The Crossroads Project — a mixture of music, art and science — to be presented at U of U

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The fragile ecosystem and its challenhes will be presented in a mixture of music, art and science called The Crossroads Project on April 28 at the University of Utah's Libby Gardner Hall, sponsored by the Utah Youth Orchestras.The Crossroads Project begins at 7 p.m. in Libby Gardner Hall, 1375 East Presidents Circle on the University of Utah campus.

Tickets are free.

Musicians from the Fry Street Quartet at Utah State University will, according to a news release, "take the audience on an intellectual and emotional journey while photographic and visual images of earth's fragile ecology are flashed on screens. Physicist and educator Dr. Robert Davies ties the elements together with timely messages and commentary.Davies, who emphasizes that the presentation is science-based, warns that 'the same science that informs us of our peril, opens windows for escape. But the hour is late, and the windows quickly closing. For all our good intentions, we are badly losing this game."'Rather, Davies hopes The Crossroads Project – so named to underscore a crucial juncture where so much of life hangs in the balance – can help civilization "transform our great and difficult task, into a magnum opus of human achievement." Seen around the world in venues from Boston and New York to Monterrey Mexico and Brazil, The Crossroads Project is gaining critical acclaim not only for its message but the multidisciplinary way the message is delivered. Composer Laura Kaminsky's original music is performed along with the works of Haydn and Janáček. This ambitious uniting of the arts and science produces a forceful commentary on global sustainability."Barbara Scowcroft, Utah Youth Orchestras & Ensembles Music Director and Conductor, said The Crossroads Project "is a wonderful example of a fusion of art and science in a creative collaboration. We are honored to bring this thought-provoking performance to Salt Lake City for the first time." On Saturday, April 27, the Fry Street Quartet will hold a master class at noon with musicians from the Utah Youth Orchestras, which include the Utah Youth Symphony Orchestra, the Utah Youth Philharmonic, the Utah Youth Junior Symphony Orchestra, and their ensemble groups at Libby Gardner Hall.The Utah Youth Symphony Orchestra was originally founded in 1947 and is the oldest and most recognized youth orchestra in the state. It was the only state-based youth group to perform during the official 2002 Cultural Olympiad as part of the 2002 Winter Olympic Games in Salt Lake City.