Ghosts in Grafton. stolen quilts in Rockville and moonlight sonatas in Springdale. Take a trek into the colorful world of Zion Canyon with Red Rock Rondo. an all-star ensemble celebrating the history and contemporary life of the canyon's neighboring communities.

Red Rock Rondo's Emmy Award-winning Zion Canyon Song Cycle is performed on a lively assortment of guitars. violins. oboe. English horn. mandolin. banjo. mandocello. harmonica. button accordion. upright bass and vocals.

The musicians are composer Phillip Bimstein. internationally-known recording artist Kate MacLeod. Deseret String Band and Cowboy Poetry Gathering founder Hal Cannon. and Bimstein's fellow blue haiku members Harold Carr. Flavia Cerviño-Wood and Charlotte Bell. who also perform with the Salt Lake Symphony. Their music is a well-crafted synergy of folk and classical traditions.

Composer and former Springdale mayor Phillip Bimstein composed Zion Canyon Song Cycle on a grant from the nationwide Continental Harmony commissioning program of the American Composers Forum. His alternative classical works have been performed at Carnegie Hall. the Kennedy Center. Lincoln Center. Abravanel Hall. London’s Royal Opera House. and his new wave band's videos appeared on MTV.

Red Rock Rondo's Zion Canyon Song Cycle CD reached #10 (with the #7 song) on the international Folk Radio lists. The Red Rock Rondo music special produced by the Western Folklife Center is broadcast locally on KUED; it won "Best Entertainment Program" from the National Education Telecommunications Association and two Emmy Awards for "Best Musical Composition" and "Best Entertainment Program." (Sample clip below)

A SECRET GIFT
Red Rock Rondo will premiere its new song cycle. A Secret Gift. in 2011. Based on the national best-selling book by Ted Gup. these songs are based on letters written during the Great Depression in response to an extraordinary act of generosity. Red Rock Rondo will release their A Secret Gift CD in a concert with the Salt Lake Symphony at Libby Gardner Hall December 17. 2011.