Red Rock Rondo @ UCCC (WVC: Aug 15)

WorldStage! Concerts proudly presents Red Rock Rondo performing the world premiere of their song cycle, A Secret Gift, August 15, 8 p.m., at the Utah Cultural Celebration Center, 1355 West 3100 South, in West Valley City. Admission is free.

The book on which Red Rock Rondo’s new songs are based, A Secret Gift, is an inspiring account of America at its worst—and Americans at their best. It is woven from the stories of Depression-era families who were helped by gifts from the author's secretive grandfather, an immigrant businessman whose act of generosity was a secret even to his family until his grandson discovered a cache of letters in a trunk, putting him on a journey to reconnect with those families—and tell their stories in his book. Immediately upon reading Ted Gup's 2008 Op-Ed in The New York Times, “Hard Times, A Helping Hand,” composer Phillip Bimstein was inspired to write a song cycle based on the heart-rending letters in the book. Concert funded in part by the Utah Division of Arts and Museums.