Music will fill the air as venues throughout Utah prepare for outdoor summer concerts. Featuring genres ranging from classical to country to rock, these events attract spectators young and old who come to enjoy the music.
"I personally think that it is very important for children, for youth, to be exposed to the arts in general, specifically performing arts and music," said Jesse Schaefer, performing arts program manager for the Brown Bag Concert Series. "Kids really love music, they love to dance and they can be creative themselves."
But parents may wonder whether they should bring their children to certain concerts, concerned over whether their children can behave or whether the concert is appropriate for young ears.
When it comes to the Deer Valley Music Festival, Utah Symphony's public relations director, Renée Huang, said she believes children can benefit from attending, though parents need to know their children and their capacity to sit for a length of time.
“It is outdoors and there are people of all ages, and the kids can run up and down the hill,” Huang said. “It is not the same as sitting in a concert hall, so I think the opportunity to expose your kids to the culture of classical and live music is something that is really unforgettable for kids.”
The Deer Valley Music Festival will kick off in Park City on July 2 with a patriotic celebration featuring Broadway star Doug LaBrecque. Like many of the other concerts in the festival, the show includes discounted tickets for youths, and children under 3 are admitted for free.
“This is a great experience that I think is so important to expose young people and children to,” said Rei Hotoda, associate conductor of the Utah Symphony. “There is so much diversity in all of the programs that I am conducting for the summer, and that is because we want to give the audience a different experience each time they hear us.”
Another concert series for families to consider is the Concerts in the Park series, which will take place Tuesday and Friday evenings in the Brigham Young Historic Park. Irvin Nelson and his group, Relic Acoustic Band, perform late ′60s early ′70s acoustic music and are among this year's lineup. Nelson said he enjoys having kids attend their concerts.
“It is good for the family to experience music together,” he said. “We see a lot of families at a lot of these events that we do, and they are always having a good time.”
Nelson said parents should go online and listen to a group's music in advance to determine whether it would be something their children would enjoy and whether it would be appropriate for them.
“People show up to our stuff all the time with newborn babies,” he said. “It doesn’t make a difference what age they are; they all enjoy the music.”
For many of the concerts, whether to bring children will depend on factors such as the venue and the artists.
The Red Butte Garden Outdoor Concert Series will feature many performances, including ones by The Monkees, Tears For Fear and The Avett Brothers. Though the performances may be free of profanity and other objectionable content, Chris Mautz, concert promoter for the series, said parents should carefully consider whether to bring younger children because of the hours of the shows. For the majority of the Red Butte Garden shows, the gates will open at 6 or 7 p.m., and the performances can last for up to five hours.
Derrek Hanson, director of events and visitor services at Red Butte Garden, said another factor to consider is that the series organizers can't guarantee what a performer might do or say onstage; he encourages parental discretion.
If parents decide to bring their children, Hanson suggests selecting seats near the back so children have freedom and space to move around.
“What I have noticed is that families will kind of congregate there so their kids can play while the parents can watch the show,” he said.
Diane Stern, one of the organizers of the Summer Concerts at the Ogden Nature Center, said the Ogden Nature Center programs its series with families in mind but encourages patrons to remember they are viewing the concerts as part of a group.
“I tell parents that if they have a baby and the baby starts crying, then you need to take the appropriate measures to make sure it doesn't disturb the rest of those who went to the concert,” she explained.
Regardless of age, Mautz said, the experience of viewing live outdoor music can be beneficial.
“I think live music, especially in the outdoor setting, is more culturally based,” Mautz said. “Music itself can be somewhat spiritually and culturally fulfilling for a lot of people depending on what type of educational tools they are looking for.”
Email: ewhite@deseretnews.com