The upsurge of a music orchestra conducting professional : Utah’s Logan J. Blackman: I have to say, I was not expecting that answer! I love it! What do you want your listeners to get out of your music? Logan J. Blackman : Music is one of the ultimate ways of expressing something you can’t quite put in words, or illustrate easily. My symphonic work, Prayer of a Broken Heart, is a great example of that. At 15, I tragically lost my parents due to a motorcycle accident. That piece is about the grief I went through, those experiences, and ultimately my hope that I will one day see them again.My hope is that listeners who might be struggling with something similar get some kind of comfort knowing they aren’t the only ones to feel what they may be feeling. Find additional information on Logan Blackman.

UK Symphony Orchestra is part of the UK School of Music at the UK College of Fine Arts. The school has garnered a national reputation for high-caliber education in opera, choral and instrumental music performance, as well as music education, composition, and theory and music history. To hear Robinson, Blackman and Maestro Nardolillo talk about the upcoming concert, visit WUKY’s “UK Perspectives” interview with them here: http://wuky.org/post/uk-symphony-orchestra-brings-tragedy-and-triumph-stage#stream/0.

In the next segment, Nardolillo playfully interacted with the audience in a little practice for our participation in two numbers from the Symphonic Dances from West Side Story. Along with the chorus, and before the orchestra came back on stage (he wanted to surprise them), he had us snapping our fingers in the Prologue and yelling “Mambo” in the fourth movement by the same name. We followed through and did no harm—Bernstein would have approved. The orchestra, of course, brought West Side Story back to life with these eleven Symphonic Dances. It made you want to sing and dance. Fortunately, no one tried but it set the tone for What a Movie from Trouble in Tahiti with Logan Blackman conducting and mezzo soprano Audrey Adams as soloist; Three Dance Episodes from On the Town, and Glitter and be Gay from Candide with James Burton conducting, and soprano Jessica Bayne as soloist.

Currently a music performance junior at UK, Blackman has studied conducting with Lucia Marin and Daniel Chetel, composition with Mike D’Ambrosio at Murray State University, bassoon with Professor Scott Erickson of Murray State University, organ with Bobbie Sue Chumbler of Paducah, and piano with Malissa Heath of Paducah. At UK School of Music, he is currently studying conducting with Nardollilo, composition with Professor Joseph Baber, and bassoon with Professor Peter Simpson. Discover extra information at Logan J. Blackman.

I have been a musician for over 14 years. I have conducted several professional, amateur, and student orchestras and bands. I’ve been a freelance organist, pianist, and arranger for over 14 years. I attended the University of Kentucky and received a bachelors in bassoon performance, as well as a masters in conducting. I also completed one year of work on my doctorate in orchestral conducting at the University of Utah. I currently am diving into the rental property business, and real estate investing.