todd Shallan. “We appreciate the support of our three concert series partners and the understanding of our guests during this challenging time. We very much look forward to a summer full of music and celebration on the mountain next year.”

In- and out-of-state visitors to the Utah Symphony’s Deer Valley® Music Festival boost the Summit County tourism economy through activities surrounding their concert attendance. A 2019 post-festival survey of visitors found 86 percent of respondents indicated that they had come from outside Summit County. Festival attendees reported that 30 percent visited local restaurants, 19 percent went shopping, 16 percent visited Park City’s historic Main Street and 10 percent participated in a recreational outdoor activity such as hiking or biking. An overwhelming 65 percent of respondents said that the Deer Valley® Music Festival influenced their decision to visit Summit County. The festival has grown to an annual attendance of more than 40,000.

In response to recommended COVID-19 health and safety precautions, Utah Symphony | Utah Opera cancelled the remainder of the orchestra performances in the 2019-20 season in late March. USUO is working closely with local government officials and the health department to determine when it is safe to resume performances. No full orchestra performances are scheduled until September.

Due to a high volume of phone calls, patrons are asked to not contact the ticket office at this time and to instead make these requests through the online ticket form on our website.

UTAH SYMPHONY | UTAH OPERA SUSPENDS PERFORMANCES THROUGH MAY 23 FOLLOWING UTAH STATE RECOMMENDATIONS FOR COVID-19 RESPONSE

Utah Symphony | Utah Opera today announced the suspension of performances through May 23, 2020 in response to the state’s increased COVID-19 precautions for social distancing and Salt Lake County Arts and Culture’s announcement that performing arts venues will be closed through May 15, 2020.

“We are deeply saddened to cancel live symphony and opera performances but want to assure everyone that this cancellation is temporary and we will be back! We hope to resume performing this summer with free community concerts, the Deer Valley® Music Festival in Park City, and certainly later this fall,” said Utah Symphony | Utah Opera interim President and CEO Patricia A. Richards. “As stewards of the arts, Utah Symphony | Utah Opera places priority on the safety and wellbeing of everyone in our community. We are heartbroken to cancel live performances, and continue to harness the incredible healing power of music to connect communities across Utah.”

USUO continues to connect communities to the uplifting power of music through social media channels and the website, with audio streaming, curated playlists, performance clips and Ghost Light podcasts available in the “Listening Room,” linked here: https://utahsymphony.org/explore/playlists/listening-room/ and https://utahopera.org/explore/playlists/listening-room/.

Educational resources including instructional videos and teaching lessons are available online at usuo.org. KBYU radio station Classical 89 will increase broadcasts in the coming weeks of previously recorded performances and some commercial recordings that the orchestra has published in recent years, including works by Prokofiev, Berlioz and Saint-Saens. For a complete list of the air dates, times and programs, visit https://utahsymphony.org/radio-broadcasts/

Utah Symphony | Utah Opera Board Chair Tom Love expressed the trustees’ concern for the continued support of the organization. “As representatives of one of the state’s treasured cultural institutions, the board and I wish to make an impassioned plea to our state and federal governments to offer financial aid to offset the enormous impact these closures will have on our performing arts groups,” said Mr. Love. “We are very much in favor of keeping our communities safe and healthy, and we also believe passionately in the uplifting and healing role of music to connect communities during times of difficulty. I hope ticketholders, subscribers and donors will consider donating to us and other arts organizations at this time so we can continue our mission to serve our fellow Utahns.”

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The cancellation of performances creates significant financial challenges for non-profit arts organizations. USUO joins counterparts in other orchestras and opera companies across the country to lobby Congress to release financial aid to offset losses.

The following Utah Symphony | Utah Opera performance dates have been canceled. The organization is currently evaluating whether any of these performances can be rescheduled to a future season.

• March 12, 2020 – Utah Opera, “Opera-Tunities” Night for “The Barber of Seville”
• March 14, 16, 18, 20 & 22, 2020 – Utah Opera, “The Barber of Seville”
• March 17 & 21, 2020 – Utah Symphony, “Carnival of the Animals”
• March 19, 2020 – Utah Symphony, All-Star Youth Pro Am
• March 26, 27 & 28, 2020 – Utah Symphony, “Carmina Burana”
• April 9, 10 & 11, 2020 – Utah Symphony, Brahms Piano Concerto No. 2
• April 16, 2020 – Utah Symphony, “The Temptations with the Utah Symphony” (Ogden)
• April 24 & 25, 2020 – Utah Symphony, Beethoven 2020: “Pastoral” Symphony
• May 1 & 2, 2020 – Utah Symphony, Beethoven 2020: Symphony No. 5
• May 7, 2020 – Utah Opera, “Opera-Tunities” Night for “Thais”
• May 9, 11, 13, 15 & 17, 2020 – Utah Opera, “Thais”
• May 16, 2020 – Utah Symphony, Gala with Joshua Bell
• May 22 & 23, 2020 – Utah Symphony, Season Finale: Beethoven’s “Eroica”
• July 11, 2020 – Ben Folds with The Utah Symphony

USUO is working closely with local government officials and the health department to determine when it is safe to resume performances. The April 14, 2020 performance of “How to Train Your Dragon” Film in Concert and April 17 & 18, 2020 performances of The Temptations with the Utah Symphony are being rescheduled. Current ticket holders for those performances do not need to act at this time. They should retain their tickets and will be contacted by the ticket office when new dates are announced.

For all other canceled performances, existing ticket holders will be contacted with information on how they can request a gift certificate or return their tickets for a contribution.

Patrons who have purchased tickets for the following Ogden performances should visit onstageogden.org or call 801-399-9214 for ticketing options:

• March 17, 2020: “Carnival of the Animals”
• April 9, 2020: “Brahms Piano Concerto No. 2”
• April 16, 2020: “The Temptations with the Utah Symphony”

Due to a high volume of phone calls, patrons are asked to not contact the ticket office at this time and to instead make these requests through the online ticket form on our website.

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An message from Interim President & CEO Patricia A. Richards.

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We hope everyone is safe after this morning’s earthquake. Our Patron Services offices at Abravanel Hall will be closed today, pending inspection of the building. We hope to be back up and running again tomorrow at noon. Ticket and subscription purchases are still available through our website. If you are looking to resolve a ticket payment for a cancelled performance, please submit these requests through the online forms on our website:

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UTAH SYMPHONY | UTAH OPERA CANCELS PERFORMANCES THROUGH MARCH 28, 2020 FOLLOWING RECOMMENDATIONS BY GOV. HERBERT FOR UTAH’S COVID-19 RESPONSE

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah (March 12, 2020) – Utah Symphony | Utah Opera today announced the cancellation of performances for the remainder of March after Utah State Governor Herbert recommended limiting large gatherings of groups of 100 or more in a press conference about the state’s COVID-19 response.

Gov. Herbert in conjunction with the Utah Department of Heath recommended “limiting mass gatherings of groups of 100 or more” starting Mon. March 16 for two weeks, at which point the state will reassess the situation.

“Utah Symphony | Utah Opera remains committed to the health and safety of our staff, musicians, audiences and guest artists. We are evaluating whether we can reschedule performances but cannot guarantee that at this time,” said Utah Symphony | Utah Opera interim President and CEO Patricia A. Richards. “The cancellation of events and performances is financially devastating to all organizations impacted by this restriction, and we ask for patrons to consider a donation to their respective organizations in lieu of a refund.”

The following Utah Symphony | Utah Opera performance dates have been cancelled. The organization is currently evaluating whether any of these performances can be rescheduled to a later date.

• March 12, 2020 – Utah Opera, “Opera-Tunities” Night for “The Barber of Seville”
• March 14, 16, 18, 20 & 22, 2020 – Utah Opera, “The Barber of Seville”
• March 17 & 21, 2020 – Utah Symphony, “Carnival of the Animals”
• March 19, 2020 – Utah Symphony, All-Star Youth Pro Am
• March 26, 27 & 28, 2020 – Utah Symphony, “Carmina Burana”
• July 11, 2020 – Ben Folds with The Utah Symphony

Any further cancellation of performances will follow the guidance of Utah State and the Department of Health.

During a time when we’re all feeling uneasy, facing unprecedented questions and challenges in the weeks and months to come, we’re especially grateful for the incredible community we’ve built together.

We are committed to the health and safety of our patrons, staff, musicians, and guest artists, and we are working hard to create clarity for each of you during this difficult period. The decision to cancel performances was not an easy one. But we look forward with great anticipation to welcoming you all back when we reopen our doors in the (hopefully!) not so distant future.

We realize that the specific impact of the current situation is different for everyone, but we’re all affected in some way. Ticket revenue and donations are the lifeblood of Utah Symphony | Utah Opera. Please help us ensure our future by choosing one of the following options for tickets you’ve purchased to a canceled performance:

• If your circumstances permit, donate your ticket purchase as a tax-deductible contribution, and we’ll send you a receipt for tax purposes.
  As you may know, USUO is a community-supported non-profit, and we need your help now more than ever as we plan for the future of great live music. Our mission to cultivate music performance and education outreach to the furthest reaches of the state could not continue without the generous support of our donors.
• Return your tickets and receive a gift certificate for the full value of your ticket purchase.
  Gift certificates will be valid for the next 18 months and can be applied towards any Utah Symphony or Utah Opera ticket purchase, including 2020-21 season subscriptions.

Ticket buyers can contact USUO’s ticket office for all other ticketing questions. Please be patient with our team as we’re experiencing an unusually high volume of calls. We strongly encourage all patrons to submit requests through our online ticket option request form (below), or send an email to [email protected]:

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Thank you so very much for the incredible support and loyalty you have shown to Utah Symphony | Utah Opera.

While COVID-19 (Coronavirus) has not greatly impacted Utah at this time, Utah Symphony | Utah Opera is closely monitoring the situation and remains committed to the health and safety of our staff, musicians, audiences and guest artists. We are monitoring the global situation and are receiving updates from Utah Department of Health and Center for Disease Control.

Salt Lake County custodial staff is enhancing cleaning and disinfecting procedures at our venues to focus on surfaces of that have heavy public contact (door handles, door knobs, elevator keypads, restrooms). Our venues are taking extra precautionary measures and will provide additional soap, disinfectant wipes and hand sanitizer dispensers effective immediately to aid in complying with CDC hand-cleaning recommendations.  We will continue to monitor the situation to make sure our patrons have a safe and healthy experience at Utah Symphony and Utah Opera performances.

We recognize that customers may be carefully considering the situation when purchasing tickets or planning to attend future performances. To offer increased planning flexibility, we are waiving all $5 single ticket exchange fees (subscribers never pay exchange fees) until further notice for patrons who are feeling unwell, need to stay home to care for sick household members, or are at high-risk for illness. We also highly encourage those who feel unwell or who may be at increased risk to stay home, and we are happy to adjust any existing tickets. Call the Ticket Office at 801-533-6683 or email [email protected] if you need to exchange tickets for an upcoming performance.