Jerusalem Quartet returns to Arizona
Arizona Friends of Chamber Music is closing out its 2015-16 season this week with two concerts — Hungarian cellist István Várdai on Sunday, April 10, and the return of the Jerusalem Quartet on Wednesday, April 13.
Várdai is pairing up with pianist Julien Quentin in the Piano and Friends recital that includes Stravinsky’s Suite Italienne. Also on the program: Brahms’ Cello Sonata No. 2 in F major, and works by Kodály and Janácek.
The recital begins at 3 p.m. Sunday.
On Wednesday, the Jerusalem makes its third Tucson appearance performing quartets from Haydn, Bartók and Ravel as part of the Evening Series. The Jerusalem debuted in Tucson in 2011 and returned in 2013, performing four of Shostakovich’s quartets that the group recorded to critical acclaim.
Wednesday’s performance begins at 7:30 p.m. Both concerts are at the Leo Rich Theatre, 260 S. Church Ave. Tickets are $30, $10 for students at the door or online at arizonachambermusic.org Details: Call 577-3769.
Another season finale, this one at Dove of Peace
Dove of Peace Lutheran Church closes its popular winter concert series on Sunday, April 10, with its annual fete of J.S. Bach, this one doubling as a debut of the church’s new — yet old — harpsichord.
The instrument was donated to the church by a member of the audience who hails from Appleton, Wisconsin, said Eric Holtan, the church’s music director who also curates the concert series.
And who better to break in the instrument than Guy Whatley, the Phoenix-area harpsichordist who has become a fixture on Tucson’s classical music stages. Whatley regularly performs with Holtan’s other ensemble, True Concord Voices and Orchestra, as well as the St. Andrew’s Bach Society.
True Concord and Tucson Symphony Orchestra musicians (Whatley with violinist Benjamin Nisbet and flutist Alexander Lipay) will be featured soloists for Bach’s Triple Concerto. TSO violinist Ellen Chamberlain joins Whatley for Bach’s Partita No. 2 in D minor, while Lipay solos on the Partita in A minor. Also on the program is the fifth movement of Bach’s famous Chaconne for harpsichord.
The concert closes out Dove of Peace’s 12th season. It begins at 3 p.m. Sunday at the church, 665 W. Roller Coaster Road. Admission is free, but a free-will donation will be collected to benefit Interfaith Community Services.
St. Alban’s sheds light on music by blind composers
St. Alban’s Episcopal Church’s is shedding light on music composed by or inspired by people who lived in the dark.
The recital on Friday, April 8, explores music by Medieval and Renaissance composers Francesco Landini, Conrad Paumann and Arnolt Schlick, all of whom were blind. St. Alban’s director of music and organist Stephen Keyl will accompany vocalist Emily Lau in a recital dubbed “Inner Light.”
Lau has performed with The Broken Consort and True Concord Voices & Orchestra.
Friday’s recital begins at 7:30 p.m. at St. Alban’s Episcopal Church, 3738 Old Sabino Canyon Road, Admission is $15, $10 for seniors 60 and older and $5 for students at the door. Details: 296-0791.
Sons of Orpheus gives sneak peek of Paris show
Sons of Orpheus Male Choir knows how to celebrate its landmark anniversaries.
This spring, as the ensemble marks its 25th anniversary, it’s heading to Paris, France.
And it’s inviting Tucson to a sneak peek of its Paris tour with several spring concerts starting with a concert at Casas Adobes Congregational Church, 6801 N. Oracle Road, at 3 p.m. Sunday, April 10.
Highlights of the concert include performances by student soloists soprano Lindsey McHugh, tenors Bryce Tomlin and Jeremiah Gaefke and baritone Javier Molina. Student violinist Kai Skaggs also will perform during the Spring Gala Concerts and all of the young artists will travel with the choir in May.
Sons of Orpheus, led by founder Grayson Hirst, introduced itself in 1991. Among its many community performances is the popular annual Christmas concerts at Mission San Xavier that sell out weeks in advance.
In addition to the April 10 concert, the group will perform on Saturday, April 16, at Grace St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, 2331 E. Adams St.; and Sunday, April 24, at St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church, Northeast Chapel, 7650 N. Paseo del Norte in Oro Valley. Both begin at 3 p.m. and tickets are $15 by emailing tickets@sonsoforpheus.org or $17 at the door.
UA Opera tackles comic opera ‘Elixir of Love’
The University of Arizona Opera Theater is tackling Donizetti’s “The Elixir of Love” this weekend in performances with the Arizona Symphony Orchestra.
The performance, presented by the University of Arizona Fred Fox School of Music, is directed by Beth Greenberg, who is finishing her first year as Opera Theater director. Thomas Cockrell will conduct the orchestra.
Performances are at 7:30 p.m. Thursday through Saturday, April 7 to 9, at Crowder Hall, North Park Avenue and East Speedway. Admission is $20, $15 for UA employees and seniors 55 and older and $10 for students through the box office, 621-1162, or online at tickets.arizona.edu
The opera is presented in Italian with English supertitles.
