Spanish Trail = Press Release

Press=20 Release

From the Orchestra of Southern Utah

Release = Date: For=20 Immediate Release

Contact: Laurel=20 Kay Dodgion, (435) 865-1492

Photo = Cutline: = The=20 Old Spanish Trail will be memorialized in film during the OSU Halversen = Concert=20 on April 10^th.

Paiute, Hispanic, and Pioneer = Heritage=20 To Be Honored

In World Premiere Multi-media=20 Event

=20 The Old Spanish Trail is perhaps the oldest trail in the American = West. Native American = tribes,=20 Hispanic explorers, and pioneers used this trial, or portions of this = trail, for=20 literally thousands of years. =20 Today, modern highways trace many sections of the original = Spanish Trail,=20 including I-15 from Parowan to Cedar = City,=20 Utah, and Las=20 Vegas, Nevada, to = San Bernadino, California. The rich history of the = Old=20 Spanish Trail will come alive in April, thanks to a remarkable film by = Video=20 Ideas Production of Chattanooga, Tennessee, and the Orchestra of = Southern=20 Utah. Video Ideas has = stunning=20 time-lapse video of storms unfolding, moon rises, sunsets and = re-creations of=20 trail scenes that will serve as a backdrop to the OSU performance the = Spanish=20 Trail Suite. This world = premiere,=20 multi-media event will take place during the OSU Halversen Concert on = April=20 10^th at the Heritage Center in Cedar City, Utah at 7:30 p.m. = Adults=20 are $10 and students are $5 with groups of = six at=20 $30.

=20 Video Ideas came to Southern Utah came to Utah in the spring and = fall of=20 2007, shooting high-definition scenes to create an interactive visual = dimension=20 which will be cued to the live orchestra performance. Historical = recreations=20 with Native Americans, Hispanic traders, and Pioneers added to the = spectacular=20 scenery of southern Utah from the ground and from the = air will=20 offer a unique concert experience. =20

=20 OSU first worked with Video Ideas last year, during their = Planet=92s=20 Concert. The Real-time 3D = Planets=20 program Video Ideas provided proved to be such a success, OSU decided to = partner=20 with Video Ideas for a video enhancement of the Spanish Trail Suite.

=20 The Spanish Trail = Suite was=20 commissioned by the Orchestra of Southern Utah with help from the = National=20 Endowment of the Arts and local foundations in 2005. Composers Marshall = McDonald=20 and Steven Sharp Nelson created a piece celebrating the three cultures = which=20 settled the West along the route of trails stretching from Santa Fe to Los=20 Angeles. The Old Spanish Trail is 1120 miles and = took two=20 and a half months to travel one way with pack horse and mule = caravans. The interactive product being = produced=20 by Video Ideas will focus on more than 100 miles of the Trail in Iron = and=20 Washington Counties, located in Southwest=20 Utah. The Spanish Trail Suite consists of four movements: = Sunrise, Lament,=20 Marcha and Celebration.

=20 The Sunrise = movement=20 celebrates the Native Americans of the West, who created the original=20 trails. It includes an = extended=20 drum cadenza, which literally shakes the=20 house, and a call to the sun. =20 The caller creates an electric moment in the music. The movement begins and ends = with a=20 flute in honor of the native flutes used in traditional music. Video Ideas recreated a number = of scenes=20 including campfire dancing, daily activities using authentic tools such = as a=20 grinding stone, and scenes rising from an individual Paiute to a wide = vista.=20

=20 Rainstorm recognizes = the=20 hardships of the trail. = When the=20 composers were researching the project they were asked how they could = bring any=20 beauty to a trail that is often remembered as a place of massacres, = slavery, and=20 desolation. This movement = was a=20 response by the Nelson and McDonald to = the=20 tragedies of the history. = The=20 release of the rainstorm is liberating. =20 Video Ideas creative producers wanted the visuals to illustrate = the power=20 of these storms and the resulting =93welcome rain=94 and were able to = record=20 fabulous time lapse footage of the black clouds rolling into the = Cedar Valley=20 with the craggy cliffs of Three Peaks in the background.

=20 Marcha symbolizes = the long=20 trek by foot on the Trail. = The=20 plodding character of the music is enhanced visually by a lone Hispanic = leading=20 a pack horse past the remnants of earlier travelers. Close-ups of the = dusty,=20 unforgiving trail illustrate the difficulty and harshness of the trail. = The=20 Spanish started settling Mexico in 1519 and had settlements in = California by = 1769. They needed a linking = route to get=20 horses, furs, wool, and other goods between Santa=20 Fe and Los=20 Angeles. =20 They also wanted to establish ownership of this vast area. The Trail was particularly = active from=20 1829 to 1848. One of the = most=20 horrifying chapters of the Trail=92s history was that the Spanish and = Mexicans=20 captured many Paiutes and other Native Americans to sell for slaves in=20 California and New Mexico. This ended when the = Mexicans lost=20 the war with the United=20 States and any claim to the land of the = American Southwest. When = the Mormon=20 Battalion brought the first wagon on the Trail on 1848 from California back to Utah they were able to follow it = from the=20 sun-bleached bones along the route. Soon wagon trains were bringing = settlers=20 through Parowan and Cedar=20 City on the way to San Bernadino, California as the Gold Rush = commenced.

=20 Celebration heralds = the=20 arrival of the Pioneers. Scenes were re-created around the campfire to = depict=20 the days ending activities and their indomitable pioneer will and = spirit. The=20 Hofeling family had spent a month performing in = Nauvoo and=20 were able to share an authentic Pioneer dance for the campfire=20 scene. These close-up = shots by=20 Video Ideas exemplify the excitement of a new life for the travelers and = capture=20 the few moments of relaxation, celebration and hope of the pioneers on = the=20 trail.

=20 Individuals throughout Southwest = Utah=20 helped make this film a reality. = Paiute baskets, pioneer fringed jackets, Native American jewelry, = and=20 other props where gathered in advance of the filmmakers=92 arrival. Video Ideas requested an = authentic=20 grinding stone, horses, and even a storm, which seemed incredible to OSU = at=20 first. However, OSU cello = section=20 leader, Nina Hansen, was able to provide horses and the use of her farm, = located=20 near Three Peaks, a desolate area northwest of = Enoch, Utah. =20 She also had a wagon wheel and many of the other props the film = makers=20 needed. A local museum = curator=20 provided a fabulous authentic grinding stone =96 and even the storm was = provided=20 at the right time by the forces of nature, which love music.

=20 Al and Barb Matheson of the Old Spanish Trail Association = assisted with=20 housing, transportation and the air flights to capture aerial shots of = the=20 Trail. The Old Spanish = Trail was=20 designated as a National Trail in 2002 by President Bush and the United = States=20 Congress. The National = Parks=20 Service is in the process of promoting awareness of the Trail. Through the use of this music = and the=20 interactive video presentation symphony orchestras have an opportunity = to bring=20 the real West to the audience in an unforgettable way. Audiences will find themselves = transported back into time when life was harsh and unforgiving, but = there was=20 great = joy=20 in the simple act of gathering around a campfire to dance.

The premiere performance with = the video=20 enhancement will be April 10^th and the program will be = available for=20 rental immediately after that. For more information on the music and = video visit=20 the News link on the http://www.videoideas.com/ = website or http://www.orchestraofso= uthernutah.org/.=20 For rental information contact Jerry Waddell at jerryw@videoideas.com or call=20 423-894-2677.

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