THE ESSENTIAL A&E PICKS FOR MAR 21 - 27 

• Jonathan Williamson

Utah Symphony: Danny Elfman's Percussion Concerto
Musician Danny Elfman inhabits the world of the avant-garde. His film scores can dazzle as much as the action onscreen. Although he came to prominence at the helm of the eclectic, eccentric new wave band Oingo Boingo in the early '80s, it became clear early on that Elfman's talents couldn't be confined to rock realms. Since he started scoring in the mid-'80s, he's gone on to achieve international praise and distinction as one of the most inventive composers of the modern era, with more than 100 feature films (Men in Black, Batman, Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas and Beetlejuice among them), four Academy Award nominations, two Emmy Awards, a Disney Legend recognition and the Society of Composers & Lyricists Lifetime Achievement Award to his credit.

His Percussion Concerto—written for acclaimed British percussionist Colin Currie—takes his accomplishments several steps further via an imaginative percussive performance spotlighting a full range of mood, melody and symphonic sweep, as accompanied by our own equally daring Utah Symphony. "It's fast, it's exciting, it's fireworks, and it's a roof-raiser," Elfman says of the finale. A work for solo marimba by Bryce Dessner of the rock band The National sets the stage, pairing modern music with a Brahms-era symphony. Creativity is rarely so compelling.

Danny Elfman's Percussion Concerto will be performed March 22 – 23 at 7:30 p.m. at Abravanel Hall (123 W. South Temple); an open rehearsal will take place at 10 a.m., March 22. Tickets for the main performances are $10.50 - $75, while tickets for rehearsal cost $7.50 - $15. Visit arttix.com. (Lee Zimmerman)

• Maggie Hall

Ocean Filibuster
Among the frustrating things about trying to get environmental legislation passed is that, as opposed to the many monied interests often operating counter to the best interests of the planet and most of its inhabitants, Nature itself doesn't have a political voice. But what if it did? That's the premise behind Ocean Filibuster, a unique interactive theater experience created by Obie Award-winning company PearlDamour that is designed as a fusion of the arts and real science education.

The premise suggests a near future where the Majority Leader of the Senate is attempting to pass legislation reducing the water in the ocean, ostensibly in an attempt to minimize ocean-related disasters. That's when Ocean itself emerges to challenge the idea, armed with scientific facts and a rapier wit.

The production is designed to involve the local community, including the participation of University of Utah theater students as the Ocean Ensemble. An interactive intermission includes both touring experiences and one created by Save Our Great Salt Lake—originally created for its vigil for the Great Salt Lake during the recent legislative session, as well as puppets of species that are part of the lake's ecosystem. Brolly Arts also shares the short film Illusion of Abundance, sharing Indigenous perspectives on the Great Salt Lake.

Ocean Filibuster washes ashore at Kingsbury Hall (1395 E. Presidents Circle) on Saturday, March 23 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $10 - $38, with $5 tickets available for University of Utah students. Visit utahpresents.org for tickets and additional event information. (Scott Renshaw)

Lisa Thompson: Wild Wasatch Front
As part of the team putting together the Nature All Around Us exhibit for the Natural History Museum of Utah, Lisa Thompson realized that the process of gathering information about urban nature in Utah yielded almost too much information. "We had all this information that wasn't necessarily easily to access; you couldn't just Google it," Thompsons says. "We wanted to find a way to continue to share it with our community."

That way is Wild Wasatch Front, a family-friendly book that includes essays about local urban nature, descriptions of more than 100 plant, animal and fungi species, and nature field trips ranging from Ogden to Provo. "One of my hopes for the book is that it allows people to experience a connection to nature in their everyday lives—whether they live in an urban era, or a suburban era," Thompsons says. "A lot of people feel that nature and cities don't coexist, that they're mutually exclusive. They experience nature in what they think of as 'natural' places. And we do have access in the Wasatch Front to those areas. But my hope is that through this book, people will get to meet the wild plants and animals that permeate our communities. They're inseparable and interconnected."

Lisa Thompson brings Wild Wasatch Front to The King's English Bookshop (1511 S. 1500 East) on Saturday, March 23 from 2 p.m. – 4 p.m. In addition to the author visit, the event will feature Citizen Science tabling, researcher conversations and a visit from the NHMU's Mobile Museum, all free to the public. Visit kingsenglish.com or nhmu.utah.edu for additional information. (SR)