Raise your voice: Ogden Concert Band to feature teen singer for spring performance
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- The Ogden Concert Band rehearses at Ogden High School on April 30, 2025.
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- The Ogden Concert Band rehearses at Ogden High School on April 30, 2025.
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- The Ogden Concert Band rehearses at Ogden High School on April 30, 2025.
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- Shannon Roberts conducts during an Ogden Concert Band rehearsal on April 30, 2025.
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- Matthew Voss sings during an Ogden Concert Band rehearsal on April 30, 2025.
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- The Ogden Concert Band rehearses at Ogden High School on April 30, 2025.
OGDEN — A 50-plus-year musical tradition in the Ogden area will be renewed again this month.
The Ogden Concert Band will hold its Spring Concert at Ogden High School on Thursday, May 22, at 7 p.m. Admission is free.
The band, under the direction of Shannon Roberts, will present a varied lineup of pieces including Vincent Persichetti’s “Divertimento” and Tchaikovsky’s lively “Dance of the Jesters,” with arrangements by Roberts himself. The concert will also feature the talents of baritone singer Matthew Voss, a sophomore at Judge Memorial Catholic High School and student of Roberts who, as a teen, has already performed in venues across the globe.
Voss previously attended The Madeleine Choir School and, as a 15-year-old, became the youngest person ever to be accepted into the Utah Chamber Artists, a combined choir and orchestra based in Salt Lake City. He has shared his voice in locales from Dallas and Washington, D.C. to Italy and Vatican City.
“When I was performing at the Vatican at Saint Peter’s Basilica, that experience was just so amazing,” Voss told the Standard-Examiner. “To be in that incredible building with an incredible group of singers, singing amazing music, that was probably a very important experience for me, and I don’t think I’ll ever forget that. That probably was worth all of the work that I’ve done for music in my whole life.”
For this performance, Roberts composed a special vocal arrangement tailored to Voss’s range and emotional depth. Titled “You’re Not Alone,” the piece is a medley that blends the iconic show tunes “Old Man River” and “You’ll Never Walk Alone.”
The ability to make audiences feel is one of the things that compels Voss to sing.
“I love the emotions that you can create through music and just everything that surrounds it,” Voss said. “Especially with a full orchestra, a full choir, you can really create a room that’s just filled with emotion, filled with thought. Sometimes it can bring peace. It can bring love. It can bring a whole bunch of things, and I love that about music.”
Roberts praised the young singer’s talent, calling him “one in a thousand” and adding, “He is just a natural in a personal way; so mature for his age.”
While Voss intends to ride his musical talents as far as they will take him, he also intends to become a pilot and has managed to squeeze in flight school alongside high school, family, friends and a steady stream of performances and concerts. It can be a lot to contend with, Voss admitted, however he says he’s buoyed by an incredible support system.
“My mom, my dad, Dr. Roberts, my director at the Utah Chamber Orchestra — Dr. Barlow Bradford — all my friends, my girlfriend and just everybody close to me; they’ve all really supported me through everything that I do,” Voss said.
The Ogden Concert Band is composed of roughly 60 professional and semi-professional musicians from around the region. Notable past performances include the dedication of the George E. Wahlen Ogden Veterans Home, as well as rededications for Peery’s Egyptian Theater and the World War I memorial at Ogden Cemetery. The band has also performed in places like Taiwan and Germany.
Having previously served as conductor from 2015 to 2019, Roberts — a composer, multi-instrumentalist, author, current director of music at Judge Memorial Catholic High School and former director of bands at Weber State University — reclaimed his baton prior to the band’s 2024 season. Since then, he says the band has elevated its performance level.
“It’s a real joy for me, because it’s a chance, not only to have them play the music that I wrote for the group, but we’ve pulled in music that’s much more challenging. And they just keep rising to the occasion. It’s a great community,” Roberts told the Standard-Examiner. “As a group, we’re being more solidified.”
For more information, go to https://www.ogdenconcertband.org/.
