The 66th Annual Salute to Youth concert featuring the Utah Symphony, with young Utah musicians performing as soloists alongside the orchestra, conducted by Kyle Dickson.
The Utah Symphony brings back the 66th Annual Salute to Youth at Maurice Abravanel Hall on Wednesday, November 18, 2026. It's one of the symphony's longest-running traditions, and this year it's built around a homecoming for Conrad Tao, who takes on two roles in one night: he'll be both the soloist and the conductor.
The program is all Mozart. Tao will play Piano Concerto No. 20 from the keyboard and then step up to the podium to lead the orchestra through Symphony No. 40. The symphony itself will be conducted by Kyle Dickson. It's a heavy-hitting pairing of two of Mozart's most recognized works, and hearing them back-to-back in the same evening gives you a good sense of the composer's range.
Tao's connection to the Utah Symphony goes back a long way. He made his debut here at age 16 and later held a residency with the orchestra, so this isn't just another tour stop. He's also the only classical artist to be named to Forbes magazine's '30 Under 30' in the music industry, and he's returning to Abravanel Hall as both a soloist and a conductor. The 'Salute to Youth' title comes from the tradition that surrounds the concert: each season, a select group of young Utah musicians earn a spot through a competitive audition to perform as soloists alongside the orchestra, joining the hundreds who have taken the stage since 1960.
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The concert starts at 5:30 PM at Maurice Abravanel Hall, 123 W. South Temple, Salt Lake City, UT 84101. There's a student and under-30 discount of up to 50% off. The general age guideline is that children five and older are welcome, with no babes in arms.
