SASO presents War and Remembrance, an event that pays tribute to heroes through music. The performance begins with von Suppé’s Light Cavalry Overture and features local baritone Andrew Stuckey, who performs Brahms’ Four Serious Songs….
Updates
Thomas Leleu Performs With SASO
Thomas Leleu Hailed as “absolute tuba genius”, French tubaist Thomas Leleu is an unconventional artist at the height of his creative powers. The 35-year-old prodigy is equally at home performing as a classical soloist in…
The Southern Arizona Symphony Orchestra presents a season of musical serendipity
The 2022-23 season begins October 8 and 9 with guest violinist Steven Moeckel. The Southern Arizona Symphony Orchestra begins their 2022-23 season with Maestro Linus Lerner on the podium, kicking off a season of musical…
SASO Remembers Dorothy Dyer Vanek
The Southern Arizona Symphony Orchestra remembers Dorothy Vanek, Principal Benefactor and longtime supporter, who passed away peacefully on March 25, 2020. Dorothy Vanek’s legacy of arts philanthropy has been a pivotal part SASO’s history, and…
Southern Arizona Symphony Orchestra gets 40th anniversary party started early
The Southern Arizona Symphony Orchestra is pulling out all the stops to close its 2018-19 season.
SASO Begins the 2017-2018 Season
Contact Kevin Larkin at manager@sasomusic.org or (520) 308-6226 TUCSON, AZ – On Oct. 14 and 15 the Southern Arizona Symphony Orchestra presents a lively program inspired by folk rhythms, poetry and joyous celebrations of the…
In Celebration of Mexican Independence Day
Contact Kevin Larkin at manager@sasomusic.org or (520) 308-6226 TUCSON, AZ – The Southern Arizona Symphony Orchestra and winners of the Linus Lerner International Voice Competition will present a free public concert in celebration of Mexican…
Program notes for SASO’s March 17-19, 2017 concerts
By Tim Secomb During his long career, the English composer William Walton wrote music in several genres, from film scores to opera. Early in his career, he gained notoriety for his modernist work Façade – An Entertainment,…
Interview with Nicholas Turner
Via our Facebook page, here’s an interview, recorded live during a rehearsal break, with pianist Nicholas Turner, preparing to play the first movement of Ravel’s G-Major Concerto. Nick is the winner of our 2017 Dorothy Vanek…
Interview with Erika Roush
SASO concertmaster Erika Roush speaks with executive director James Reel about her role in the orchestra.
Interview with Carol Wincenc
Just a few minutes before our esteemed soloist Carol Wincenc began her first rehearsal with SASO of Carl Nielsen’s Flute Concerto, she sat down with our executive director, James Reel, for a live Facebook chat…
Program Notes for SASO’s Oct. 15-16 Concerts
By Tim Secomb Mexican composer Arturo Márquez was born in Álamos, Sonora. His father and his grandfather were musicians and Márquez was exposed to several musical styles in his childhood, particularly Mexican “salon music,” which strongly influenced his…
Dvorak’s “Song to the Moon”
Here’s soprano Elizabeth Rodriguez Berrios joining SASO and conductor Linus Lerner for the “Song to the Moon” from Antonín Dvorák’s opera Rusalka, in concert at the Fox Tucson Theatre on Sept. 15, 2016. Thanks to…
Amanda Harberg’s Viola Concerto
This week, SASO is recording two recent concertos with viola soloist Brett Deubner for commercial CD release. We’ve played all the music in concert before; here’s a video of our first go at Amanda Harberg’s…
The Stankovs play Mendelssohn with SASO
Felix Mendelssohn’s E-minor Violin Concerto is a concert staple, and his piano concertos get an occasional outing, but it’s more unusual to find his early Concerto for Violin, Piano and Strings on the concert stage….
SASO Presents Whitacre, He Zhanhao and Bruckner’s Te Deum April 1–3
Travel through your imagination from a young child’s moonlit bedside to ancient China, then 19th-century Vienna as you enjoy haunting, evocative and powerful music by Eric Whitacre, He Zhanhao and Anton Bruckner. Join the Southern…
Violinist Tiffany Chang Wins Dorothy Vanek Youth Concerto Completion
Violinist Tiffany Chang won the 2016 Dorothy Vanek Youth Concerto Competition sponsored by the Southern Arizona Symphony Orchestra. In addition to the $1,000 cash prize, she was invited to solo with the orchestra in concerts…
SASO Musicians Return from Music Festival in Brazil
By Tim Secomb Musicians of the Southern Arizona Symphony Orchestra recently returned from Brazil. The orchestra gave two performances at the Gramado In Concert International Music Festival. Gramado is picturesque town in the mountains of…
2015–16 program notes: Gould, Rachmaninov, Dvořák
Here are the program notes for the Southern Arizona Symphony Orchestra’s concerts on Jan. 31 and Feb. 5–6, 2016. Get your tickets here. American composer Morton Gould was recognized for his musical abilities at an early…
2015-16 Cycle 2 Program Notes
By Tim Secomb Karelia is a region of northern Europe, on the border between Russia and Finland. Tensions over the ownership of Karelia were an important aspect of Finland’s struggle for independence. In 1893, Finnish composer Jean…
Program notes for SASO’s October 2015 concerts
By Tim Secomb Mexican composer José Pablo Moncayo García was one of the most important representatives of the Mexican nationalist movement in classical music, along with fellow composers Silvestre Revueltas and Carlos Chávez. His Huapango is an original…
SASO Musicians Present Highlights from 2015 Oaxaca Opera Festival
Twenty-five musicians from the Tucson-based Southern Arizona Symphony Orchestra returned recently from Oaxaca, Mexico, where they performed in the Oaxaca Opera Festival for the third consecutive year. The full orchestra will perform highlights of the…
Oaxaca Opera Festival in Mexican press
SASO, Linus Lerner and the 2016 Oaxaca Opera Festival are receiving plentiful advance coverage in the Mexican press. If you read Spanish, or if you’re just a monolingual voyeur, follow the links to short pieces…
2015-16 Season Tickets Now Available
Through May 17, you may purchase early-bird-discount season tickets for SASO’s five 2015-16 concerts at St. Andrew’s Presbyterian for only $80. That’s five concerts for less than the cost of four single tickets! Season ticket…