American West Symphony plans May concerts

On May 6 and 7, the American West Symphony of Sandy will present Meet the Vibraphone, featuring the "Vibraphone Concerto" by the famous Brazilian composer Ney Rosauro. This will be the first performance of this work in Utah.

The vibraphone soloist will be Lynn Brown, timpanist with the American West Symphony. He is a native of Utah. After a whirlwind world tour as a percussionist in the military, where he studied music in Germany, he returned to Utah in 1987. Since then he has served as a director of bands and orchestra, a performer and a professor of music. In 1995 he established his own business, Fatback Music Productions, and operated as a freelance instructor, drummer, and arranger in several leading jazz and world music bands in the Salt Lake area.

Brown holds a Masters degree from the University of Utah and is currently a doctoral candidate. He is a professor of percussion and music at Salt Lake Community College, where he developed and introduced several new courses. In addition to performing with the American West Symphony of Sandy, Brown is timpanist and percussionist with the Paradigm Chamber Orchestra, and the Salt Lake Symphony. Affiliations include the Percussive Arts Society and the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers.

The vibraphone was for a time associated with dance music, but now has found its way to the concert hall. For many years, serious composers have written for the vibraphone. The concert will also include the "Polonaise" from Tchaikovsky's opera Eugene Onegin, and Beethoven's Seventh Symphony, which Richard Wagner called "the apotheosis of the dance" in reference to the last movement in which he thought nature danced with Beethoven.

The concerts begin at 8 p.m. at the Good Shepherd Church, 8600 South and 700 East in Sandy. Tickets will be available at the door.