The Tucson Symphony Orchestra's "Celebrating America at 250" program sounds like a mixtape of American music by Americans.Β
Until you get to the finale.
The 1812 Overture by Tchaikovsky.
Definitely not American.
But that song?
About as American as you can get, TSO Music Director JosΓ© Luis Gomez will argue.
"1812 Overture is like the most played of the repertoire of any orchestra that plays a Fourth of July concert," he explained. "It is not linked to anything historical. It's not linked to anything nationalistic or Russian or not Russian. It's just because it's spectacular and it has those cannons at the end, with the fireworks."
The tradition of tying Russian composer Tchaikovsky's towering overture to America's Independence Day celebration goes back to 1974, when the Boston Pops, under the legendary Conductor Arthur Fiedler, had the orchestra play it at the end of its annual Fourth of July concert.
It was a hit. By the following year, it became a tradition that caught on with orchestras nationwide.
"We never do a Fourth of July concert, as you know, because we don't have a summer season because it's so hot," Gomez said. "So this is just a little wink, wink to the Fourth of July."
The TSO will perform "Celebrating America at 250" on Saturday, Feb. 14, and Sunday, Feb. 15.
Gomez curated the program with an eye toward the country's rich diversity.
"It's intentionally trying to depict the variety of what it means being the United States of America," he said. "You know, what does this country mean throughout this history? And music has always been influenced by all of the different ethnicities and historical connections that define the United States."
The program opens with Bernstein's "West Side Story" Overture and includes Ward's quintessential "America the Beautiful" and Aaron Copland's "Lincoln Portrait," featuring narration by Tom McNamara, host of AZPM's "Arizona Illustrated."
The TSO Chorus, Arizona Girls Chorus and Tucson Arizona Boys Chorus will perform with the orchestra on the Tchaikovsky, "America the Beautiful" and Samuel Barber's "Agnus Dei."
"Barber, for me, is one of the most important American composers," Gomez said.
The program mirrors the country's ethnic diversity, fromΒ Mexican-American composer Juan Pablo Contreras's "MeChicano," a piece the TSO commissioned, to"Chokfiβ: Sarcasm" for String Orchestra and Percussion from Jerod Impichchaachaahaβ Tate, a member of Oklahoma's Chickasaw Nation.
"We wanted to showcase something really different," Gomez said, which is why the program also includes an excerpt from Joan Tower's "Fanfare for the Uncommon Woman."
"We could have done Copland's 'Fanfare for the Common Man,' which has become, in a way, a little bit of an identity for any American celebration," Gomez said. "But what about the women?"
The TSO will perform Tower's "Fanfare" again in April on its "Copland's Fanfare for America" concert.
This weekend's performances are at 7:30 p.m. Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday at Linda Ronstadt Music Hall, 260 S. Church Ave. Tickets are $16.90-$98 through tucsonsymphony.org or by calling 520-882-8585.
