­MUSIC EDUCATION OFFERINGS FOR TEACHERS & SCHOOLS

An important part of our mission is to provide Utah students with an introduction to orchestral music, training in listening skills, and tools for understanding musical concepts in ways that support the state core curriculum. We provide teacher in-service opportunities along with orchestra performances to cultivate these skills. Utah Symphony’s in-depth performance and lecture/demonstration events remind Utah students and teachers that they have many opportunities to have music in their lives, whether as performers or audience members.

Please contact our education department at [email protected] if you have questions about any of our music education programs.

5TH GRADE CONCERTS

Utah Symphony’s Fifth Grade Concerts all take place in February. Students and teachers will enjoy this opportunity to hear all of the instruments of the orchestra (as part of the process of choosing the instruments they themselves might like to study) while listening to these incredible works performed by the Utah Symphony.

Arrangements for students and teachers from Canyons, Davis, Granite, Jordan, Salt Lake, and Tooele are made through your Local Education Agency’s Arts Coordinator. Public schools from other Local Education Agencies, charter schools, private schools, and homeschools can sign up using the registration link below. Please plan one chaperone per 15 children in addition to your teachers.

Concerts are approximately 50 minutes in length.

The 2025 Fifth-Grade Concerts have ended. Check back in the summer for information on the 2026 Fifth-Grade Concerts.

Contact [email protected] with any questions.

The Utah Symphony thanks Sponsors and Community Partners for making our 5^th Grade Concerts possible this year.  We are especially grateful for Professional Outreach Programs in the Schools funding from the Utah State Legislature through the Utah State Board of Education, and the Elizabeth Brown Dee Fund for Music in the Schools.

IN-SCHOOL SYMPHONY CONCERTS

As part of our education initiative, the Utah Symphony programs a full orchestra or chamber orchestra (45 to 50 musicians) each year that travels great distances to play in schools with any size auditorium.

Separate 50-minute concerts are created for elementary (grades 4-8) and high-school audiences. When school or district schedules make it necessary to have students in grades 4-12 at the same concert, we’ll perform the elementary concert program. Teachers receive materials to help prepare students for the concert, as well as activity suggestions to help support the music core curriculum.

To schedule a concert in your district, contact our Education Department or your district arts coordinator.

OPEN REHEARSALS

Bring your class for an inside look into how a professional orchestra rehearses!

Space is limited. Please apply online and if accepted you will receive a confirmation email.

All rehearsals are held at Abravanel Hall (123 W South Temple, SLC UT). Classes must arrive as a group 30 minutes before the start of rehearsal. The repertoire being worked on at each rehearsal will be determined by the conductor and may not include all of the repertoire on the concert. Rehearsals will last up to 2.5 hours; school groups are invited to leave during the break (typically 1 to 1.5 hours into rehearsal). We ask that all attendees remain in the concert hall during the rehearsal. Please exhibit respectful behavior for our spaces, musicians, and staff; any behavior viewed as disruptive will result in the school being asked to depart early.

You must be a teacher or junior high/high school student to attend.

Please check out our Finishing Touches schedule for more opportunities to bring a group to a Utah Symphony rehearsal. For questions please email the Education Department at [email protected].

TEACHERS IN THE HOUSE

Teachers who attend Utah Symphony performances can earn 3 re-licensure credits.

Here’s How:

1. Buy discounted teacher tickets! Teachers receive a 10% discount for most performances.
2. Arrive at Abravanel Hall 1 hour prior to the Masterworks concert and sign in at the Coat Check.
3. Attend the pre-concert lecture in the First Tier Room followed by the concert!

Earn the re-licensure credits by registering for these events ahead of time through the USBE MIDAS system.

Building Belonging: USUO Education Session

Aimed at enriching learning experiences and encouraging a culture of belonging, these sessions will provide insights of the available resources offered by USUO. Delivered at your school or district location the session is led by a member of the USUO Education & Community Engagement staff and usually lasts 60 – 90 minutes.

BUILDING & BACKSTAGE TOURS

Groups may request a 30-45 minute tour of Abravanel Hall. Experience the behind-the-scenes world of the Utah Symphony—from exploring backstage to learning about the careers. Masks are required.

Abravanel Hall

Abravanel Hall is home to the Utah Symphony and part of the Salt Lake County Center for the Arts. Adjacent to Temple Square and the Salt Palace on South Temple Street, this architectural masterpiece has become a major landmark. In addition to orchestral performances, the hall also hosts numerous concerts and special events. Abravanel Hall, formerly known as Symphony Hall, was so named in May 1993 for the beloved Maestro Maurice Abravanel, conductor of the Utah Symphony and advocate for all the arts in Utah.

The concert hall was created specifically to provide an environment of acoustical excellence by Dr. Cyril M. Harris, who was the acoustical consultant for the remodeled Avery Fisher Hall in New York City, the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C., and Orchestra Hall in Minneapolis.
Abravanel Hall is actually a concrete building within a brick building. Inside these two outer shells stands the beautiful concert hall. Designed strictly as a concert hall, the stage has no proscenium; instead, it is an extension of the audience. The hall is rectangular, which is characteristic of the world’s finest symphony halls, such as the Grosser Musikverinssaal in Vienna, the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam (Netherlands), and the Symphony Hall in Boston.

To reach the hall, you must pass through sound-lock corridors—designed to prevent the confusion and noise of the lobby from spilling into the concert hall. The interior of the hall is dominated by convex curved surfaces—these designs and the basic building materials were carefully chosen by Dr. Harris and the architects for acoustical purposes. Six 16 x 16 -foot brass chandeliers are suspended from the ceiling, featuring 18,000 hand cut beads and prisms of Bohemian crystals imported from Austria and Czechoslovakia. The four-story lobby is crowned with a ceiling of white oak and solid brass, and adorned with more than 12,000 square feet of tempered glass made in England. The lobby of the hall faces East and toward the former home of the Utah Symphony, the Salt Lake Tabernacle and Temple Square.