'26 song festival brings trio of world premieres, world class vocalists to Tucson

Tucson Desert Song Festival is putting America in the spotlight for its 14th annual festival, Jan. 16-April 25, 2026.

“America Sings!” celebrates America’s 250th birthday with a roster of some of the country’s most promising and accomplished vocalists, music that defines the American spirit, two world premieres by prominent American composers and the world premiere of a new work from Ballet Tucson.

“It’s an important jubilee year so we’re celebrating America,” said Juliana Osinchuk, the festival’s co-artistic director alongside Julia Pernet.

Osinchuk said the theme encompasses “everything from American compositions, (to) compositions about America, but mostly American artists.”

The theme is front and center in True Concord Voices & Orchestra‘s festival opening event Jan. 16 “Music of the Pioneers,” with baritone Will Liverman and in Arizona Friends of Chamber Music‘s world premiere Jan. 28 of Tamar-kali’s new work centered on the Harlem Renaissance movement and the African-American jazz and classical pianist and composer Margaret Bonds.

Arizona Early Music on Feb. 8 will look at the fragility of American democracy through the lens of time when bass-baritone Davóne Tines and the “period instrument rock band” Ruckus present “What Is Your Hand in This?”

Program notes describe it as a “powerful journey through four centuries of songs, hymns, ballads” and newly commissioned works by Tines and Ruckus bassist Doug Balliett that pose the question: ‘How can this fragile American experiment hold?’ “

Grammy-winning soprano Karen Slack teams up with Miró Quartet to perform Tamar-kali’s world premiere, one of three on the 2025 Song Festival lineup:

• Ballet Tucson will perform the world premiere of “Desert Dweller,” created by its artistic director Margaret Mullin and composer/guitarist Misael Barraza-Diaz, on Feb. 27-March 1.
• On April 7, Jennifer Johnson Cano, accompanied by her husband, Tucson native and pianist Christopher Cano, will perform the world premiere of a song cycle from opera composer Gregory Spears (“Fellow Travelers“) commissioned by the festival.

The Spears commission, the festival’s seventh since it premiered Richard Danielpour’s “Songs of Love and Loss” in 2020, was the brainchild of Osinchuk after she and song festival board president Jeannette Segel and others from Tucson attended the August 2024 world premiere of Spears’ opera “The Righteous” at the Santa Fe Opera.

“We just thought the music was so beautiful and Jennifer Johnson Cano was the mezzo lead and they got along really well,” Segel said. “He loves writing for Jennifer.”

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Osinchuk said that during intermission, Christopher Cano introduced her to Spears and the pair talked about the festival and its commissioning program, which led to the question: Would he consider doing a commission for the festival? Spears said he would love to and suggested he would write something for Jennifer Johnson Cano.

“We were in Santa Fe to hear ‘The Righteous,’ but for me personally, I think the number one draw for me there was Jennifer Johnson Cano,” Osinchuk said.

Johnson Cano’s appearance at the 2026 festival will be her third.

Other highlights of the 2026 Tucson Desert Song Festival:

• Liverman will pull double-duty when he’s here. In addition to performing with True Concord Jan. 16-18, he’s doing a recital on Jan. 20 at the University of Arizona’s Holsclaw Hall.
• Mezzo-soprano Angela Brower makes her second song festival appearance when she joins Tucson Symphony Orchestra for Berlioz’s cantata “Cléopâtre” on Jan. 23 and 25. She’s back with the TSO for three performances Jan. 31-Feb. 1 of Mozart’s behemoth Requiem with soprano Zoe Allen, tenor Omar Najmi and baritone Edward Vogel.
• Grammy- and Tony Award-winning jazz superstar Dee Dee Bridgewater and pianist Bill Charlap perform at Fox Tucson Theatre Jan. 23 in a co-production with the HSL Properties Tucson Jazz Festival. The song fest also is collaborating with the jazz festival to bring Pink Martini for two performances with the TSO Jan. 17-18.
• Tucson Guitar Society is hosting soprano Elena Rivera and guitarist Joaquin Clerch on Jan. 24.
• Arizona Theatre Company brings the Tony Award-winning swing and jazz “Musical Revue: Ain’t Misbehavin’ “ Jan. 25-Feb. 14.
• Soprano Karen Chia-Ling Ho sings the role of Cio-Cio San in Arizona Opera’s production of “Madama Butterfly” on Feb. 7. She joins fellow song festival artists tenor Terrence Chin Loy as Lt. Pinkerton, mezzo Alice Chung as Suzuki and baritone Alexander Birch Elliott as Sharpless, all making their song festival debuts.
• Broadway singer-dancer D. Jerome teams up with his former mentor, UA School of Dance Director Duane Cyrus, and the UA Traveling Dance Ensemble for a concert featuring popular works from the Great American Songbook Feb. 19-22. The concert comes more than a month after Jerome is set to appear in the role of the Tinman in “Wiz,” which Broadway In Tucson is bringing to Centennial Hall Jan. 6-11.
• Arizona Opera is hosting a recital with mezzo-soprano Jamie Barton and pianist Kathleen Kelly March 5.
• Mezzo Katherine Beck leads a cast of song festival artists — tenor Andrew Morstein, bass Matt Boehler and baritone Yichen Xue — in Arizona Opera’s production of Rossini’s “La Cenerentola” April 25.

Song festival tickets are available from the presenting organizations. For the complete festival schedule and more information, visit tucsondesertsongfestival.org.