Barbara Scowcroft, in her own words

Barbara Scowcroft served as NOVA’s artistic director from 1986-2004.

One sunny day in the fall of 1985, I opened my door to a smiling Russell Harlow with a box full of papers and recordings and did a double-take when he asked me to care for the NOVA Chamber music series that he founded. It was such a daunting task that I needed several months to figure out how on earth I was going to proceed.

When I reached out to Joseph Silverstein (Music Director of the Utah Symphony), Christopher Wilkins (Associate Conductor of the Utah Symphony), and several of my colleagues, I felt their enthusiasm and support, and I knew that I and NOVA would be successful. It takes a village.

As a violinist in the Utah Symphony, I love engaging in lively banter with our well-informed (and very opinionated) audience members. They have always been enthusiastic about giving me advice and requests. They’re very candid in what they love and what they don’t, and it’s always a great conversation. Our fabulous Salt Lake City audiences informed my choices of repertoire.

Post-concert feedback was everything from “that was my favorite concert I’ve ever attended in my entire life”, to (referring to a contemporary work) “if that piece had continued for one more second, I would’ve run out screaming.” I loved that and knew that I was doing my job!

When I consider the highlights of my 18 years as Music Director and General Manager, I have the same feeling as when people ask me for my favorite composers. There is a cliché that’s true for me: My favorite composers are the ones I’m playing that day! It’s the same in my conducting. I love music. I love the process of creating a concert. I love performing concerts. I love seeing my colleagues succeed on stage. I love seeing the joy my colleagues have playing chamber music. I loved providing a stage and an audience for my colleagues. I loved hearing about pieces they had dreamed of playing. I loved making that a reality.

I devoted 18 years to NOVA as a volunteer. As a member of the Utah Symphony, I felt it was a great way to give back to the community. My goal was to provide a forum for our musicians to speak to the classical music community and give them an informative, inspiring, and one-of-a-kind musical experience.

Our community has such a rich musical tradition, and I am forever indebted to all the music lovers, visionaries, and musicians who sacrificed so much to give us the abundance of professional musical organizations in our amazing city and state.

Everyone whom I worked with in those 18 years had the same vision and the same appreciation. Joseph Silverstein came onto the scene and donated his time every year to our fundraiser. Playing chamber music with him forever changed my life. It forever changed all of our lives. All of the faculty at the University of Utah, the freelance musicians, members of Ballet West Orchestra, members of the Utah Symphony, guest artists from as near as Idaho and as far as Russia. It was (and is) a great atmosphere.

The feeling of freedom to curate concerts inspired creative thinking and very fun collaborations. We called upon the wonderful Anne Decker and Gene Pack to perform in William Walton‘s Façade. We engaged Ballet West Conductor Terry Kern to conduct the great Pierrot Lunaire by Arnold Schönberg. Eight Songs for a Mad King. Quartet for the End of Time. All the great string sextets from Mozart to Brahms.

When Joseph Silverstein played all of the unaccompanied Bach Sonatas and Partitas in one evening, music students sat in awe on the floor in the front row, following along in their scores. We had a jazz concert, vocal concerts featuring music from the great solo works to the Liebeslieder waltzes to vocal ensembles. We featured ensembles specializing in renaissance music, ensembles specially made to perform Mozart divertimenti, the Dvořák serenade, the Mozart Grand Partita, Appalachian Spring, A Soldier’s Tale, and all of the newly-commissioned contemporary works.

We would create the program. Then Harold Gottfredson and I would grab the Symphony truck and risers, and we would go into the museum and build a stage in one of the beautiful galleries. Boom! The concert was born!

And at that time in our city, people really wanted to party, so the parties were as extensive as the concerts. Great music had to end with delicious food and beverages!

Who are my favorites? Everybody and everything. Our audiences love our musicians. And I’m grateful for those who had the energy and desire to play often. To name just a few: our quartet, who became the resident quartet for NOVA: Ralph Matson, me, Roberta Zalkind, Ellen Bridger (who was succeeded by Pegsoon Whang). Joseph Silverstein. Mezzo-soprano Lani Poulson. Pianist Paul Dorgan. Everybody was excited and willing.

It was a joy to co-host broadcasts of NOVA concert with Gene Pack on KUER public radio from 1986-1998. These broadcasts brought NOVA performances to music lovers throughout the region and had a strong following. And it was an incredible honor to co-create and perform on a special tribute to Joseph Silverstein for KUED public television in 1996.

In 1999, NOVA received the Governor’s Award in the Arts for its contribution to the cultural life of Utah.

Looking back, my greatest takeaway is gratitude. Gratitude for all the help I received and for all of the wonderful board members and community who contributed so much and continue to do so. My hat’s off to some of the greats during my tenure: Cathy Dee, Gene Pack, Craig Miller, Keith Jones, Stephen Ridgely-White House, Leslie Howard, Kristiana & Tom Huckin, Kathryn Waddell, Stewart, Craig, Ursula Brodauf, Don Brooke, Anne & Ashby Decker, Danny & Noemi Mattis, Julian Ward, Matt Cowan, Cathy Caine, Sally Rogers (my sister!), and arguably the greatest of all: Ralph Matson.

Big congratulations and thank you to Corbin Johnston, Jason Hardink, Madeline Adkins, and the Fry Street Quartet for continuing the legacy that Russell and I cultivated!

- Barbara Scowcroft