The passed baton at West Valley Symphony

West Valley City » When Stephen Baker died unexpectedly in December 2007, it quickly became apparent just how much work the music director had shouldered in running the West Valley Symphony.

Baker, a violinist, had done a little bit of everything, from selecting music and printing programs to keeping the group's financial records. His death left grieving musicians to sort out the details of running the organization that he and his father, Ralph, had organized.

But Baker also left something else -- a deep sense of family among the group's members, solidifying their desire to continue what he had started.

Ensemble members formed a board of directors, divided up

responsibilities, applied for nonprofit status and selected Donny Gilbert, the orchestra's principal trombonist and a frequent guest conductor, as the new music director.

Gilbert will open this season's concert series Oct. 17, directing the orchestra in "Around the World in 80 Minutes." The program will feature Jerry Goldsmith's "Fireworks, A Celebration of Los Angeles," Ferde Grofé's "Mississippi Suite," Jean Sibelius' "Finlandia," Hans Christian Lumbye's "Copenhagen Steam Railway Galop," Respighi's "Pines of the Appian Way" from his tone poem "Pines of Rome," Mark Lortz's "Land of the Rising Sun" and other works.

The ensemble's success is due to the variety of selections it plays, as well as an unapologetic

acceptance of its role as a community performing group. "We don't try to be a professional orchestra," Gilbert said at a recent Wednesday night rehearsal. "We play to our audience."

This sometimes means performing a single movement of a symphony or concerto instead of the whole work. Other concert programs include traditional favorites, but the 35 year-old conductor also likes to program a few unfamiliar works.

Gilbert was born and raised in Castle Dale. As a youth, he was interested in playing the trumpet, but inherited a trombone from his older brother instead. He played it from sixth grade through his college years at Snow College and the University of Utah, graduating with bachelor's and master's degrees in music composition.

Besides his West Valley Symphony conducting duties, he is associate music director for the Choral Arts Society of Utah and spends much of his free time composing and arranging music for both groups. Since his musical gigs don't pay the bills, he works a day job driving a truck for an oxygen delivery company. The father of a 4 year-old daughter, he also enjoys astronomy and playing softball.

As a conductor, Gilbert isn't jealous of his turf, generously giving opportunities to others who want to try their skill with a baton. "If he sees they have talent, he gives them a chance," said Marie Crockett, the orchestra's public-relations director and principal violist.

Crockett herself is something of a musical overachiever, playing nearly every instrument, including bagpipes and drum set; when interviewed, she was substituting on string bass. She also performs with several other area ensembles and conducts the Ogden Valley Chamber Orchestra in Huntsville and the Celebration Chamber Orchestra in Kaysville. Crockett, a mother of four children, seems especially proud of her 18-year association with the West Valley Symphony. "It has been the neatest journey to see every step, and an honor to be part of it," Crockett said. "The last two years have been the best. Donny adds to the orchestra's camaraderie."

Jill White has been the orchestra's principal flutist, intermittently, during the past 18 years. "I love the way he rehearses us," White said. The insurance agent and mother of five grown children enjoys Gilbert's ability to fine-tune musical selections during rehearsal.

But sometimes even hours of rehearsal can't prepare the group for what happens onstage. Once, during a performance of Tchaikovsky's "1812" Overture, a shotgun, substituting for a cannon, was blasted into a barrel, bringing dust sifting down over the musicians. So much for dusting off the classics, and just another unexpected moment for a community orchestra as it adjusts to a new leader.