March 4, 2013, Provo, Utah — BYUtv today announced that its first scripted series, Granite Flats, would fill the decade-long family friendly programming void when the original weekly show premieres on April 7, 2013. Set in 1962 Mountain West America at the height of the Cold War, the hour-long series introduces a new genre to the groundbreaking network’s diverse roster of original “see the good in the world” programming. The show — a suspenseful period drama with a twist of science fiction — reflects the network’s bold efforts to provide an underserved national audience with intelligent, inspiring content that stands out for its thoughtful examination of life’s complexities. Granite Flats is available in High Definition and is carried to more than 51 million homes on Dish Network, DirecTV and over 800 cable systems in every state of the country via cable and satellite. All content is additionally available via Internet streaming at byutv.org. “Ever since CBS aired the final episode of Touched by an Angel in 2003, there has been a large empty space where primetime family-oriented television used to be,” said Derek Marquis, executive producer of Granite Flats and Managing Director of BYUtv. “Our extensive market research, done all over the country, indicates that there’s a significant audience hungry for a dramatic series that families can watch together without concern about inappropriate subject matter. Granite Flats is targeted at that neglected demographic, although viewers outside the family market will enjoy it, too.” Granite Flats was produced, written and created by a team of top Hollywood and New York talent who have made some of the television and film industry’s most successful and long-running family-oriented entertainment offerings. With the crew’s vast collective knowledge of historical recreation and a specific familiarity with the look and feel of the period, the highly stylized show lets viewers travel back in time to Granite Flats, Colorado, 1962. “We’ve focused on every tiny detail of the set and performance to keep it all true to the era, from wardrobe and accessories to colloquial language and ambient sounds,” said executive producer and director Scott Swofford. Filmed entirely in Utah, in a variety of 1960s-era locations and at a Salt Lake City soundstage (the very same one used for Touched by an Angel), Granite Flats is an evocative portrayal of characters in small town U.S.A. during a time that was simultaneously unsettled and innocent. Based on actual little-known covert U.S. military operations, which delve firmly into the realm of science fiction, the story echoes the tensions and fears that were uniquely a part of that moment in our nation’s history. Granite Flats tells the story of a recently widowed single mom, Beth Milligan, and her 10 year old son Arthur, who move from California to the rural town of Granite Flats, Colorado to start a new life after the untimely and mysterious death of their Air Force pilot husband and father. From the moment of their arrival at the military base where Beth will be employed as a hospital nurse and Arthur will get a post-tragedy restart on life, the wholesome community is quickly revealed to be much more complex than at first glance. Standing alone outside on his first night in Granite Flats, Arthur is the sole witness to a fiery object hurdling across the sky, landing in the nearby hills. Is it a comet, like the budding young scientist believes, or something far more complicated? The spiraling consequences of what Arthur sees and the subsequent explosion that sets the stage for the plot to unfold propels Granite Flats into motion. Under the town’s wholesome surface, a sinister element is brewing that will challenge the faith and humanity of the show’s quirky characters, threaten to shatter any residual innocence left from the past decade and reveal the ubiquitous fear of nuclear attack which defined that era. “The show will appeal to an audience that wants to be absorbed into a well-crafted television series with exquisite period art direction, tight plot twists, scene intrigue, mystery and romance,” said Swofford. “As the show progresses, it tells a rich and complex story based on little-known documented events from an ethically disputable chapter in United States military history. Because Granite Flats is serialized and not just episodic, the plot grabs a hold of viewers’ imaginations and carries them through the season.” Source: graniteflats.com/press

From March 6-9, 2013 the 40th annual BYU DanceSport Competition brought together amateur and student dancers from around the country in the BYU Marriott Center. The four-day dance competition was filled with excitement and beautiful dancing, and the receipt of many awards.

Last week, Pulitzer Prize—winning composer David Lang visited BYU as a guest of the Barlow Endowment for Music Composition.

For more than 25 years, BYU’s Barlow Endowment for Music Composition has been quietly commissioning the Beethovens of our time and, over the years, has garnered a reputation as one of the more prestigious awards a composer can receive.

Brigham Young University Conferences and Workshops and the Dance Department are offering various dance camps and workshops this summer. BYU dance faculty members and world-renowned guest instructors will direct and teach the programs.

At the northwest region's American College Dance Festival held last week at Southern Utah University, the BYU Theatre Ballet's two dances were selected for the Gala performance. The pieces that were selected included 'Apart' by Shayla Bott, a BYU assistant professor, and 'Transition' by Hilary Wolfley, a BYU undergraduate student. BYU was one of 18 schools in attendance at the ACDF, and only six other dances were selected to be in the final Gala performance.

She’s only 21 and started singing just three years ago, but vocal performance student Rebecca Pedersen has already captured one of opera’s greatest prizes. Pedersen was recently named one of six winners of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions. The competition is considered the most prestigious in North America for singers looking to launch an operatic career. “You go through a lot of stress and hardships and things that make you evaluate if you really want an opera career,” Pedersen said. “Now I have a little taste of what it would be like. I realize now that I’ve got a lot of work ahead of me before I can have that career, but I really do want that career.” In what was her first ever vocal competition, Pedersen became the second youngest winner in the 60-year history of the prestigious event. “It’s kind of like the super bowl of opera competitions,” said BYU vocal performance assistant professor Darrell Babidge. “The Metropolitan Opera is the biggest opera house in the country, one of the major opera houses in the world. Winning this competition really does mean that the company is invested in them for the future.” The journey to the Met started off with auditions in Salt Lake, then on to the next round in Denver and then to the New York semi finals and finals. In the end, it was Pederson finding her way to the winner’s podium out of a field of 1800 contestants. Pedersen took home a cash prize of $15,000 after her stirring performance of “Pleurez, pleurez mes yeux” from Jules Massenet’s 1885 opera “Le Cid.” Babidge said the original plan was just to go to the district round and get used to the concept of competition. “I knew that she could go far, but not that she would have this growth spurt in technique so quickly,” he said. “But every round she brought it to the table, got into the zone and did so well. It was a only a surprise as in it happened so quickly.” Opera companies swarmed Pedersen immediately after her performance in the semi finals with offers which would lure her away from her studies at BYU and immediately into an opera career. “As a singer you dream of the time when you go out and sing and everyone wants you,” Pedersen said. But still, Pedersen plans to continue her studies at BYU through graduation in 2015. With Pedersen still so new to singing, it’s taken some expert coaching from Babidge and his wife Jennifer Welch-Babidge to get her where she is today. “When she came to BYU, I knew she had a really great instrument, but there was a lot of polishing to do,” Babidge said. “In the past six months, she’s really come into her own. She’s worked really hard to get to this point.” Pedersen said she appreciates so much the help she’s received. “When I won, I looked at them and said, ‘We did it,’” Pedersen said. “It’s not just me. It’s been a real team effort.” The future looks bright for Pedersen. She and Babidge have been in talks with different summer programs, opera companies and even an agent. “She doesn’t need to rush anything,” Babidge said. “Usually people will do anything just to be heard by one opera company. So many people are interested in her.” While Pedersen is young and has so much ahead of her, she’s dealt with a lot in her life. She said because of different circumstances she’s faced, she had built up a lot of anger and became closed off to others around her. Her singing may be her ticket to the future, but it’s also been healing for her past. “I found singing as a release,” Pedersen said. “Ultimately it’s brought me closer to God and been healing. I’m able to share all of myself when I sing. I’m not good at doing that in my relationships, but in singing I can give, and I like that.” Source: BYU News

Three students--Alexis Flake, Taylor Lansford, and Lydia Defranchi--in the BYU broadcasting program have recently earned a national award known as the Gracie Award.

This past weekend BYU students have won three prestigious national music awards. Soprano Rebecca Pedersen, a sophomore at BYU, was selected as one of six winners of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, referred to by some as the “American Idol of opera,” on Sunday, March 10, in New York. The following day, pianist Conlan Miller and horn-player Spencer Park won first place in their divisions in the national finals of the Young Artist Performance Competition of the Music Teachers National Association. These win come on the wake of another success at the end of February, when BYU piano majors Hilary Heideman Mauler and Tiffany Winkel Delgado won first place in the United States International Duo Piano Competition in Colorado Springs. Kory Katseanes, director of the School of Music, was thrilled for the students, their families and their teachers. “I'm certain we've never had a semester of winners as we have seen this year. And it's not just the competition winners. Our many students who have been auditioning at various grad schools this spring have been met with overwhelming success,” said Katseanes. Pedersen is the latest in a line of BYU successes at the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions. Lindsay (Robison) Killian was the first BYU student to win, in 2000, and was followed by Rachel Willis-SÁ¸rensen in 2010. Pedersen was also the youngest contestant this year in the semifinal and final rounds and is among the youngest winners ever in the competition’s 60 year history. Of her performance, The New York Times wrote that Pedersen was “a precociously polished 21-year-old soprano who sounded particularly alluring in ‘Stridono lassÁ¹’ from ‘Pagliacci.’” The Associated Press also praised her “polished technique and potent sound.” In addition to the $15,000 prize, winning the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions carries tremendous weight. As the Metropolitan Opera noted in its press release, given the reach of the auditions, the number of applicants, and the long tradition associated with them, the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions are considered the most prestigious competition in North America for singers seeking to launch an operatic career. Regarding the MTNA National Finals, Katseanes described BYU’s winning two of the five competition divisions as “huge.” “It is a tremendous achievement,” said Katseanes. “For BYU to have two winners in tonight's concert shines spectacular light upon our institution.” Violinist Sara Bauman, student of Alexander Woods, also competed as one of seven finalists in the String Division. Press for Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions AP Press for MTNA National Young Artist Performance Competition MTNA Press Release

The much awaited Final Cut Film Festival will return to Brigham Young University's campus on Friday and Saturday, April 12—13. Each night of the festival will feature two programs at 6:30 p.m. and 8:30 p.m.

The Department of Visual Arts invites the students and faculty of the College of Fine Arts and Communications to attend a department-wide seminar featuring Israeli graphic designer Ronny Edry on March 14 at 11:00 a.m. in 2107 JKB.

The Brigham Young University Chamber Orchestra will perform Thursday, March 21, at 7:30 p.m. in the de Jong Concert Hall.