St. Andrew’s Bach Society is throwing a big birthday bash for one of Tucson’s most beloved arts patrons.
The society is teaming up with the Grammy nominated True Concord Voices and Orchestra on June 26 to honor Dorothy Dyer Vanek a few days before she turns 90 on July 3. The birthday concert at St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church, 7650 N. del Norte Paseo in Oro Valley, will feature a full orchestra, choir and soloists performing music by Mozart, Handel and Beethoven, said Bach Society Artistic Director Ben Nisbet.
“I think that that’s a really well-deserved thing for her,” Nisbet said, citing Dyer Vanek’s financial support and commitment to Tucson’s classical music organizations, including Tucson Symphony Orchestra, True Concord and Southern Arizona Symphony Orchestra.
“Her birthday is in the summer and the other organizations that she normally works with are not doing anything over the summer so it’s hard for them to recognize her in a public way,” Nisbet said.
A highlight of the June 26 concert will be Beethoven’s fascinating “Choral Fantasy,” that combines the full musical force of orchestra and voices. The quirky work, largely regarded as one of Beethoven’s finest as well as a milestone in the choral repertoire, hints to the composer’s monumental Ninth Symphony.
The piece is a fitting tribute for Vanek, whose support of Tucson’s orchestras and choirs over the past 40 years has made an immeasurable impact, Nisbet said. Vanek sponsored this year’s TSO Classics series and contributes annually to the semi-professional SASO. Her biggest recent gifts have been to True Concord, putting up the money to commission Stephen Paulus to compose “Prayers and Remembrances” and paying the costs to record the piece on “Far In the Heavens,” a CD of Paulus choral works.
Paulus died before the CD was released last Sept. 11 on the same day that True Concord made its New York City debut; Vanek also put up a sizeable chunk of the $225,000 for that trip, Holtan has said.
Last November, Vanek pledged $150,000 to the Tucson Desert Song Festival to host a Leonard Bernstein festival in 2018.
“One of the main things we want to stress to the community is that through her generosity and her commitment to the arts she has, for lack of a better way to put it, been one of the biggest content producer for the city,” Nisbet said. “So this is a way to give back to her. The organizations and audiences that she’s given so much to want to give something back to her.”
The Bach Society’s summer season — its 28th — kicks off June 6 with a “Sunday Schubertiade,” a celebration of the music of Franz Schubert including “The Trout” featuring soprano Erika Burkhart. True Concord returns for “Sunday with Bach” on July 31, which includes Bach’s cantatas and organ preludes performed by Guy Whatley.
The season concludes Aug. 28 with another look at Bach in “Multiples of Bach,” a concert focused on his double, triple and quadruple concertos. Guest soloists include Whatley and several TSO musicians: concertmaster Lauren Roth, oboist David Barford and flutist Sasha Lipay.
Concerts begin at 2 p.m. at Grace St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, 2331 E. Adams St., unless noted. Tickets are $12 for adults, and $6 for students, except for the June 26 concert; those tickets are $16 for adults and $8 for students.
Tickets are available at the door or online at standrewsbach.org Details: Call 808-2112.
