A few years ago, when Tucson Chamber Artists was in its infancy, founder and conductor Eric Holtan programmed Mozart's C-minor Mass, a gigantic masterpiece that boldly announced the professional choir's arrival in Tucson.
In his seventh-season opening concert last weekend, he made another bold pronouncement: Now is not the time to retreat.
Holtan mounted a challenging all-Mozart program that included the composer's more intimate "Coronation Mass" and the "Exsultate, jubilate" featuring longtime TCA principal soprano Kathryn Mueller as soloist. The concert opened with Mozart's Concertone in C, a double-violin concerto featuring Aaron Boyd and Carla Ecker.
If you're doing the math, that's three soloists on a nearly two-hour program that also featured 20 choristers and 20 musicians in the TCA orchestra.
These are not amateur artists; they are paid professionals - arguably the greater Tucson area's finest musicians. They come from the ranks of the Tucson Symphony Orchestra and the University of Arizona. They are vocalists who regularly sing with the Arizona Opera and in concert halls around the country.
In other words, they don't come cheap, and they proved at Sunday's performance at Grace St. Paul's Episcopal Church that they are worth every cent. The performance before a packed audience just shy of 300 - matching the number who saw Saturday's concert at Catalina Foothills High School - was breathtakingly flawless.
• Boyd and Ecker, the TSO's concertmaster and associate concertmaster respectively, struck a dynamic chemistry as co-soloists in the concerto, a charming piece that also has shout-out solo turns for cello and oboe. It was the pair's first concert together outside the TSO, and from the audience's applause, it will hopefully be the first of many.
• Mueller's solo on "Exsultate, jubilate" was inspired. She is possessed by a lovely, soaring soprano that glistened in the glorious coloratura "Alleluia" finale. Throughout she showed off a virtuosic depth of enormous talent.
• The choir and Holtan shone in the concert's centerpiece, the "Coronation Mass," a piece best suited for Grace's small space. Holtan played this as Mozart intended, with more fun than fanfare; the choir seemed to be having a genuinely good time with Mozart's exquisite music. The soloists - sopranos Mueller and Perla Villa, alto Robyn Rocklein, tenor Doug Spurlin and bass Bryan Van Gelder - were outstanding, particularly in the Gloria.
In these trying economic times, it would have been easy for Holtan to open with a less ambitious program - save the big stuff for the winter when the seasonal residents return. But Holtan has never been one to retreat.
When the economy began to falter in 2008, Holtan's 2008-09 season included Haydn's "Creation" and the chorus' first commission, by renowned American composer Stephen Paulus. While arts organizations around the country slashed programming, Holtan stood his ground, canceling only one event - a concert special of Latin music. Ticket sales dropped dramatically, following the national trend, but donations far exceeded expectations.
Holtan's bold approach has paid off. Season subscriptions this year are up 20 over last year's 140.
After his holiday concerts in December, Holtan comes back early next year with the season's centerpiece - Bach's impressive B-minor Mass. The two-hour work will involve 26 vocalists and a chamber orchestra numbering 22. It's the TCA's most musically intense production this season and will require more rehearsals.
Next year, Holtan will get even more ambitious. Tucson Chamber Artists has commissioned Paulus to write a piece commemorating the 10th anniversary of 9/11. Details are still being worked out, but the performance, on Sept. 11, 2011, will involve a full orchestra and vocalists and will include possible collaborations from a number of community groups.
Review
Tucson Chamber Artists "Majestic Mozart" Sunday at Grace St. Paul's Episcopal Church.
• Up next: "And On Earth Peace" Dec. 11 and 12; Bach B-minor Mass, Feb. 18-20.
• For tickets: Buy online at www.tucsonchamberartists.org or call 401-2651.
Contact reporter Cathalena E. Burch at cburch@azstarnet.com or 573-4642.
