Staff Picks: Hillary Hahn and Jeff Counts

Not sure what symphony performance you want to see next? Take a look at what shows our staff—the people who live and die by classical music—would recommend for you! You’ll even get an idea of how to make a night of going to the symphony. This week we’re featuring Hillary Hahn and Jeff Counts’ picks for the upcoming months.
What do you both do?
We are the Senior Director of Institutional Gifts and the General Manager. Hillary works with Corporations, Foundations, and Government organizations to support all the wonderful programs that USUO offers. She also plays the violin, and you’ll occasionally see her playing in the orchestra as a substitute musician! Jeff runs the day-to-day operations of the symphony, and he and his team are responsible for the effortless-feeling performances.
Which performance are you most looking forward to and why?
The Hilary Hahn plays Dvořák’s Violin Concerto, of course! We’ll bring ‘our’ Hillary Hahn’s violin students with us. We always try to invite them to see the great soloists that perform with the orchestra. Augustin Hadelich and Will Hagen were already highlights for them and we know Hilary will be too. As former educators ourselves, we have always appreciated how committed Hilary is to interacting with young people and advocating for the arts in every community she visits.
What do you recommend doing before or after the show?
We don’t always get to see each other before or after concerts because our jobs here are so different, but, if we were patrons, we would definitely go out for a drink and a bite afterward. Salt Lake continues to add interesting post-concert options around Abravanel Hall (this wasn’t always the case!) and our favorites include BTG, Lake Effect, Under Current, Squatters…the list is getting longer each year! Before the show, we enjoy getting sushi at Happy Sumo, grabbing some pasta at Caffé Molise or working our way down Main Street to try the many new great places there. Downtown starts to quiet down a bit after the holidays so it’s nice to take a walk if it isn’t too cold!