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It's fitting that Simone Porter will play Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's "Souvenir d'un lieu cher," or "Memory of a dear place," with the Utah Symphony on May 28-29 in Abravanel Hall. That's the place where her interest in music was ignited.

The violinist was born in Salt Lake City, where her parents taught at the University of Utah, and lived here until she was 5. "I went to so many concerts in Abravanel Hall; it started this entire pathway," she said. "I heard so many violinists. I was very young, so the specifics are fuzzy, but I remember many experiences. It's like coming home."

Porter has lived most of her life in Seattle, where she made her professional debut with the Seattle Symphony at age 10. Since then, she has performed with several major orchestras in the U.S. and abroad. Though this will be her Abravanel Hall debut, she's played with the Utah Symphony before, as part of the 2013 Deer Valley Music Festival; she also gave a solo recital on Libby Gardner Concert Hall's Virtuoso Series in 2012. Porter recently graduated from the Colburn Conservatory of Music in Los Angeles but will return for graduate studies with renowned teacher Robert Lipsett. "Colburn is a great, great place to be based," she said.

These will be her first performances of "Souvenir d'un lieu cher," which she explains isn't a concerto per se but a suite of three pieces. "It's basically everything that causes people to know and love Tchaikovsky," she said. "It's dripping with emotion and drama; it's extremely evocative and very balletic. I think people will find it very charming."

She plays a 1745 Guadagnini violin, on loan to her from The Mandell Collection of Southern California for the past three years. "It's really just an incredible partner," she said of the instrument. "It challenges and inspires me every single day. It's very versatile, very adaptable. The search for colors and voices is bottomless."

The concerts, conducted by music director Thierry Fischer, will close the Utah Symphony's season. Also on the program are Edgard Varèse's "Amériques" and Igor Stravinsky's "The Rite of Spring." —

There are places I remember

The Utah Symphony closes its season with works of Tchaikovsky, Varèse and Stravinsky.

With • Conductor Thierry Fischer and violinist Simone Porter

When • Friday and Saturday, May 28-29, 7:30 p.m.

Where • Abravanel Hall, 123 W. South Temple, Salt Lake City

Tickets • $21-$82; various discounts available; http://www.utahsymphony.org