Welcome to the 2007-2008 season of the Southwest Symphony Orchestra and Chorale! Out theme this year is “Continuing the Journey” and this year is surely our most exciting yet with a great line-up of musicians and soloists. The journey began in 1980 when the late Irene Evertt, Dr. Normon Fawson, and Ronald Garner organized the Symphony and kept alive the vision of building a musical legacy in our community. We are indebted to them.

- JJ Abernathy
Chair, Board of Trustees

The Southwest Symphony Orchestra is very fortunate to include some wonderful new players on its roster. With the addition of these players, the symphony has been able to move to higher musical heights than ever before. The music I have selected this year is both challenging and rewarding for the players and interesting and enjoyable for the audience. It has been and continues to be a most rewarding experience to rehearse and learn some of these great works.

Gary Caldwell
Gary Caldwell is in his twenty-ninth years as Director of Bands at Dixie State College in St. George, Utah, where he conducts the Wind Ensemble and the Theater Orchestra.  He was appointed Maestro of the Southwest Symphony Orchestra in 1989.  He has worked with many professional artists and guest soloists during his career, performing some of the world’s greatest music literature.  As conductor for the Tuacahn Amphitheater, his orchestras have always received high accolades.  Having conducted and participated in various ensembles’ for many years, Maestro Caldwell is a competent conductor in a variety of styles. Maestro Caldwell’s formal education includes a Bachelor of Music Education from Brigham Young University (1979) and a Master of Music in Instrumental Conducting from Northern Arizona University (1986).  He has studied with numerous private conducting coaches including Kory Katseanes (Utah Symphony) and Dr. Newell Dayley (BYU).  As a trumpet player, Mr. Caldwell is indebted to these excellent teachers and musicians: Dr. Newell Dayley (BYU), Ed Gornik (Utah Symphony), Alan Ware (free-lance recording artist), Tom Gause (UNLV) and Charles Way (NAU).  Other highly-influential musicians Mr. Caldwell has worked with include Tom Leslie, Director of Bands at UNLV and Allen Vizzutti, free-lance trumpet virtuoso.  As an educator, Mr. Caldwell is involved in the development of music in the St. George public schools by frequently lending his expertise as a clinician, adjudicator, and guest conductor.  He has adjudicated in Utah, Arizona and Nevada at the region and state levels.  His guest conducting appearances include junior and senior high honor bands, community college bands, and a special appointment to conduct a hand-picked orchestra and chorus for a tour of Japan.

Dr. Robert Briggs
Dr. Robert Briggs (D.A. University of Northern Colorado, M.M.A. Bowling Green State University of Idaho) has been Director of Choral Activities and Professor of Voice and Music History at Southwestern Michigan College and Dodge City Community College over the last seven years. He is a certified KMEA and MSVMA Adjudicator and Clinician, adjudicating over 150 choirs each year. He has also served as clinician in many school districts, including the Indiana 350 Voice “Circle the State With Song” performances. Dr. Briggs has been a tenor soloist with many symphony orchestras and choirs, and was a chorister in the Utah Symphony Chorus and the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. His choirs have performed at MENC All-State and All-Northwest Conventions on four occasions, and have been invited to tour Europe and Mexico. Dr. Briggs is a published composer/arranger, and author of articles on Music History and Choral/Vocal Performance. He is originally from Idaho, and has taught and directed in many states.

Ed Candland - Conductor of the ZYSO
In addition to conductor of the Zion Youth Symphony Orchestra, Mr. Candland is the director of Instrumental music at Pine View High School. His ensembles have received top honors, scholarships’, and awards. He loves to teach music and enjoys working with the student musicians of Southern Utah. He holds a Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Utah where he studied trumpet under Edmund Cord, Alan Weight, Phil Margoules, and Scott Hagen. Mr. Candland is grateful for his involvement with the Zion Youth Symphony Orchestra and the opportunity it brings.