Utah Chamber Artists
Encyclopedia
The Utah Chamber Artists, based in Salt Lake City, Utah
, was established in 1991 by Music Director Barlow Bradford. The ensemble consists of forty singers and forty players who together create a balance and sonority rarely found in a combined choir and orchestra. Besides presenting the traditional and revered repertoire of the past, the group provides audiences with the finest contemporary works and regularly commissions new music. The musicians perform out of their love for great music and a genuine desire to enrich the lives of their listeners.
Utah Chamber Artists is a major artistic force along the Wasatch front
in Utah
, but they also enjoy a broader reputation. The choir has been heard on the National Public Radio program "First Art," appeared on the Mormon Tabernacle Choir
's weekly broadcast, performed with Keith Lockhart
and the Boston Pops Esplanade Orchestra, and sung on various occasions with the Utah Symphony. Dale Warland and Paul Salamunovich have also been guest conductors during the ensemble's regular concert series. In 1996, the choir was invited to perform with the Israel Chamber Orchestra. Dr. Bradford conducted the ensembles in a concert tour of Israel which culminated in a studio recording of the John Rutter
"Requiem
."
Utah Chamber Artists orchestra and choir have recorded several compact discs. Their first, "Welcome All Wonders; A Christmas Celebration," was awarded an "Indie" from NAIRD (National Association of Independent Record Distributors & Manufacturers..) Utah Chamber Artists has just completed a second Christmas CD, "Joyous Day," which includes Barlow Bradford's innovative arrangements of familiar carols.
The choir and orchestra offer a concert season in Salt Lake City in addition to touring and recording. Their range is extensive, which is manifest by the musicians' proficiency and enjoyment in performing music from all eras. They are as equally at home with music of the Renaissance as they are with jazz and popular music. These concerts feature the choir and orchestra in tandem as well as highlighting each group separately. Under the baton of Barlow Bradford, all is imparted with mastery, artistry and insight.
Utah Chamber Artists was featured on NPR
's "The First Art," a program dedicated to choral music and performed as a featured ensemble with the Boston Pops and Utah Symphony. Under his baton, Utah Chamber Artists also toured Israel with the Israel Chamber Orchestra, performed as the guest choir at the American Choral Directors Association
national convention, and joined the Mormon Tabernacle Choir
on their national television broadcast. Dr. Bradford's focused, energetic conducting style led to his appointment as music director of the Orchestra at Temple Square
in Salt Lake City and associate director of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. Prior to that, he was director of orchestras at the University of Utah.
His compositions and arrangements have garnered much attention for their innovation and dramatic scope, from delicate, transparent intimacy to epic grandeur. His most recent composition, "From the Fowl's Perspective," received its world premiere when presented to an elated audience during a performance by the Honolulu Symphony
in October 2005. Many of Bradford's arrangements have been recorded by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and performed regularly by such noted ensembles as the Dallas Symphony Chorus, New York Choral Artists, and the Utah Chamber Artists. His music has been recorded on Telarc, Clarion, Bonneville, and the Mormon Tabernacle Choir labels. A full CD of his exuberant arrangements of Christmas Carols, "Joyous Day," featuring the Utah Chamber Artists, is on the Clarion label.
Dr. Bradford's performance career began in his early teens when he won numerous competitions in both organ and piano performance, including the National Young Artists Competition and the Utah Symphony Salute to Youth. He soloed on both instruments with the Utah Symphony and has concertized throughout England and North America. Still a much sought-after recitalist, he combines technical virtuosity and deep musical sensitivity to create memorable musical experiences for audience and performers alike.
As a teacher, Dr. Bradford taught courses in music theory, conducting, arranging, composition, private piano and organ at the University of Utah
and Brigham Young University Hawaii
. He received his doctorate of musical arts from the University of Southern California
, where he was awarded the Kodolfsky Graduate Fellowship, the Music Faculty endowed Scholarship, the Leo Podolsky
Piano Performance Award, the Mary Van Lear Memorial Scholarship, and was voted by the faculty as "Most Outstanding Student" in both conducting and keyboard collaborative arts. He studied conducting at the Aspen Music Festival and the Tanglewood Music Festival
and received bachelor of music in piano performance from the University of Utah. His teachers and mentors include Gustav Meier, Daniel Lewis, Nina Svetlanova, Kevin Fitz-Gerald, Gladys Gladstone, Lennox Larsen and Robert Cundick.
Salt Lake City, Utah
Salt Lake City is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. The name of the city is often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC. With a population of 186,440 as of the 2010 Census, the city lies in the Salt Lake City metropolitan area, which has a total population of 1,124,197...
, was established in 1991 by Music Director Barlow Bradford. The ensemble consists of forty singers and forty players who together create a balance and sonority rarely found in a combined choir and orchestra. Besides presenting the traditional and revered repertoire of the past, the group provides audiences with the finest contemporary works and regularly commissions new music. The musicians perform out of their love for great music and a genuine desire to enrich the lives of their listeners.
Utah Chamber Artists is a major artistic force along the Wasatch front
Wasatch Front
The Wasatch Front is a metropolitan region in the north-central part of the U.S. state of Utah. It consists of a chain of cities and towns stretched along the Wasatch Range from approximately Santaquin in the south to Brigham City in the north...
in Utah
Utah
Utah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...
, but they also enjoy a broader reputation. The choir has been heard on the National Public Radio program "First Art," appeared on the Mormon Tabernacle Choir
Mormon Tabernacle Choir
The Mormon Tabernacle Choir, sometimes colloquially referred to as MoTab, is a Grammy and Emmy Award winning, 360-member, all-volunteer choir. The choir is part of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints . However, the choir is completely self-funded, traveling and producing albums to...
's weekly broadcast, performed with Keith Lockhart
Keith Lockhart
For the baseball player, see Keith Lockhart Keith Lockhart , to Newton Frederick and Marilyn Jean Woodyard Lockhart, is an American orchestral conductor....
and the Boston Pops Esplanade Orchestra, and sung on various occasions with the Utah Symphony. Dale Warland and Paul Salamunovich have also been guest conductors during the ensemble's regular concert series. In 1996, the choir was invited to perform with the Israel Chamber Orchestra. Dr. Bradford conducted the ensembles in a concert tour of Israel which culminated in a studio recording of the John Rutter
John Rutter
John Milford Rutter CBE is a British composer, conductor, editor, arranger and record producer, mainly of choral music.-Biography:Born in London, Rutter was educated at Highgate School, where a fellow pupil was John Tavener. He read music at Clare College, Cambridge, where he was a member of the...
"Requiem
Requiem
A Requiem or Requiem Mass, also known as Mass for the dead or Mass of the dead , is a Mass celebrated for the repose of the soul or souls of one or more deceased persons, using a particular form of the Roman Missal...
."
Utah Chamber Artists orchestra and choir have recorded several compact discs. Their first, "Welcome All Wonders; A Christmas Celebration," was awarded an "Indie" from NAIRD (National Association of Independent Record Distributors & Manufacturers..) Utah Chamber Artists has just completed a second Christmas CD, "Joyous Day," which includes Barlow Bradford's innovative arrangements of familiar carols.
The choir and orchestra offer a concert season in Salt Lake City in addition to touring and recording. Their range is extensive, which is manifest by the musicians' proficiency and enjoyment in performing music from all eras. They are as equally at home with music of the Renaissance as they are with jazz and popular music. These concerts feature the choir and orchestra in tandem as well as highlighting each group separately. Under the baton of Barlow Bradford, all is imparted with mastery, artistry and insight.
Barlow Bradford
Over the course of his extraordinary musical career, Dr. Barlow Bradford has distinguished himself as a conductor, composer, arranger, pianist, organist, and teacher. As an orchestral and choral conductor, he co-founded the Utah Chamber Artists in 1991 and has led that organization to international acclaim for its impeccable, nuanced performances and award-winning recordings - including an INDIE from NAIRD (National Association of Independent Record Distributors & Manufacturers) for the CD "Welcome All Wonders," released in 1996 on the BWE label.Utah Chamber Artists was featured on NPR
NPR
NPR, formerly National Public Radio, is a privately and publicly funded non-profit membership media organization that serves as a national syndicator to a network of 900 public radio stations in the United States. NPR was created in 1970, following congressional passage of the Public Broadcasting...
's "The First Art," a program dedicated to choral music and performed as a featured ensemble with the Boston Pops and Utah Symphony. Under his baton, Utah Chamber Artists also toured Israel with the Israel Chamber Orchestra, performed as the guest choir at the American Choral Directors Association
American Choral Directors Association
The American Choral Directors Association , headquartered in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, is a non-profit organization with the stated purpose of promoting excellence in the field of choral music...
national convention, and joined the Mormon Tabernacle Choir
Mormon Tabernacle Choir
The Mormon Tabernacle Choir, sometimes colloquially referred to as MoTab, is a Grammy and Emmy Award winning, 360-member, all-volunteer choir. The choir is part of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints . However, the choir is completely self-funded, traveling and producing albums to...
on their national television broadcast. Dr. Bradford's focused, energetic conducting style led to his appointment as music director of the Orchestra at Temple Square
Orchestra at Temple Square
The Orchestra at Temple Square is a 110-member orchestra located in Salt Lake City, UT. The Orchestra was created in 1999 under the direction of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Church President Gordon B. Hinckley as part of the creative initiative to continually strengthen and...
in Salt Lake City and associate director of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. Prior to that, he was director of orchestras at the University of Utah.
His compositions and arrangements have garnered much attention for their innovation and dramatic scope, from delicate, transparent intimacy to epic grandeur. His most recent composition, "From the Fowl's Perspective," received its world premiere when presented to an elated audience during a performance by the Honolulu Symphony
Honolulu Symphony
The Honolulu Symphony, also known as the Honolulu Symphony Orchestra, was founded in 1900. The Honolulu Symphony is the oldest symphony orchestra in the USA west of the Rocky Mountains. Originally housed in a clubhouse on the slopes of Punchbowl, the Honolulu Symphony now plays from the Neal S...
in October 2005. Many of Bradford's arrangements have been recorded by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and performed regularly by such noted ensembles as the Dallas Symphony Chorus, New York Choral Artists, and the Utah Chamber Artists. His music has been recorded on Telarc, Clarion, Bonneville, and the Mormon Tabernacle Choir labels. A full CD of his exuberant arrangements of Christmas Carols, "Joyous Day," featuring the Utah Chamber Artists, is on the Clarion label.
Dr. Bradford's performance career began in his early teens when he won numerous competitions in both organ and piano performance, including the National Young Artists Competition and the Utah Symphony Salute to Youth. He soloed on both instruments with the Utah Symphony and has concertized throughout England and North America. Still a much sought-after recitalist, he combines technical virtuosity and deep musical sensitivity to create memorable musical experiences for audience and performers alike.
As a teacher, Dr. Bradford taught courses in music theory, conducting, arranging, composition, private piano and organ at the University of Utah
University of Utah
The University of Utah, also known as the U or the U of U, is a public, coeducational research university in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. The university was established in 1850 as the University of Deseret by the General Assembly of the provisional State of Deseret, making it Utah's oldest...
and Brigham Young University Hawaii
Brigham Young University Hawaii
Brigham Young University–Hawaii is a private university located in Laie, Hawaii. It is owned and operated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints ....
. He received his doctorate of musical arts from the University of Southern California
University of Southern California
The University of Southern California is a private, not-for-profit, nonsectarian, research university located in Los Angeles, California, United States. USC was founded in 1880, making it California's oldest private research university...
, where he was awarded the Kodolfsky Graduate Fellowship, the Music Faculty endowed Scholarship, the Leo Podolsky
Leo Podolsky
Leo Podolsky was a classical pianist and educator.Leo Podolsky had many piano teachers in his youth, but George Lalewicz was credited as the most successful...
Piano Performance Award, the Mary Van Lear Memorial Scholarship, and was voted by the faculty as "Most Outstanding Student" in both conducting and keyboard collaborative arts. He studied conducting at the Aspen Music Festival and the Tanglewood Music Festival
Tanglewood Music Festival
The Tanglewood Music Festival is a music festival held every summer on the Tanglewood estate in Lenox, Massachusetts in the Berkshire Hills in western Massachusetts....
and received bachelor of music in piano performance from the University of Utah. His teachers and mentors include Gustav Meier, Daniel Lewis, Nina Svetlanova, Kevin Fitz-Gerald, Gladys Gladstone, Lennox Larsen and Robert Cundick.