Eric WaldenThe Utah Symphony announced on Monday afternoon the lineup for its 15th annual Deer Valley Music Festival, which will include performances with the likes of Tony and Emmy Award-winning Broadway star Kristin Chenoweth, folk-rock singer-songwriter Amos Lee, 14-time Grammy-winning country/bluegrass performer Ricky Skaggs, and Grammy-winning rocker Rick Springfield.
The six-week, 17-concert series — which features 13 shows at Deer Valley Resort’s Snow Park Outdoor Amphitheater and four more as part of a Chamber Orchestra Series at St. Mary’s Church in Park City — begins June 30 and runs through Aug. 11.
Part of the 15th-anniversary celebration will entail a focus on “community involvement and engagement,” according to a news release, including “smaller Utah Symphony ensembles performing around Park City and Summit County at existing events, galleries and in collaboration with other local festivals as a way of extending thanks to the community for hosting the orchestra in its summer home.”
“For the 15th festival, we knew we had to come up with something special. This year’s lineup combines the Utah Symphony with a great mix of artists and musical genres,” Utah Symphony | Utah Opera President and CEO Paul Meecham said in a statement. “Our 15th anniversary is about celebrating the local community, donors and supporters that have welcomed and embraced us since the beginning. We are proud to call Park City and Summit County the Utah Symphony’s summer home.”
The Deer Valley Music Festival kicks off June 30 with a “Patriotic Celebration Starring Rachel Potter.” Among the shows to follow are “Disney in Concert” (July 6); “Broadway Hits by Andrew Lloyd Webber & Stephen Sondheim” (July 7); tributes to Swedish popsters ABBA (July 13), psych-rockers Pink Floyd (Aug. 11) and ’70s and ’80s music (Aug. 3); and “Music of John Williams,” which will feature scores from “Harry Potter,” “Star Wars,” “Superman” and “Indiana Jones” movies (July 28).
As for the headliners, Kristin Chenoweth (July 21) is a star of stage and small screen, best known for her Tony-winning performance as Sally Brown in “You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown” and for originating the role of Glinda in “Wicked.” She’s also had roles in such TV series as “The West Wing” and “Pushing Daisies,” for which she won an Emmy as Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series in 2009. She will be performing an assortment of Broadway hits.
Meanwhile, Philadelphia-born Amos Lee (July 27) is a folk-rocker who has opened for the likes of Bob Dylan, Paul Simon, Merle Haggard, Van Morrison, Elvis Costello and Adele.
Ricky Skaggs and Kentucky Thunder (July 14) will be performing bluegrass under the stars. Between 1983 and 2009, Skaggs has won 14 Grammy Awards, mostly in the country and bluegrass categories.
Meanwhile, Australian pop-rocker Rick Springfield visits July 20. The Grammy Award winner is best known for his hit songs “Jessie’s Girl,” “Affair of the Heart” and “Love Somebody.” He released a new blues-infused album, “The Snake King,” on Jan. 26.
Subscription, group and VIP tickets for the Deer Valley Music Festival are on sale now. The Park City Locals Sale (for Summit and Wasatch county residents) will take place March 31 from 3 to 5 p.m. at the Park City Visitor Information Center at Kimball Junction. Concert tickets for the general public will go on sale on April 17 at 10 a.m. Go to deervalleymusicfestival.org or call 801-533-6683 for more information.
Eric is a West Valley City native and a graduate of Granger High School and the University of Utah who joined The Tribune in 2003. He hoards rescue cats and guinea pigs, reads historical fiction, watches British baking shows, and obsesses over 1980s hair-metal bands in his spare time.