Exceptional PromiseThe Evelyn Rosenblatt Young Artist Award

by Jeff Counts

When you sign the guestbook at a bed and breakfast or some special historical place, it’s hard not to glance at the names that came before you. You are not simply acknowledging your existence in a semi-public census, you are contributing your consciousness to a collection of meaningful experiences. It is only natural to seek kindred spirits in the register. So, imagine yourself lucky enough to have attended a dinner party at the Salt Lake City home of Evelyn and Joseph Rosenblatt in the 1950s, 60s, or 70s. Your eyes would have lit up when you grabbed the pen, because their guestbook was a gold mine.

Joseph’s parents Nathan and Tillie had immigrated to Salt Lake City in the 1880s. Nathan built up a successful machinery business and he and Tillie raised their three boys to respect education and culture. They were the first stones in the strong edifice of service their family continues to build. Joseph married Evelyn Benowitz in 1930, and the two University of Utah graduates quickly became important civic leaders in their own right. Evelyn had grown up in Ogden but knew Salt Lake well from her weekly trips there for piano lessons. Her deep love of music extended generously to Utah Symphony, where she was active as a donor and member of the Guild. In 2000, when Evelyn turned 90, the Rosenblatt family created a Young Artist Endowment in her name for Utah Symphony that will enjoy its 25th Anniversary in the 2024–2025 Season.

The Rosenblatt’s post-concert gatherings must have been legendary, if the guestbook mentioned above is any indication. Some of the signed names include pianist Arthur Rubenstein, violinist Nathan Milstein, conductor Leonard Bernstein, pianist Byron Janus, actor Betty Furness, cellist Gregor Piatigorsky and, of course, Utah Symphony Maestro Maurice Abravanel. They had other notable guests too, like violinists Jascha Heifetz and Isaac Stern, pianist Glenn Gould, and soprano Beverly Sills. You’ve already imagined yourself with an invite, so think now about what the conversations could have been like. Bernstein in 1960 talking about the upcoming first film adaptation of his West Side Story. Rubenstein in 1965 reminiscing about the all-Chopin program he performed in Moscow the year before. Piatigorsky in 1974 looking back on his long life in music just two years before he died.

Joseph Rosenblatt passed away in 1999, Evelyn in 2004, so their dinner events did not extend into the years of the Young Artist Award. But since we are still enjoying our imaginations here, let’s pretend they did. The twenty-three recipients of the prize, to date, comprise four conductors, three cellists, eight violinists, and eight pianists. Each was an artist in the first stage of their career so, unlike the legends from before, it was their exceptional promise that earned them the recognition of the Rosenblatt family and Utah Symphony. We had conductor Keri-Lynn Wilson in 2000, the very first honoree. At our speculative table she is talking about her time in the flute studio at Juilliard. She now serves as founder and Music Director of the Ukrainian Freedom Orchestra. Our next stop could be 2004 with pianist Olga Kern. She had already won the Rachmaninoff Competition and the Van Cliburn by then, so the discussion around the room is about what mountains are left to climb. She has a piano competition of her own now. Fast-forward to 2013 and there is cellist Matt Zalkind. Both of his parents were in the Utah Symphony back then, so the conversation is, appropriately, about family. He’s currently cello professor at the Lamont School of the University of Denver.

We could easily repeat this exercise with the other twenty winners, and never run out of interesting things to chat about, but it is time to arrive at today. The latest winner of the Evelyn Rosenblatt Young Artist Award is violinist Randall Goosby. Like so many former awardees, Randall went to Juilliard, but not before making his concert debut with the Jacksonville Symphony at the age of nine and appearing on a New York Philharmonic Young People’s Concert just four years later. He studied with Perlman. He has a record deal. He plays a Strad. He champions the music of black composers. Randall Goosby has exceptional promise to spare and has already given so much of himself to various social engagement projects. He regularly performs community programs in schools, hospitals, and assisted living facilities. “Music is a way to inspire others,” he says in his bio, and that is exactly the kind of generosity the Rosenblatt Award stands for. Evelyn and Randall will have a lot to discuss at dinner after he adds his name to the list. She’s going to love him.

When Joseph and Evelyn Rosenblatt’s children created this award in their mother’s name, they helped her make an exceptional promise of her own. It was a promise to use her legacy to foster future Bernsteins and Goulds and Abravanels, and to keep culture at the forefront of all our civic values. Utah Symphony has been proud to partner with the Rosenblatt family for 25 years and will celebrate the collaboration, and its important impact on the Salt Lake community, throughout the 2024-2025 season.

Thank you, Evelyn.