Tucson Symphony's big weekend: Seven performances in 72 hours

This is the busiest weekend of the year for Tucson Symphony Orchestra.

Seven performances over 72 hours in two halls.

"We don't normally do seven performances in one weekend so it's intense," said TSO President and CEO Paul Meecham. "It's a wonderful way to celebrate the holidays."

Forty-five musicians will be in the pit at Linda Ronstadt Music Hall for five Ballet Tucson performances of Tchaikovsky's "The Nutcracker" between Friday, Dec. 19 and Sunday, Dec. 21. Lawrence Golan will return to conduct the ballet as he has for the past several years.

Another 20 musicians will comprise a Baroque-style ensemble for two special matinee performances of Handel's "Messiah" at Catalina Foothills High School on Saturday and Sunday. "Messiah" for years has been an annual event for the orchestra.

The concert, featuring the TSO Chorus, marks the TSO debut for guest conductor Nicholas McGegan, an early music expert. McGegan will lead the string-heavy orchestra in a version of "Messiah" that hits all the high points in the work's three movements. It's not the full note-to-note version, which clocks in at around three hours.

"We like to try to keep it within two to 2¼ hours," Meecham said. "But essentially all the well known arias and choruses will be constants year after year."

Handel's three-part "Messiah" recounts the prophecies of Christ, his birth, passion, resurrection and ultimate glory. The first part is often performed at Christmas, although Handel originally wrote it in 1741 as an Easter oratorio.

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TSO Chorus Director Marcela Molina said the chorus will include around 40 singers performing with a quartet of soloists: soprano Nola Richardson, contralto Sara Couden, tenor Thomas Cooley and bass-baritone Paul Max Tipton.

" 'Messiah' is one of the pinnacles of the repertoire ... and it's just a gem of a work," Molina said. "It's just full of drama and it's a beautiful, beautiful work."

This is the first of three big TSO concerts involving the chorus. The singers will be on stage with the orchestra Jan. 31 and Feb. 1 for Mozart's Requiem as part of the Tucson Desert Song Festival, featuring mezzo-soprano Angela Brower.

Two weeks later, on Feb. 14-15, the chorus will be part of the TSO's "America at 250" concert at Music Hall. 

That concert also will feature a youth choir comprised of Tucson Arizona Boys Chorus singers and Tucson Girls Chorus, which Molina also leads. 

"Messiah" will be performed at 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, Dec. 20-21, at Catalina Foothills High School, 4300 E. Sunrise Drive. Tickets are $45.10-$102.50 through tucsonsymphony.org.