Books and Authors Series

Sunday, March 24th, 2013 at 3:00PM

in the Gould Auditorium at the J. Willard Marriott Library

Featuring: Award-winning author and musician Gerald Elias

Gerald Elias is an acclaimed author and musician. A former violinist with the Boston Symphony and associate concertmaster of the Utah Symphony, he has concertized on five continents as violinist and conductor, and his compositions have been performed throughout the United States. Since 2004 he has been music director of the Vivaldi by Candlelight concert series in Salt Lake City, and since 1989 a faculty member of the University of Utah. His award-winning Daniel Jacobus mystery series, based upon experiences gleaned from his lifelong musical career, takes place in the dark corners of the classical music world and has won extensive critical praise. In addition to his latest novel, Death and Transfiguration (Minotaur Books 2012), he is also the author of Devil’s Trill (Minotaur, 2009) which was selected by Barnes and Noble for their 2009 Discover Great New Writers catalog; Danse Macabre (Minotaur 2010), hailed as one of the top five mysteries in 2010 by Library Journal and named the Book of the Year award for fiction from the Utah Humanities Council in 2010; and Death and the Maiden (Minotaur 2011).

For more information please contact Judy Jarrow at 801-581-3421

Sunday, February 24th, 2013 at 3:00PM

in the Gould Auditorium at the J. Willard Marriott Library

Featuring: Award-winning documentary filmmaker Chris Simon

Chris Simon will show and then discuss her film, My Canyonlands: The Adventurous Life of Kent Frost. Kent Frost, now 96, is the last of the old time river-runners and a legendary backcountry guide from southeastern Utah’s canyon country. As a boy, Kent explored the wild canyons on foot; as a man, he ran its rivers, developed backcountry tourism, and helped create Canyonlands National Park. Simon’s beautiful and intimate film reveals how the power of place can give shape and meaning to a life that makes a difference. My Canyonlands is an enthralling portrait of an American original and his fierce love of the land.

Sunday, January 27th, 2013 at  3:00PM

in the Gould Auditorium at the J. Willard Marriott Library

Featuring: Adam Sklute, Bruce Caldwell, Barbara Hamblin and  Rosanne Lazzara. Moderator: Ken Verdoia

Fifty years ago, Ballet West was established by Willam F. Christensen and Utah’s “First Lady of the Arts” Glenn Walker Wallace in Salt Lake City in 1963. Christensen had established the first ballet department in an American university at The University of Utah in 1951, which grew into the Utah Civic Ballet, Ballet West’s first incarnation. Christensen developed a distinctly American and theatrical repertoire for his company based on his early training in Utah and New York City. He built a strong connection to the works of George Balanchine and created the first full-length American productions of Coppélia, Swan Lake, and his production of The Nutcracker, which remains in Ballet West’s repertoire and was performed at the Kennedy Center in December of 2012.

An accompanying exhibit of archived manuscript and photographic materials will be on display in the Special Collections Reading Room Through February 28th. Hightlights include costumes on loan from Ballet West.