Mountain West Songfest & Symposium

Each year, the Songfest featured a theme around which the
presentations were structured. In 2004, the theme focused on the multiple ethnic groups found in the West. The weekend included performances and presentations by an African American gospel choir, a Mexican folklorico group, and cowboy singer Michael Martin Murphey.

In 2006, the theme was Native American music and music of the land, featuring musicians from several western tribes, including Navajo, Ute, and Shoshone, and a commissioned work by Utah composer Phillip Bimstein. This latter piece, the Zion Canyon Song Cycle, has been performed by the group Red Rock Rondo and has now been recorded (http://pbimstein.googlepages.com/redrockrondo)

The 2008 Songfest theme was "Songs of Faith and Healing." It featured sacred music from Buddhism, Hinduism, Christianity, Islam, Judaism, as well as a performance of David Fanshawe's African Sanctus , with a visit from the composer.

We do not expect to present another Mountain West Songfest at this time, due to the program's high costs.