Utah Symphony | Utah Opera: Bringing Music to Our Whole State
A young fan enjoys a performance at Deer Valley Music Festival. Photo courtesy of Seth Ian Mower for Utah Symphony.
According to Utah Symphony | Utah Opera’s Ben Kipp, Summit County has been his organization’s “home away from home for over 20 years, between all the different activities and the Deer valley Music Festival.” Kipp, the Vice President of Education & Community Engagement, is adamant that “we’re Utah’s symphony and opera—not just Salt Lake’s. Getting out into our communities is quite literally the DNA of the organization.”
Kipp glows with pride when speaking about Utah Symphony | Utah Opera, and for good reason: “We have one of the most robust music education programs in the country. We served over 110,000 students across the state last year.” In fact, Kipp says his organization’s unusual level of success often raises suspicion. “I moved to Salt Lake City from Cleveland, Ohio, and when I tell former colleagues about the extent to which we serve our entire state, and the community support we receive in return, they think I’m lying.”
Utah Symphony Cellist Kevin Shumway is joined by his family, Emily and Soren, at a 2023 Art Piano performance
One aspect of Utah Symphony | Utah Opera’s work is the cultivation of artists. “Everyone’s path into arts is unique,” says Kipp, “and our goal is to create a welcoming environment so people can come in and be naturally curious as to what this world is, in education and community. ‘Spark Engagement, Foster Belonging, Make Memories’ is our department saying.” Kipp sees youth engagement as the future of the music industry, citing its importance as one of the reasons he was attracted to his current position: “We see the value of [youth artist cultivation] across the decades. Maurice Abravanel saw the importance of getting out into schools, and it’s largely because of his work that our state government decided to support this in very meaningful ways.”
Kipp, who grew up in Chicago, fell on good fortune when he married a Utahn. “My wife grew up here, and we loved our life in Cleveland, but we talked about wanting to move to Utah if the opportunity ever came up. It’s astounding that we have all these people across the state that want music in their communities. They expect excellent performance but also want the material to be approachable and for them, and we get to do that. We’re bringing an opera company and symphony into schools and communities that want it—what more could you want in a life and a job? We’re super fortunate.”
Not only is the superbly supportive community what makes Kipp’s job enviable; it provides unique opportunities to indulge in Utah’s natural beauty. “We do 4-5 educational tours every year, where we are on the road for 2-3 days playing in schools and communities. It’s part of the colloquial nature of the organization. Not every job puts you into some of the most beautiful places in the world! I’ve learned to add a day on to my travels, a day to hang out in Bryce Canyon or Arches National Park, but what is really special is getting to spend time in and around towns that are like hidden gems of the state. We are eager for the opportunities to get better acquainted with the different communities. What a gift that is to get to go to these places and bring something we care about and they care about—it's like paradise.”
Utah Opera Resident Artist, Jasmine Rodriguez, performs
Part of what makes Utah Symphony | Utah Opera’s outreach successful is, according to Kipp, their spirit of collaboration with other statewide Arts & Culture organizations. “We have wonderful partners, including the Arts Council of Park City & Summit County, who understand the nuances of their communities. That is essential in these types of [outreach and traveling] events, and it translates into direct experience for the artists, who might not know the backend details, but they feel it from an organizational perspective, and they feel it in the response from the audience. We don’t have issues finding musicians to play traveling concerts, because they get these little signals of belonging that the community they’re visiting cares about the music.”
Belonging is what it’s all about for Kipp, who maintains that music “connects us with our origins, our own humanity. It connects us with artists from Utah and artists serving Utah. It’s really about the people. Coming out of covid restrictions that was front and center, making spaces for people to gather together in safe and responsible ways. It’s something you can’t replace, the experience of seeing an opera or orchestra right in front of you.”
See all of Utah Symphony | Utah Opera’s events on their calendar. You can also check out Art Piano mini-concerts with Utah Symphony | Utah Opera musicians in collaboration with the Summit County Public Art Advisory Board on the Arts Council calendar!
Upcoming Art Piano events are as follows:
August 15, 4pm at the Ledges Event Center
August 20, 4pm at the Kimball Junction Library