The Tucson Desert Song Festival is celebrating the 100th birthday of Leonard Bernstein, who died in 1990, with a festival of festivals.
- There’s the song fest, with its impressive lineup of up-and-coming young vocalists and musicians. Thirty-one events over 20 days now through Feb. 4.
- Inserted into the three-week event is a cross-pollination with the Tucson Jazz Festival including a UA Presents concert Jan. 23 with Chita Rivera — she was the first Anita in Bernstein’s Broadway smash “West Side Story — and jazz superstar Dianne Schuur with the Bill Charlap Trio at Fox Tucson Theatre on Jan. 18.
- And making an appearance is the Tucson International Jewish Film Festival, which on Jan. 20 is screening “On the Waterfront,” the 1954 film that includes Bernstein’s magnificent score. Bernstein’s daughter Jamie She will introduce the film and take questions from the audience afterward.
And then there are the outside festivals that are holding hands with Tucson Desert Song Festival:
- Ravinia Festival’s Ravinia Steans Music Institute from Chicago returns once again, building on a relationship it’s had with the Tucson event since year two back in 2014. Ravinia Steans vocalists join pianist Kevin Murphy for a Bernstein’s greatest hits event “Bernstein and Friends” on Jan. 29.
- And new to this year’s festival is the acclaimed New York Festival of Song, whose founders, Michael Barrett and Steven Blier, are teaming up with Arizona Friends of Chamber Music for “Bernstein Bash” at 7:30 p.m. Jan. 31.
