Utah Symphony at the Waterfall

It was a lovely night for an outdoor concert last night!  This Utah Symphony concert at the Waterfall Amphitheatre at Thanksgiving Point is always one of my favorite events of the summer and I really missed it last year!  It felt so good to be sitting outside listening to wonderful music!  I brought a blanket, a picnic, and a book and happily waited in the sunshine for the orchestra, under the baton of Conner Covington, to take the stage for a stirring and patriotic program.  The concert began with Liberty Fanfare by John Williams and continued with Variations on America by Charles Ives (I loved all of the different versions of the theme from My Country, 'Tis of Thee in this piece).  Then the orchestra played the Overture to West Side Story and this made me really excited for the new movie coming in December.  Next came Semper Fidelis, which is the official march of the U.S. Marine Corps, by John Philip Sousa and this was quite stirring!  The first set concluded with Lincoln Portrait by Aaron Copland.  It was narrated by Lt. Governor Deidre Henderson and it was amazing because it combined the words of Abraham Lincoln with incredible music.  After the intermission, the orchestra played Silver Fanfare by Peter Boyer, Olympic Fanfare and Theme by John Williams (this made me realize that the Summer Olympics will be on in just a few weeks!), "Hymn to the Fallen" from Saving Private Ryan by John Williams, and "Nimrod" from Enigma Variations by Edward Elgar (which was absolutely beautiful).  The final piece, Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture, is a Utah Symphony summer tradition and I am really happy that it is back!  It is absolutely epic and the final theme (you can probably hear it in your head right now) gave me goosebumps!  I loved it!  For the encore, they played a rousing rendition of Stars and Stripes Forever by John Philip Sousa which ended in a spectacular fireworks show!  I had so much fun at this concert (I love outdoor performances) and I am looking forward to seeing the Utah Symphony perform several more concerts at the Deer Valley Music Festival this month (go here for information and tickets).