Tucson Symphony Orchestra is shining a spotlight on America with its “Voices of America” concert this weekend.
Across town, the volunteer Civic Orchestra of Tucson is looking toward Germany for the bulk of its “Musical Holiday Treats” concert.
TSO, under the baton of guest conductor Ankush Kumar Bahl, will explore what it means for music to be American, starting with William Grant Still’s “Serenade,” a piece the dean of African-American composers penned in 1957 that borrows from American folk idioms and conventional melodies and harmonies.
Award-winning guest pianist Kenny Broberg is the centerpiece of “Voices of America” with Gershwin’s Piano Concerto in F major, largely regarded as Gershwin’s most classically-informed work. But coming from Gershwin, the Concerto in F has plenty of jazzy flair from the explosive timpani strikes that open the piece to the extended orchestral introduction that builds to a dramatic entrance for the solo piano.
The concert ends with Czech composer Dvořák’s Symphony No. 9, “From the New World,” a beloved and often-played testament to America that Dvořák penned in 1893 while he was living in New York. Fun fact: American astronaut Neil Armstrong took a recording of the piece, which borrows from American spirituals and Native American music, with him on Apollo 11’s moon mission in 1969.
The TSO will perform the concert twice at Linda Ronstadt Music Hall, 260 S. Church Ave., at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Dec. 2, and 2 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 4. Tickets are $18-$90 through tucsonsymphony.org or by calling 520-882-8585.
Civic Orchestra of Tucson is performing a holiday concert.
Expect a handful of holiday favorites alongside a little Mozart and Beethoven when the Civic Orchestra of Tucson performs at 3 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 3, and Sunday, Dec. 4.
Soprano Aysen Idil Milliogullari and baritone Zhong Liu will join the orchestra.
Music Director Kuen Oh opens the concert with Beethoven’s thunderous and monstrously popular Symphony No. 5 with its iconic four-note, fate-knocking motif heard ’round the world.
The mood changes dramatically with highlights from Mozart’s “The Magic Flute” before the orchestra goes into holiday mode with a handful of favorite carols.
Admission is free. Saturday’s concert will be held at Valley Presbyterian Church, 2800 S. Camino Del Sol, in Green Valley. On Sunday, the orchestra performs at El Conquistador Tucson, a Hilton Resort, 10000 N. Oracle Road, in Oro Valley. Details at cotmusic.org.
Watch now as Kenny Broberg, guesting this weekend with the Tucson Symphony, performs Scriabin Sonata No. 5 during the 2021 American Pianists Awards.
