Connect with us

Utah

3 Utah students chosen for honor ensembles in national music festival

Published

on

3 Utah students chosen for honor ensembles in national music festival


SPANISH FORK — Three very talented Utah high school musicians get to show their talents at a national music festival.

Palmer Brandt, 16, from Maple Mountain High School, said music speaks for him.

“Music is a way for me to communicate what I feel without having to put it into words and I think it’s an easier way for me to do that than actually talking,” he said.

Brandt and two other high school students from Utah — Jack Hales, 18, of Herriman, and Tanner Brinkerhoff, 16, of American Fork — were chosen to be part of the Music For All National Festival, which hosts the top student ensembles from across the country. The students traveled to Indianapolis, Indiana, on Tuesday before enduring three long days of rehearsals to be ready for a performance on Saturday.

Advertisement

Brandt and Hales will be performing in the Honor Band of America, which is described by the festival as the “nation’s finest student concert honor bands.” Brandt was chosen as the only baritone saxophone player in the band, and Hales is one of the trumpet players.

“It’s a little bit scary, but also pretty cool. It’ll be really exciting to play with a lot of other really good musicians and be able to get straight to like tackling the expressive part of the music rather than just focusing on notes and rhythms,” Brandt said.

Hales said it was both surreal and exciting when he found out he had been accepted into the band. He had applied after learning about the band from someone he knew who had done it the previous year.

“I was a little nervous before going because I had a little bit of imposter syndrome, but once I got here, it felt real and exciting,” Hales said Thursday after a day of rehearsing. “Preparing was difficult because the music was very foreign to me. All the songs were so difficult, which I am not used to.”

The students in the bands were given the sheet music for the performance last month, but they knew they would only have three days to practice with the band in person once they got to the festival.

Advertisement

“It’s some of the hardest music I’ve ever played, it’s stupid hard actually. I’ve been looking at it a ton and trying to learn all these new things. Being able to go and play with the best kids in the country is going to be such a great experience,” Brinkheroff told KSL before arriving in Indiana.

Brinkerhoff was chosen to be part of the Jazz Band of America, dubbed “one of the top honor ensembles for young musicians in the nation.”

Brinkerhoff is the alto saxophone player for the band, but is also bringing a soprano saxophone, a clarinet and his flute to Indiana as some of the songs he has to play other instruments.

He got the email saying he had been accepted to the Jazz Band of America on Christmas Eve.

“I was super happy and started calling all my friends … it was like a little Christmas present,” he said.

Advertisement

Brinkerhoff said he was excited to go, but also “scared out of my mind” to perform with some of the best musicians in the country. But he also said it’s an honor to participate in such an advanced performance.

“Especially with the jazz band, Utah isn’t really a music state … it’s mostly like on the East Coast. So representing Utah, I get to tell everyone that Utah does have players and you can actually do stuff in Utah,” he said.

Hales agreed, saying it feels awesome to represent Utah’s music programs.

“Not only to show others how good I am as a player, but how good Utah is at making competent, professional-level musicians,” Hales said.

Despite knowing a week full of hourslong rehearsals and a challenging performance awaited them, the students were so happy to show off their skills and do what they love.

Advertisement

“Performing has always been a musical thing that I really like. I’m not a dancer or a singer or anything, so I feel like playing my instruments actually substitutes dancing or singing, it’s like another way to express (myself),” Brinkerhoff said.

Hales said he loves music because there is so much nuance that can make it hard to understand, but once you do, “it becomes one of the most powerful things you have.”

“Music has history, emotion, movement, creativity and sound, which make it just as, if not more, powerful than speaking,” Hales said.

The students’ parents couldn’t be prouder of their children. Matthew Brinkerhoff said it has been a “whirlwind,” but he just thinks it’s amazing his son gets to participate in the festival.

Kara Brandt said she is so happy her son has found his own way to communicate, adding that he has even composed some of his own music, letting people “see the world through his eyes.”

Advertisement

“It’s just so cool to see his genius just flow through him and to see how his hard work pays off in that excellence. He really is so dedicated. People will say, ‘He’s so talented,’ and I agree that he has a lot of talent, and it’s because he works hard. That’s why he is here and is in Honor Band of America,” she said.

The Key Takeaways for this article were generated with the assistance of large language models and reviewed by our editorial team. The article, itself, is solely human-written.



Source link

Utah

Via 313 is launching a brand new pizza in Utah

Published

on

Via 313 is launching a brand new pizza in Utah


Via 313 is launching a brand new pizza in Utah and it’s four flavors in one!

The DLX 313 is a large, four-flavor pizza is double cut into 16 slices, making it perfect for groups, sharing or first-timers looking to taste it all.

It includes:

  1. The Detroiter with smoked pepperoni under the cheese and natural casing pepperoni on top
  2. The Ambassador Bridge loaded with pepperoni, sausage, fresh garlic, oregano and house-made ricotta
  3. The Cadillac featuring prosciutto, gorgonzola, parmesan, fig preserves and balsamic glaze
  4. The Bobo Brazil brings the heat with hot calabrese, sausage, red pepper flakes and Mike’s Hot Honey

Alongside the DLX 313, Via 313 is also featuring a full summer LTO lineup through Aug. 2, including the new Elote Pizza, Meat & Cheese Boards, Banana Pudding and seasonal cocktails.

You can learn more at via313.com or by visiting them at 6163 S. State Street in Murray.

Advertisement





Source link

Continue Reading

Utah

Kevin O’Leary accuses Box Elder County data center opponents of being funded by China

Published

on

Kevin O’Leary accuses Box Elder County data center opponents of being funded by China


BOX ELDER COUNTY, Utah — Kevin O’Leary, an investor in the proposed 40,000- acre Stratos data center campus in Box Elder County, accused two Utah groups opposing the project of being funded by the Chinese government.

O’Leary made the accusation on Fox News, targeting Alliance for a Better Utah and Elevate Strategies.

“Who would want us to stop building our electrical grid? Who would want to stop us from having compute capacity to develop AI? Which adversary would want that? There’s only one. It’s China.” O’Leary said.

WATCH: More than 2,300 protest filings challenge water application for Box Elder County data center

Advertisement

More than 2,300 protest filings challenge water application for Box Elder County data center

In a social media exchange, Gabi Finlayson of Elevate Strategies pushed back on the claim.

“If we were Chinese operatives, we would be the worst operatives in the entire world. Someone alert Beijing that the payment portal to Jackie and I’s Amex bills is somehow broken,” Finlayson said.

Advertisement

Elizabeth Hutchings of Alliance for a Better Utah also denied the accusation.

When asked by FOX 13 News Anchor Bob Evans if Alliance for a Better Utah is funded by the Chinese government, Hutchings said, “No. I, would probably get paid a lot more if I was. I would hope if I were doing some foreign international espionage, but no, we are not. We’re funded by a lot of grassroots donors, and a lot of people from around Utah that believe in what we do, and that’s as simple as that.” Hutchings said.

In the social media exchange Finlayson and colleague Jackie Morgan responded directly to O’Leary.

“You know, it’s not every day you get called out by first and last name on Fox News by a Canadian billionaire trying to ruin my state, but here we are. Kevin, are you OK? But after sitting with this for a moment, we decided to take it as a compliment because first of all, how are these men scared of us? Have you met us?” Finlayson said.

O’Leary responded by doubling down on his call for financial transparency.

Advertisement

“What are we — talking about? I want a forensic auditor who’s funding their platforms. Who is it? So these are proxies for the Chinese government is my argument. And if they’re not, because I want them to be able to defend their name to Gabby, come out, come out wherever you are.” O’Leary said.

Responding to O’Leary’s transparency argument, Finlayson and Morgan said, “We’re just saying we should maybe look into people that stand to make hundreds of millions of dollars off this project and let’s be so for real and so clear, that is not us. It is not us.” Finlayson said.

O’Leary continued to press the issue.

“And they should thank me for this promotion I’m giving them right now. And let’s shine the light of transparency on what you’re doing because they’re also going after the leadership in Utah itself, these two cells.” O’Leary said.

Morgan responded directly.

Advertisement

“Well, Kevin, you say that like it’s a scandal, and it’s not because we are damn proud of the fact that we will continue to be shining a light on the corruption and insanity that is going on in this state, not just with this project, but with many others.” Morgan said.

Alliance for a Better Utah responded online to O’Leary’s claims by posting a video on Facebook asking for donations, with Chinese-sounding music playing underneath.

O’Leary says he is putting his forensic accountants to work to determine who is funding opposition to the data center in Utah. He says the center is necessary to stay ahead of China in artificial intelligence development.





Source link

Advertisement
Continue Reading

Utah

May 16, 2026 is “Adventure Safe Day” in Utah

Published

on

May 16, 2026 is “Adventure Safe Day” in Utah


Believe it or not, even in a state like Utah where getting outside is such a big part of who we are, people can still run into trouble if they are not ready for conditions.

It really can be that moment of forgetting to fill your water bottle, not wearing the right shoes or not checking the weather before you head out.

That is what led to the “Always Adventure Safe” campaign, which is a collaborative effort between the Governor’s office, the Utah Office of Tourism, Utah State Parks, the Division of Outdoor Recreation, the Utah Department of Natural Resources, as well as businesses and communities.

It’s encouraging people to get out, have fun, enjoy Utah and start their adventures prepared.

Advertisement

They’ve “hired” Frank & Morris to help get the word out — these outdoor influencers are very passionate about bringing safety reminders to people in a way that helps them enjoy the outdoors and make a great adventure even better.

Governor Cox has declared May 16, 2026 “Adventure Safe Day” in Utah.

Ambassadors will be out across Utah at participating state parks, festivals, businesses and partner locations.

They’ll be sharing Adventure Safe reminders and handing out free items like water bottles, stickers, coloring books and Vulture-Proof safety checklists.

Some of the major locations include state parks, local businesses, outfitters, community events and the Kilby Block Party Music Festival.

Advertisement

There’s also an Adventure Safe giveaway tied to the day. People can scan a QR code at participating locations or go to adventuresafe.org to enter for a chance to win 1 of 5 Utah adventure vacations.





Source link

Continue Reading
Advertisement

Trending