From left, Toru Tagawa, Kyungsun Choi and Helena Pedersen are performing a benefit concert Saturday, April 17, for the Southern Arizona Arts & Cultural Alliance.

Live classical music concerts have been few and far between since the COVID-19 pandemic reared its head in 2020.

But on Saturday, April 17, a trio of Tucson musicians will team up for a special fundraising concert at Catalyst Arts & Makers Space in Tucson Mall. Proceeds from the socially distanced event will benefit the Southern Arizona Arts & Cultural Alliance, which runs Catalyst and hosts arts events throughout the region.

Violinist Toru Tagawa, the founder and music director of the Tucson Repertory Orchestra and longtime orchestra director for Canyon del Oro High School, joins Sierra Vista Symphony’s principal cellist Helena Pedersen and South Korean pianist Kyungsun Choi, who earned his doctoral degree from the University of Arizona, for a program of works by Mozart, Bach, Beethoven and Beach.

The trio will perform Mozart’s Rondo from Serenade in D Major β€œHaffner,” Bach’s Sonata for Viola da Gamba No.2 in D major, Beach’s Romance for Violin and Piano and Beethoven’s Piano Trio in G major.

In-person admission at the Catalyst Space, 4500 N. Oracle Road, will be limited to 30, and audience members will be socially distanced and required to wear masks. The concert also will be live-streamed on YouTube (tucne.ws/saacayt) beginning at 3 p.m. Saturday.

In-person tickets are $23 through tucne.ws/saacaoot, with proceeds benefitting SAACA. Livestream access is free for SAACA members. To become a member, visit saaca.org.


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Contact reporter Cathalena E. Burch at cburch@tucson.com. On Twitter @Starburch