August 10, 2015

On August 10th, CDI's founders met with an exclusive group of community members, musical liaisons, and news-media personnel to officially launch the Composer Discovery Initiative.

A private concert and lecture session was held in the Avenues neighborhood of Salt Lake City, featuring performers and scholars from around Utah and the broader United States. We hope to inspire our network and encourage participation as we build an amazing team around us that will facilitate our goals and move our project forward.

September 14, 2014

The first Opera Periphereia symposium was held on the campus of The University of Alaska, AK. 

"Organized by faculty member Zachary Milliman, the Opera Periphereia symposium will examine the intersection of gender, race, class, and politics in neglected opera repertory. Guest lecturers from Salt Lake City and the Pacific Northwest, along with local presenters and performers, will gather to discuss and dissect the way theatrical representations influence public policy and sentiment. 
 

Of particular interest will be papers and performances addressing the early-twentieth-century use of American Indian musical material in American operas (and its impact on native communities), an examination of operas from frequently neglected regions like Sweden and Hungary, and a discussion of the new American opera Mrs. President—which debuted in Anchorage last year—that tackles difficult issues related to the birth of feminism in the nineteenth century. Headlining speaker Graeme Fullerton will examine the concept of "grotesquerie" in theater and invite us to view Stephen Sondheim's Sweeney Todd in a new light.  

All events are free and will be hosted at the University of Alaska on Saturday, September 14. The symposium lectures will be followed by an evening performance of the music discussed. This recital begins at 7:30pm in theUAA Reictal Hall, Arts 150."