About

Who We Are

• Utah Pioneer Heritage Arts (UPHA) is the world’s premier source of Utah pioneer-based performing, visual, and literary arts, education, and entertainment.

Our values are respect, integrity, authenticity, excellence, interdependence, the necessity and value of artistic expressions, and acknowledgment of God’s hand in our lives.

Vision

• UPHA enhances Utah’s quality of life, strengthens our social fabric, and increases cultural heritage tourism by 1-preserving and presenting Utah pioneer stories in world-class performing and visual art and in artistic presentations, 2-facilitating the public presentation and sale of pioneer-inspired arts and crafts, 3-encouraging the preservation and widespread practice of the heritage arts, and 4-collaborating with all other organizations and individuals who have similar objectives.

Mission

• To motivate the world, utilizing the heritage arts, to look to our pioneer ancestors for inspiration, motivation, validation, and direction.

Tasks involved in accomplishing the mission:

• Preserve Utah pioneer* skills**, art forms***, art pieces****, and pioneer stories

• Create and foster new artworks inspired by Utah pioneers and their stories

• Educate Utah students and the public at large about:

1-Pioneer history and stories

2-Pioneer skills and pioneer life

3-Pioneer art forms and their contemporary derivatives

• Entertain Utah audiences by creating and promoting excellent, engaging performances and exhibitions embodying pioneer heritage arts

* Pioneer means those who immigrated to Utah prior to the advent of railroad transportation in 1869 or who lived under the same conditions thereafter-no modern communication (telephone or telegraph), no modern transportation, no electrical power, etc.

**Pioneer skills are those that daily provided sustenance, shelter, protection, clothing, and transportation (ie: farming, cooking, building, sewing, tinsmithing)

***Pioneer art forms, sometimes an extension of or embellishment to daily skills, provided beauty, entertainment, and social interaction (ie: needlework, dancing, woodcarving, storytelling).

****Art pieces are the products of pioneers’ practice of their art forms.

OBJECTIVES

1 – To preserve and perpetuate the pioneer heritage arts (hereafter “heritage arts”)

2 – To promote excellence in the practice of the heritage arts

3 – To promote expression of Utah pioneer stories through the heritage arts

4 – To promote production of collaborative art with multiple levels and facets

5 – To attract members who reflect the best of and breadth of Utah’s heritage arts

6 –To attract members who include key influencers in the promotion of Utah’s heritage arts

7 – To achieve first place in the minds of those in a position to hire Utah-flavored entertainment

8 – To acquire funding sufficient to accomplish our objectives

9 – To have effective management, staff, and board

10 – To create educational programs of irresistible value to teachers and students, convention organizers and event planners

11 – To achieve acknowledged value in the minds of our members, and in the minds of government, educational, arts community, business, and entertainment leaders

12 - To assist our members to market their art

Clive J. Romney -- Executive Director

Clive Romney, Pearl-Award-winning recording producer, composer, songwriter, arranger, teacher and performer, and a forty-year veteran of the music business, serves as Executive Director of Utah Pioneer Heritage Arts.

Clive plays guitar, bass, mandolin, banjo, accordion, percussion, dan tranh, charango, bodhran, various other ethnic instruments, and some piano, and produces between four and ten albums per year in his recording studio, "Pitchfork Studios", engineering most of his own recordings. He is comfortable producing music in a wide range of styles, but his musical "home" is in folk, world and old-time music.

Clive wrote the lyrics for the films Swan Princess II and III, the music and lyrics for "Over The Edge at The Grand Canyon" (commissioned by the National Park), and has had more than four hundred original works recorded and published. But he counts "Scripture Power", an LDS Primary children's favorite, as his greatest musical achievement.

Clive founded and directs "Enoch Train", an eight-man ensemble that performs and records folk-flavored instrumental arrangements of hymn tunes, children's songs, and Americana, incorporating ethnic influences from around the world. Enoch Train were the featured performers for SeaTrek 2001, the reenactment of the emigration of 85,000 Mormon converts to the United States by ship, performing on board a tall ship and in Esbjerg, Copenhagen, Gothenberg, Oslo, Greenock (Scotland), Liverpool, Hull, and Portsmouth.

Clive directs "Caboose", a five-man band that performs old-time and original folk-flavored vocal and instrumental music.
Their eponymous first album has just been released.

Clive is part of the four-person pioneer band "Willingly", which travels the state presenting Utah pioneer history in a dynamic, fun-filled assembly to elementary schools and community audiences throughout the state.

He also performs with "Grouse Creek Lily", a three-piece western band that specializes in early Utah cowboy music.

Clive teaches Introduction to the Music Business at Brigham Young University in Provo, where he has also taught songwriting in the past.

Board of Trustees

Russell K. Booth

Russ Booth has over thirty five years experience as a
Broker/Agent in leasing selling, managing and developing various types
of properties and is currently the Senior Vice President of Coldwell
Banker Commercial. He is a Managing Partner for several real estate
partnerships, LLC's and investment groups. He was awarded B.S. and
M.S. degrees from the University of Utah and Brigham Young University.
Russ was recently the President of the BYU Alumni Association,
and professionally is a former President of the 1.2 million-member
National Association of Realtors. He currently chairs the
International Consortium of Real Estate Associations. He has been
active in community, church, and civic organizations.
Russ is married to Nina C. Woodbury and has six children (5 boys
and 1 girl, ages 34 to 22) and four grandchildren.

Additional Information:

Charlene Nelson
Biographical Sketch

   Charlene Nelson currently works for Logistic Specialties, Inc. as a consultant with emphasis in arts and community development. She most recently served as the Executive Director of the Davis Arts Council in Layton, Utah for the past eighteen years. The Arts Council was a young and totally volunteer arts organization when Charlene was asked to be the president in 1984. She was handed a shoebox with a few bank statements and a small amount of money in the checkbook. Deciding to see what could accomplish with this organization, she appointed members to the first Board of Trustees, helped write the Articles of Incorporation and By-Laws, applied for and received incorporation and then later 501(c)(3) non-profit status for the Layton Arts Council.
   Charlene obtained an Associate of Arts Degree from Weber State University with an emphasis in theatre. She continued to develop the Layton Arts Council on a part-time volunteer basis until 1989 when she was hired as their first paid staff in the position of Executive Director, a position that she held through 2007. Under her direction, the organization developed into a fully operational agency with two full-time employees and additional seasonal staff. In 1995, the Layton Arts Council officially changed its name to the Davis Arts Council to better reflect their broader audience appeal.
   Nelson has extensive experience in developing and executing cultural programs. She was a key component in helping to raise funds to build the Kenley Centennial Amphitheater in Layton and since its completion in 1996 has developed the paid Summer Concert Series, the free Sunday Night Concert series, the free Wednesday Night Movie series and various cultural programs offered through Davis Arts Council. She also developed arts education classes for youth and adults of the community and oversaw the various committees and volunteers of the council. In 2003 she completed an Arts Administration Certification program offered through a partnership of the Utah Arts Council and The Front Porch Institute based in Astoria, Oregon and in 2007 she completed a Change Leader Certification through the Utah Arts Council.
   Charlene serves and has served on various committees in her community and state including the Utah Arts Council Community Advisory Panel, Weber State University Community Advisory Board, Syracuse Arts Academy Board of Trustees, Davis Conference Center Gala Committee, Best of State Judging Panel, Davis County Buffalo Days Committee, Layton Parks & Recreation Commission, Layton Liberty Days Committee, Layton City Centennial Committee, Cultural Amenities Committee – Weber State University, Davis County Tourism Committee, Davis County Bird Festival Committee, Davis County Economic Development Committee, Taste of the Town Committee – Davis County Chamber of Commerce and twice an Honorary Commander in the Hill Air Force Base Logstar program. She served as president of Utah Presenters from 2003- 2005.
   Awards include Weber State University – Distinguished Alumni Award, Mattie Wattis Harris – Spirit of the American Woman Award, Layton Chamber of Commerce – “Community Improvement” Award, Utah Humanities – “Outstanding Project” Award, Layton City Award of Appreciation – Kenley Centennial Amphitheatre.
   Born and raised in Salt Lake City, she moved to Los Angeles, California where she met and married her husband of 31 years, Craig. They now reside in Layton, Utah where they are the parents of five children and grandparents to three granddaughters and one grandson.

Deseret Morning News
Friday, May 18, 2007
Arts groups unite to keep pioneer heritage strong
New organization designed to bring all under one umbrella

By Carma Wadley Deseret Morning News
Wherever they went in the Intermountain West, the pioneers took their arts with them: song, dance, stories, poetry, brass bands, even such art-crafts as quilting and woodworking.

Scott G. Winterton, Deseret Morning News
Karl Behling tells a story at the Sons of Utah Pioneers National Headquarters Thursday during a ceremony for Utah Pioneer Heritage Arts.
Photo by Scott G. Winterton, Deseret Morning News: Karl Behling tells a story at the Sons of Utah Pioneers National Headquarters Thursday during ceremony for Utah Pioneer Heritage Arts. A lot of artisans still practice those heritage arts, but Utah now has a new organization designed to bring all of them under one umbrella. An official "Signing of the Memorandum of Agreement" for the Utah Pioneer Heritage Arts association took place Thursday night at the Sons of Utah Pioneers National Headquarters. The evening featured performances by various groups involved in the project, as well as the signing ceremony. 
"We feel there is a great need for the preservation of our heritage," said Shawnda Bishop, director of Clog America, and one of the driving forces behind the new organization. "We hope to bring together all the groups that are trying to preserve a part of that heritage to collaborate and gain strength. We hope to establish a home to preserve, celebrate and pass on these arts." 
Many of the heritage arts are struggling to stay alive, added Clive Romney, of Enoch Train, who is also instrumental in the arts association. "Collaboration is the key, not only to let these arts survive but thrive. A lot of people love these arts, but we need to make them more visible. Working together, we can have presentations that have more depth." 
For example, he thinks it would be fun for a musician to talk to a quilter, write a song about a quilt, and then have the quilt on stage as the song is performed. UPHA also envisions festivals where all the groups can come together, and putting together presentations for conventions and other groups. "Heritage is big business. A lot of people pay a lot of money to see how things used to be," Romney said; UPHA needs to tap into that. 
They also hope to do outreach programs in the schools and take kids on field trips to Gardner Village and other places, and are also working on a Web site.

Founding members of UPHA include groups such as the Utah Old Time Fiddlers, Clog America, Cowboy Poets of Utah, Institute of American Music, Wasatch Contras, Gardner Village, National Pony Express, Utah Storytelling Guild, Nashville Songwriters Association International, Old-Time Utah Dances, Association of Square Dance Clubs of Utah, Utah Talent Showdown, Folklore Society of Utah, Enoch Train, Caboose, Bluesage Band, Mountain Men Association and the Utah Quilt Guild. 
Membership in UPHA is open to groups and individuals interested in heritage arts. For more information or to become involved, e-mail Bishop at Iae123@gmail.com 
"All we are trying to do is change the world, one little thing at a time," said Mark Geslison, of the Institute of American Music. His little part is encouraging more families to make music together. "So many people tell me, 'I wish I had done this when I was little.' Playing together is not always easy, but it can make a difference."
  The pioneers loved the arts, said Romney. "We want to celebrate what they loved. There are great values to be cultivated through the arts, such as self-discipline, respect for others, honesty, and the law of the harvest — getting back what you put into it." As he said in a song he wrote for the occasion, "If we let them be forgotten, we're denying their tomorrows and our yesterdays."