The Crossroads Project Brings Performance Art to the Climate Change Discussion, February 24 & 25

Salt Lake City, UT – February 2, 2017 – As part of the UtahPresents 2016-17 season,The Crossroads Project will be performed at the Auditorium at the Leonardo Museumon Friday and Saturday, February 24 and 25, at 7:30PM.

Tickets are $25, with a $5 ticket for U of U students and a $10 ticket for non-U students, and are available at 801-581-7100 or utahpresents.org. A pre-show dinner, featuring locally sourced, sustainable ingredients, is available for $60.

The Crossroads Project is a unique collaboration of science and the arts in pursuit of more effective communication of the challenges human civilization faces in the coming decades, intended to move us toward meaningful response. Created by Utah State University physicist Robert Davies and the Fry Street Quartet, Crossroads combines compelling information and evocative imagery to force a theme — firmly grounded in science — and then unleashes powerful music in an effort to inspire deep and personal contemplation of this theme. 

Over the course of 75 minutes, the audience explores the wonder and the structure of the natural systems from which humans and human civilization have arisen — and upon which we are utterly dependent — and contrast this structure with those of humanity’s modern, global civilization. Compelling information is transformed from intellectual to visceral through compelling imagery and powerful music.

Rising Tide, an original composition by New York composer Laura Kaminsky, was commissioned specifically for The Crossroads Project by the Fry Street Quartet, and is the centerpiece of the performance. The performance also includes music by Haydn and Janáček.

Hailed as "a triumph of ensemble playing" (New York Times), Fry Street Quartet has perfected a "blend of technical precision and scorching spontaneity" (Strad). Since securing the Millennium Grand Prize at the Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition, Fry Street Quartet has reached audiences from Carnegie Hall to Sarajevo and Jerusalem, exploring the medium of the string quartet and its life- affirming potential.

A physicist and educator, Rob has served as an officer and meteorologist in the U.S. Air Force, worked for NASA on the International Space Station project, and taught on the faculty of three universities. His scientific work has included research into interactions of spacecraft with the space environment, the fundamental nature of light and information, and Earth’s changing climate. For the past decade, Rob’s work has focused on communicating the critical science of climate change and sustainable systems.

View a video clip of The Crossroads Project: https://youtu.be/aa9OkBDdpw0

View and download high-resolution photos of The Crossroads Project:https://www.dropbox.com/sh/ububqyvp24qhr59/AACRqBb5bmYwINf3o2ZebuYwa?dl=0

# # #

About UtahPresents

UtahPresents, a multi-disciplinary presenter at the University of Utah, brings diverse artistic and cultural experiences to campus and the region, exploring and enriching the human experience through the lens of creativity and the arts.

As stewards of the iconic Kingsbury Hall, we provide a valuable gathering space for community events and campus partners.  Through a breadth of collaborations, UtahPresents encourages curiosity, enhances cultural vibrancy, and creates connections beyond the stage.