With the weather finally warming up, Tucson’s longtime parks music series return this weekend.
Arizona Symphonic Winds performs over the next four Saturdays while Tucson Pops has concerts the next three Sundays. Admission to either is free, although both accept donations.
If it’s been a minute since you’ve seen the Winds’ Music in the Park at Udall Park’s László Veres Amphitheater, 7200 E. Tanque Verde Road; or Tucson Pops’ Music Under the Stars at Reid Park’s DeMeester Outdoor Performance Center, 900 S. Randolf Way, here’s a little reminder of what’s in store.
Bring a blanket or chair and make yourself comfortable.
Pack a picnic supper or check out the food trucks.
Don’t worry about concert etiquette, from your ‘fit to your kids playing tag on the grassy slopes. Hey, you’re outside and it’s almost summertime; do you.
Arizona Symphonic Winds, under the baton of founder and Music Director László Veres, opens its series Saturday, May 11, with “Mozart: Flute Concerto with Alexander Lipay,” featuring the principal flutist with the Tucson Symphony Orchestra. The program also includes Franz von Suppé’s “Poet and Peasant” overture, selections from “Sound of Music” and a Winds Mother’s Day tradition, “My Yiddishe Momme.”
May 18: Soprano Dori Cárdenas-Smith returns for “Evening with Dori,” featuring arias by Puccini, Lehar with a few Gershwin tunes. The program also includes waltzes, Rossini’s “La Gazza Ladra” and a tribute to the Big Band era.
May 25: Veres will don his J.P. Sousa uniform for “An Evening with John Philip Sousa; and Stars of the Future,” with high school senior clarinetist Anna Kang performing von Weber’s Concertino for Clarinet.
June 1: Veres takes a moment in each series to honor “Stars of the Winds,” shining the spotlight on members of the ensemble. This year, it’s trumpeter Kenny Saufley and oboist Elaine Sosnowski. Young members of the audience also could vie for a shot at conducting the ensemble from the stage.
László Veres, shown at his final Tucson Pops concert in 2022, leads the Arizona Symphonic Winds in its Music in the Park series at Udall Park.
The Tucson Pops Orchestra is inching into its 70th year; it was founded in 1955. Its music director, Khris Dodge, has been at the podium since taking over after Veres retired in 2022.
Dodge opens the spring series with a Mother’s Day concert on May 12 with classical guitarist Gabriel Ayala performing “Baile de la Cubana.” Jeanine Remy from the University of the West Indies will perform steel drums for the Caribbean inspired “Rainorama” on a program that also includes “Polonaise” by Rimsky-Korsokav, Shostakovich’s “Festival Overture” and “Cavatina,” the theme from the 1968 movie “The Deer Hunter.”
On May 19, “Music for A Better World” includes two world premieres of ballets. The first is choreographed by Ballet Tucson Artistic Director Margaret Mullins to the music of “Clair de Lune,” featuring pianist Marie Sierra and dancers Lauren Vogel and August Hartung. The second, “Springtime Swing,” is choreographed by Danielle Cesanek with dancers Emma Greenawalt, August Hartung, Darcey Lynn, Jessica Lynn, Sally Megargee, Hannah Smith, and Lauren Vogel.
Greg Curtis Wakefield will narrate the special Memorial Day concert on May 26, which will include a Davis-Monthan Air Force Base Honor Guard performing Taps. The program also features patriotic classics in tribute to American armed forces.
