The Utah Symphony concluded its "Family series" Monday night with a musical mystery tour, tracking the elusive Carmen Sandiego across the world of music.
Conductor Gary Sheldon and "Inspector Clue-not" (Bobby Weinapple) joked and bantered through the relatively short program, following clues provided by Carmen. For instance, a clue inside a pizza box was "some `pizza' music!" and a check-marked folder became "it's not a check book, it's a book of Czech music!" Well, you get the gist.Between the gags was some pretty credible music and solid individual performances. Most of the selections were nothing we haven't heard before - except maybe the Koto music. It was pleasant to listen to and contained enough variety to hold the attention of even the youngest attendee. Only in the fourth selection - Smetana's "Moldau" - did the program drag somewhat, and Sheldon even did a run-through so the audience could recognize the difference images. But it was the longest of the numbers and had several pre-teens around me fidgeting for most of the piece.
The music from "Russlan and Ludmilla" overture, Hungarian Dance No. 5, "Les Toreadors" from - what else? - "Carmen," and the "Washington Post March" were all stirring and lively. No fidgeting here. The Sousa march was guest-conducted by an audience member named Angie. Sheldon even gave a brief conducting lesson to the whole audience to let them know what Angie was facing. She should remember that some guest conductors actually bid for the privilege of conducting the Utah Symphony.
Two performances do stand out. Soprano Jenifer Larson sang a wonderful "O mio babbino caro" from Puccini's "Gianni Schicchi." Inspector Clue-not discovered she wasn't Carmen, but she could certainly hit the high notes and held her own with the orchestra at full volume.
Perhaps the most interesting performance of the night belonged to Eiko Kishimoto, who played a piece of Koto music titled "Image of Spring." Her performance on the traditional Japanese instrument was both delicate and hauntingly beautiful.
Anyway, the case was solved and the missing concert hall returned to its rightful place, but somehow that elusive Carmen Sandiego managed to escape again.
Sheldon reminded the parents to bring the whole family back to see the Utah Symphony perform again. As one youngster remarked when she saw me putting away my notebook: "Just say it was good, and you shoulda been here."
Good advice from a teenager.