Standard-Examiner staff?lbrady@standard.net?

W

ho says you can’t dance to symphony music? Armed with waltzes, show tunes and swing tunes, the Utah Symphony brings a show with a good deal of syncopation to Wolf Creek’s ski hill Saturday for its annual concert on the slopes. ?

“We have dance-themed songs from Austria to Spain to America,” said David Cho, the assistant conductor for the Utah Symphony, who will be hoisting the baton on Saturday. ?”The second half of the show swings when we feature our principal clarinetist, Tad Calcara. Tad put together a new medley of big-band sounds, which he calls No. 2 — we have another one we’ve played hundreds of times and he felt we needed a new one. ?”Then we have some Bernstein from ‘West Side Story.’ So light classics — we figured people wanted to hear some other orchestral favorites besides the patriotic songs for this part of the summer.”?

Versatile bunch?

Cho said he is spoiled by the Utah Symphony’s versatility. The capable musicians can adapt between styles with ease, he said. ?”I don’t have to tell them, ‘Let’s swing here.’ I don’t have to explain anything, really. If we swing, they get it. If we turn back to hard-core classical pieces, there they are. They have so much experience, these things are second nature to them.”?He laughed. “I notice I am spoiled by them when I go out of town to work with other orchestras. All I basically do here is give them the upbeats and the downbeats, and they play beautifully. It’s like they can dance at the same time as making homemade chicken soup or something. Very remarkable musicians.”?

Alfresco classical?

In Abravanel Hall or Austad Auditorium, you don’t tend to have folks picnicking, with kids running loose, like you do at the outdoor summer shows. Cho said the symphony members seem to enjoy the outdoor shows, despite the difference in mood from the concert venues.?”This group has seen everything,” he said. “They are just fine, if in the middle of ‘Liberty Bell March,’ you run over to the hot dog stand to get a bite.”?He said he has a few wise guys in the group who anticipate the audiences’ reaction to certain pieces. ?”On Copland’s ‘Hoedown,’ there is a tricky spot where it sounds like it is over, and people always clap there. And that’s OK with us. In fact, when we rehearse it in the hall, whenever we get to that spot, we have some smart alecks in the brass section who always clap during the rehearsals.?”Really, it is all about getting people out there, hearing some fun music and all of us having fun.”