A celebration with "Symphonic Dances" in Utah

My lovely wife Amy and I celebrated our 23rd wedding anniversary a week ago today.  Our celebration was basically kicked off the night before when we went to the Granger High School Auditorium in West Valley City, Utah, as Amy and her fellow members of the West Valley Symphony of Utah performed "Symphonic Dances" in concert, under the direction of music director and conductor Donny Gilbert.

Amy Miller performs with the West Valley Symphony of Utah.  (Photo by John G. Miller)

After many years of performing at the Granger auditorium, this was the last time for the West Valley Symphony to set foot in the facility before it's taken down to make way for a new auditorium, and a lot of memories will go along with it for the all-volunteer orchestra of nearly 70 musicians.

It's a group of musicians that does it purely for the love of the music.

Among the selections played at the concert were Russell Bennett's "Cakewalk, Leroy Anderson's "Blue Tango, Ravel's "Pavane Pour Une Infante Defunte," and Tchaikovsky's "Pas De Deux" from "The Nutcracker."

Among the highlights for the evening were Bach's "Brandenburg Concerto No. 2," "Danzon No. 2" by Arturo Marquez, and the finale of "Berceuse and Finale" from Stravinsky's "Firebird Suite."