As has been observed many times before, things are tough all over.

That cruel truth has hit the Utah Symphony and Opera, whose executives decided this week to trim $1 million from its $19 million operating budget - with cuts of up to 10 percent to executive salaries and programming reductions.

The symphony's 83 full-time musicians also agreed to return two weeks' salary, half of their pension contribution, a week's vacation and some of their personal days.

The unpalatable option, said both symphony and musicians' union leaders, is Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

With luck, Utah Symphony and Opera can weather the current downturn. What good would it be to climb out of this economic hole if there was nothing beautiful available to us when we did?

Labels: Utah Symphony

The folks who work for Utah Opera aren't just good at producing opera. They also help with traffic updates.

Consider this tweet posted this morning on the Utah Symphony and Opera's Twitter feed:

The speed trap outside the Opera Production Studios is in full-force today. Don't go over 30 MPH on 400 W. You'll get a ticket.

The studios are on 400 West, just north of West High School in Salt Lake City. Thanks for the heads-up, folks.

Labels: Utah Symphony

- The Utah Symphony, conducted by Larry Rachleff and featuring violinist Boris Brovtsyn, present "An Evening in Vienna" - featuring Ablan Berg's Concerto for Violin and Beethoven's Third Symphony ("Eroica") - tonight and Saturday at 8 p.m., at Abravanel Hall, 123 W. South Temple, Salt Lake City. Tickets, from $16 to $60, available at ArtTix.

- Hit rapper The Game is the headliner on a bill (which includes Nipsey Hussle, Chino-4-Real, Ace-High and Strangerz) starting tonight at 8 at Saltair, 12408 W. Saltair Drive, Magna. Tickets, at $35 each, available at the door.

- The Provo band Fictionist - the official strangely-named band of the Culture Vulture blog - plays on a bill that includes Paul Jacobsen & the Madison Arm and Nate Pyfer, tonight at 8 at Velour, 135 N. University Ave., Provo. Admission is $7, at the door.

- The Utah Jazz go for their 10th straight win - and their last home game before a five-game East Coast road swing - against the division-leading Denver Nuggets, tonight at 8:30 at EnergySolutions Arena, 301 W. South Temple, Salt Lake City. Tickets are available through TicketMaster.

- "Charette: The Search for Utah's Iron Choreographer," Repertory Dance Theatre's annual competition, plays out Saturday at 7 p.m. at the Rose Wagner Performing Arts Center, 138 W. 300 South, Salt Lake City. Tickets are $50, available at ArtTix.

- Jazz vocalist and one-man musical instrument Bobby McFerrin - who is so much more than "Don't Worry, Be Happy" - performs Saturday at 7:30 p.m. at Kingsbury Hall, 1395 E. Presidents Circle on the University of Utah campus, Salt Lake City. Tickets, from $19 to $49.50, available at the Kingsbury Hall web site.

- The Young Dubliners, the acclaimed Celtic-rock band, brings St. Patrick's Day a wee bit early, Saturday at 8 p.m. at The Depot, 400 W. South Temple, Salt Lake City. Tickets, at $20, available at SmithsTix.

- California death-metal band Decrepit Birth plays Sunday at 8 p.m. at Club Vegas. Tickets are $10, at SmithsTix and 24Tix.

- And don't forget that Daylight Savings Time starts Sunday morning. Set your clocks ahead one hour on Saturday night.

Labels: Fictionist, Utah Jazz, Utah Symphony, weekend schedule

- The documentary "Darius Goes West," about a young man's cross-country adventure to raise awareness of Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), screens tonight at 7 at the South Towne Expo Center, 9575 S. State St., Sandy - with the movie's central character, Darius Weems, and the crew in attendance. Free.

- Sweet Honey in the Rock brings its gospel-inflected a capella music to Salt Lake City, 7:30 tonight at Kingsbury Hall, 1395 Presidents Circle (on the University of Utah campus). Tickets, from $28.50 to $44.50, are available at the Kingsbury web site.

- The Utah Symphony plays Prokofiev's Concerto No. 3 (with Russian pianist Illya Yakushev as a last-minute replacement for Olga Kern) and Bartok's "The Miraculous Mandarin," tonight and Saturday at 8 p.m. at Abravanel Hall, 123 W. South Temple. Tickets, from $16 to $51, available at ArtTix.

- Return to the '90s: Rappers Vanilla Ice and MC Hammer share the bill, tonight at 8 at the McKay Events Center, 800 W. University Parkway, Orem. Tickets, from $32.50 to $38, are available at SmithsTix.

- Choose your annuals: The North Carolina indie-rock band Annuals (pictured) plays at 9 tonight at Kilby Court, 741 S. 330 West, Salt Lake City (tickets are $10, at the door), while Salt Lake City-based Band of Annuals play on a bill with Larkin Grimm and O Wild Birds at the Urban Lounge, 241 S. 500 East, Salt Lake City (doors open at 9 tonight; tickets are $7, at the door). The Tribune's David Burger talked to both bands, to try and clear up the confusion.

- San Diego indie rockers We Shot the Moon play Saturday at Kilby Court, 741 S. 330 West, Salt Lake City. Big Surrender and Black Hounds are also on the bill. Doors open at 7 p.m. Tickets are $10, at SmithsTix or 24Tix.

- Two Dollar Bash, an acoustic folk-country-blues band with roots in Scotland, Ireland and France, plays Saturday at 9 p.m. at Piper Down, 1492 S. State St., Salt Lake City. Admission is free, but private club membership dues may apply.

Labels: Utah Symphony, weekend schedule

Job interviews are always difficult. Having one in front of an audience of more than 1,000 classical-music buffs is even tougher.

That's the plight of guest conductors coming in to work with the Utah Symphony, in light of the imminent departure of conductor and musical director Keith Lockhart in May.

According to the Tribune's Celia Baker, one possible job candidate - it's hard to say for sure, since symphony management has not made a list public - is Swiss conductor Thierry Fischer (pictured), who's back for his second guest stint this Friday and Saturday. He'll lead the symphony in Mendelssohn's Piano Concerto No. 1, Schubert's Symphony No. 8 ("Unfinished") and Stravisnky's "Petrouchka." Canadian pianist Louis Lortie is the guest soloist.

Fischer, 51, is principal conductor of the BBC National Orchestra of Wales and chief conductor of the Nagoya Philharmonic in Japan.

Labels: Utah Symphony