Sun Valley Music Festival Music Director Alasdair Neale will be joined for this special summer program by two special guest speakers: Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Kevin Puts and Grammy-nominated composer and pianist Gabriela Lena Frank. Both guests will share their creative experiences and musical influences and provide previews of their works to be performed during the Festival’s 2022 Summer Season.

Upbeat with Alasdair talks provide a unique, behind-the-scenes view of Festival programming. In this case, it will be an opportunity to explore two pieces to be performed this summer from each composer’s perspective and learn more how contributions from contemporary composers help the art form continue to evolve. 

Award-winning composer Kevin Puts has been hailed as one of the most important composers of his generation. He has written operas, symphonies, and concertos which have been performed and recorded by eminent orchestras and soloists throughout the world. Sun Valley audiences may be familiar with Puts’s work. His Hymn to the Sun was commissioned by the Festival for the opening of the Sun Valley Pavilion in 2008. His latest work, a concerto titled Contact, was co-commissioned by the Festival and features the beloved string trio, Time For Three. Puts formed a hands-on alliance with the trio to create the four-movement piece. Contact premieres in Sun Valley during the Festival’s August 13 concert. 

Gabriela Lena Frank is on the forefront of creating music inspired by cultural diversity and was recently listed as one of the 35 most significant women composers in history by The Washington Post. Her music explores multicultural influences and folk music from Latin America, the United States, and beyond. Her works have been commissioned and performed worldwide, and she has been recognized for contributions to both music and the humanities, including honors from the United States and Latin Recording Academies and a 25th-anniversary Heinz Award. Her Three Latin American Dances for Orchestra will open the August 13 concert.

Reservations are required to attend in person and can be made online at svmusicfestival.org or by contacting the Festival office at info@svmusicfestival.org or 208-622-5607. Reserve your seats early, as space is limited.  Once reservations are full, you can join the waitlist by contacting the Festival office.

The one-hour program will also stream online and be available to view later. Watch online here.