Performers of all ages have been gracing stages across Taylorsville for more than a generation, entertaining old and young alike with their very accessible, family-friendly “long hair” music. They’ll next be at it April 18, performing on the main stage in the Mid-Valley Performing Arts Center next to city hall.

“I think I attend every performance; it’s such a great community event,” Mayor Kristie Overson said. “For people who can’t afford a high-priced ticket to the Utah Symphony… I think they’ll love this. It’s free or very inexpensive. The musicians are so talented.”

For the record, the all-volunteer Taylorsville-SLCC Symphony Orchestra performs five times each year. Their two annual shows held at Bennion Junior High are free. The first of those this year was a “Wizard of Oz”-themed performance, Feb. 28. Their annual performance on Thursday night of Taylorsville Dayzz is also free. But when the symphony plays the PAC – they do have to charge.

Start working overtime and searching your couch cushions for change now. The PAC performance tickets are $5.

“We have to charge $5 when we play the PAC because the county charges us rent,” Taylorsville Arts Council member John Gidney said. “Our orchestra always offers an excellent performance. They run just an hour, or a little less, so they are very family friendly. Lots of people bring their children to the show to expose them to a different kind of music.”

The group is called the Taylorsville-SLCC Symphony Orchestra because the school provides the group with its paid conductor – the only person associated with the group who’s earning any money. In exchange, the Taylorsville-SLCC Symphony Orchestra welcomes SLCC music students into their group. They rehearse and perform with them, while also earning college credit.

Two current members of the orchestra have been with the group since day one, including Taylorsville Arts Council member and symphony Vice President Debbie Barton.

“I grew up in southern Utah and played violin at Cedar City High and SUSC (Southern Utah State College, now Southern Utah University),” Barton said. “But then I stopped playing for 23 years. Life gets busy. I started raising kids. We moved for a decade to North Carolina. I didn’t pick up my violin again until we moved back to Utah in 2000.”

Barton says a violin performance at church earned her an invitation to join the community orchestra in Riverton in 2001. Two years later, the Taylorsville-SLCC Symphony Orchestra was formed.

“Our debut performance was at Taylorsville High School in October 2003,” Barton said. “We had about 70 members in those first years. But we’re down a few since then. We are always looking for new members, particularly more violinists.”

At one time or another, Barton has performed with all five of her children on the Taylorsville-SLCC Symphony Orchestra stage. Now at least a couple of her eight grandkids are showing an interest in music – so a 3-generation performance could be in the offing.

Meantime, Taylorsville-SLCC Symphony Orchestra President Molly Upshaw has also taken the stage with her 11-year-old son, Nathan.  

“He’s a percussionist and plays in the Eisenhower Junior High Band,” Molly said of her son. “He performed in Taylorsville Symphony shows last October and December and plans to be back on stage with us in April.”

“I was a little nervous to perform with them last fall; but I thought it would be fun,” Nathan Upshaw said. “(Older members of the symphony) accepted me in just fine (despite my youth). I’m looking forward to the (April 18) show.”

Molly Upshaw moved here from Colorado in 2007 to attend the University of Utah. 

“I minored in music at the U and performed in the campus symphony,” she explained. “After graduating, I missed playing. So, I just Googled ‘community orchestras’ and found our Taylorsville Symphony. I’ve been playing violin since age 8 and joined the Taylorsville group in 2012.”

About 40 to 50 Taylorsville-SLCC Symphony Orchestra members rehearse two hours each Thursday night at Bennion Junior High. Over the years, members have come from as far away as Evanston. A current member teaches school in Ogden.

Taylorsville Symphony Librarian (yes, they have one) Sara Chatelain, 71, is the orchestra’s lead flutist. She learned to play in her native Canada as a child. Chatelain has lived in Utah nearly 30 years.

“After moving here, I learned about the Murray Symphony and began performing with them in March 1996,” Chatelain said. “That was years before the Taylorsville group was formed. I auditioned for the Taylorsville-SLCC Symphony Orchestra shortly after it was created. I performed in both community orchestras for more than a decade.”

If you’d like to audition to join the Taylorsville-SLCC Symphony Orchestra, contact any current member for more details. And circle April 18 on your calendar to not miss their next performance – if you can handle that exorbitant $5 a seat charge. λ