By Marty Warburton, For Iron County Today
Though Winter and Spring are still squabbling over bragging rights, Cedar City has already chugged through a full one third of 2026. We know Spring will eventually win by a landslide. We know we will soon start seeing new lambs, graduation announcements, and backyard weeds. As Summer plans begin to take shape, we see the cycle , cycle. It also means that Cedar City Music Arts’ annual season of high caliber concerts are winding down.
CCMA’s 96th Season hit the ground running last September with a visit from the Utah Symphony, here in our little town ! Six more events followed. The Repertory Dance Theater, The Kossler Duo, The Kouzov Duo, The Valencia Baryton Project, Due West, and The Special Consensus. The Heritage Center Theater was buzzing with concert after concert. All were made possible by a sturdy board of directors, season ticket holders, the R.A.P. Tax, and donors both corporate and private.
The curtain drops on CCMA season 96 on Tuesday, April 28th when renowned Concert Pianist Ilya Yakushev drops in on little old Cedar City coming all the way from little old Russia. A true Grand Finale.
Pianist Ilya Yakushev, with many awards and honors to his credit, continues to astound and mesmerize audiences at major venues on three continents. Ilya has performed in prestigious venues worldwide, including Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall (New York), Davies Symphony Hall (San Francisco), and Sejong Performing Arts Center (Seoul, Korea), Great Philharmonic Hall, (St. Petersburg) , and Victoria Hall (Singapore). His performances with orchestra include those with the San Francisco Symphony, BBC Concert Orchestra, Boston Pops, Rochester Philharmonic, Utah Symphony, and many others. This season and last, dozens of engagements have brought Ilya from New York City to the West Coast and beyond for recitals and concertos.
Winner of the World Piano Competition which took place in Cincinnati, Ohio, Mr. Yakushev received his first award at age 12 as a prizewinner of the Young Artists Concerto Competition in his native St. Petersburg. He has received the Mayor of St. Petersburg’s Young Talents award and First Prize at the Donostia Hiria International Piano Competition in San Sebastián, Spain. Mr. Yakushev is also a recipient of the prestigious Gawon International Music Society’s Award in Seoul, Korea. He’s good!
Cedar City Music Arts’ takes great pride in presenting highly polished artists, such as Mr. Yakushev, for the benefit of all southern Utahns. Take advantage of this opportunity to see, hear, and feel, one of the World’s best do what they do when they do what they do. “Moonlight Sonata,” “Rhapsody in Blue,” Rachmaninoff, Beethoven, Mussorgsky, Et al. It will be an amazing night of music. Know in advance that the Steinway Piano, which makes it’s home on the Heritage Center Theater stage, is going to get lit up like the C on the mountain. Fair warning.
This madness takes place next Tuesday at 7:30pm. As is CCMA’s tradition, Ilya will tickle the Ivory much to the delight of Iron County School District students at a special morning Matinee performance. Over 3500 students have benefitted from attending these Matinees this season alone.
For Tickets to experience Concert Pianist Ilya Yakushev, call The Heritage Center Theater Box Office at 435-865-2882 or go to cedarcitymusicarts.com. Doors open at 6:30pm, concert at 7:30pm.