UTAH PHILHARMONIA, R. CARLOS NAKAI, NATIVE AMERICAN FLUTE, ROBERT BALDWIN, CONDUCTOR, Libby Gardner Concert Hall, Feb. 24

R. Carlos Nakai is the foremost performer of the traditional Native American flute and a tireless exponent of crossover music featuring the traditional wooden flute with various western instrumental ensembles, including a full blown symphony orchestra. He has released many recordings to date, most of which have been nominated for a Grammy. Composers write for him and he is also an accomplished composer himself. And while he is well known and travels and performs all around the country, Nakai has only now made his Utah debut.

That was Thursday with the University of Utah Philharmonia, under the direction of Robert Baldwin. For his debut performance he played James DeMars’ Two World Concerto, which was written for him and which has served him well since he premiered it back in the 1990s.

Nakai is an amazing performer. He brought wonderful expressiveness and lyricism to his playing. Watching him one could see that for him this was more than just a concert. This was no mere music making. This was a ritual. He brought spirituality and profound feeling to the music. Nakai brought the audience with him on this journey of the soul. It was moving, mesmerizing and ethereal.

DeMars does a remarkable job bringing western and Native American cultures together in this work. He evokes a different world and time. The distinctive sound of the wooden flute, which was amplified in order to be heard over the orchestra, cast an aura of mysticism that grew in intensity as the work progressed. And while the three movements are fraught with heart wrenching feeling, it is the slow movement that is the most otherworldly. Time stands still here and Nakai captured the serenity and peace that DeMars created in this movement beautifully.

The concert opened with “The Chairman Dances” from John Adams’ opera Nixon in China. The playing was tight and well articulated and Baldwin brought out the subtle shifts in colors and harmonies wonderfully. It was a well executed and dynamic reading.

The evening ended with the suite from Aaron Copland’s ballet Billy the Kid. Baldwin captured the vibrancy and vigor of the music forcefully with his interpretation. It was a luminous account, with playing that was well crafted and phrased