Delayed vacation: Helios Ensemble performing concert of British works

The Helios Ensemble has a busy season ahead so you’d think they would be taking a deep breath this summer.

Not so much.

On Saturday, June 22, Helios Music Director Ben Hansen will lead the ensemble in “I Was Glad,” a concert of British choral and organ masterworks at Catalina Methodist Church.

Given what lies ahead for the Helios starting in the fall, it’s easy to understand why Hansen doesn’t want his group to get rusty.

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Helios’s 2019-20 season — its fifth — promises to be their most artistically challenging to date. It includes:

• Becoming the resident chorus for Linus Lerner’s Southern Arizona Symphony Orchestra when the group performs Carl Orff’s “Carmina Burana” in November and Beethoven’s glorious Symphony No. 9 next April.
• On Nov. 2, the choir teams up with the Tucson Girls Chorus in “From Russia with Love,” a concert of Russian favorites including the Russian composer’s Vespers.
• “We are so excited about our summer concert and our plans for next year,” Hansen said in a written statement. “We hope to take the community chorus model to the next level.”

Tucson pianist Jeffrey Campbell will accompany Helios Saturday on Catalina’s thunderous Quimby Organ, performing works by Parry, Britten and Finzi. The concert starts at 7 p.m. at Catalina Methodist, 2700 E. Speedway. Tickets start at $18, $8 for students, through heliosensemble.org.