The home of the Utah Symphony just got a major letter of support from a world-renowned American composer and conductor.
John Williams — the former conductor of the Boston Pops Orchestra, and the composer behind such movie scores as “Star Wars” and the “Harry Potter” franchise — this month authored a letter in support of preserving Salt Lake City’s Abravanel Hall.
The fate of the 45-year-old hall has been in discussion for the last few months, as a revitalization zone has been proposed by city leaders and the Smith Entertainment Group — the company that owns the Utah Jazz and Utah Hockey Club, the two major league sports franchises that play their home games at the Delta Center. Abravanel Hall is within that zone, along with the Salt Palace Convention Center and the Utah Museum of Contemporary Arts.
In early July, the Salt Lake City Council unanimously approved a key agreement for the district.
Fans and musicians have lamented the uncertainty around the iconic venue. One proposal that was floated, and apparently abandoned, would have called for a new hall to be built on the site of the recently demolished Pantages Theatre on Salt Lake City’s Main Street, the website Building Salt Lake reported this week.
If Abravanel Hall is renovated or replaced, there aren’t many options for the symphony to find a temporary home during construction.
(Al Hartmann | Salt Lake Tribune file photo) Composer and conductor John Williams, seen here in November 2001 at Salt Lake City's Abravanel Hall, wrote a letter on July 10, 2024, in support of preserving the concert hall. Williams conducted the Utah Symphony and what was then known as the Mormon Tabernacle Choir for a recording of his composition "Call of the Champions" for the 2002 Olympic Winter Games.
In his letter — dated July 10, and released Thursday by the Musicians of the Utah Symphony, most of whom are members of the musicians’ union — Williams joined the chorus of support for the hall.
“Abravanel Hall, with its elegant design and splendid acoustics, is a crown jewel in the cultural life of Salt Lake City,” Williams wrote. He called the Utah Symphony “one of our country’s finest orchestras,” and said the hall “is an iconic landmark of which all your fellow citizens can and should be justly proud. It must be preserved for future generations to enjoy.”
Williams wrote about his relationship with the building’s namesake, the Utah Symphony’s legendary conductor Maurice Abravanel. Williams said he admired Abravanel “greatly” as a person and artist.
Williams himself has conducted at Abravanel Hall several times. Most notably, in late 2001, he conducted the Utah Symphony and what then was called the Mormon Tabernacle Choir to record “Call of the Champions,” the theme for the 2002 Olympic Winter Games that he composed.
Some members of the Utah Symphony reacted to Williams’ letter. In a news release, cellist John Eckstein said, “John Williams is the most universally respected and beloved musician of our time. His compositions thrill and unite us. We thank him for his heartfelt statement on behalf of our irreplaceable Abravanel Hall.”
Over the course of his career, Williams, 92, has received 54 Academy Award nominations — the most of any living person. He has won five Oscars, three Emmy Awards and 26 Grammy Awards.
The music he has written for movies includes the scores for “Jaws,” the “Star Wars” saga, “Close Encounters of the Third Kind,” “Superman,” “Jurassic Park,” “Schindler’s List” and the iconic “Hedwig’s Theme” from the “Harry Potter” films.
In his letter, Williams concluded: “In our fast-moving technological age, great music performed by world-class orchestras before live audiences is a vital thread that binds us to our cultural past and to our collective future. This simply wouldn’t be possible without temples of music like Abravanel Hall. I urge you to preserve and protect this artistic treasure.”