Linus Lerner knows a thing about the world.
He criss-crosses the globe on a regular basis, conducting orchestras big and small, including in China, Romania, Argentina, Italy, Colombia and his native Brazil, where he is music director of the Rio Grande do Norte Symphony Orchestra in the seaside city of Natal. And he’s principal conductor of the wind orchestra OSNH in his hometown of Nobo Hamburgo, Brazil.
That’s also where Lerner hosts Femusik, an international winter music festival that he started several years ago. Nearly 500 students were part of this year’s event, which wrapped up last week.
This season, Lerner and his Southern Arizona Symphony Orchestra is giving us a taste of his travels.
We’ve already experienced the music of America, Germany and Russia in October and Italy and Germany in November.
“This program reflects the heart of our ‘Musical Journeys’ season — a celebration of music’s ability to transport and connect us,” said Lerner, who has led SASO for 17 years. “These works highlight the artistry of the orchestra and the power of live performance.”
The program opens with American composer Leroy Anderson’s “The Waltzing Cat,” a frisky waltz that conjures up those addictive TikTok cat videos, followed by Italian pianist Paolo Scafarella performing the Second Piano Concerto from Swedish composer Wilhelm Stenhammer, whose works Scafarella has recorded.
The orchestra will honor one of its own when it performs Tucson composer Richard White’s “Elegy for Juliet,” a heartfelt tribute to the SASO violist’s late wife, Juliet Niehaus, who died last January from a neurodegenerative disease.
Lerner said the work, which White composed in 27 days, blends the mid-19th century Shaker tune “Simple Gifts” with echoes of the Nat King Cole ballad “When I Fall In Love.” The piece has moments of darkness and tenderness, and it captures the “profound sorrow and enduring love” of the couple’s shared journey, according to program notes.
Also on the program: Russian composer Prokofiev’s tale of an imaginary soldier in “Lieutenant Kijé” and Romania composer Georges Enescu’s Romanian Rhapsody No. 1, inspired by the Romanian folk songs of Enescu’s youth.
SASO will perform the concert twice this weekend: 7 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 1, at DesertView Performing Arts Center, 39900 Clubhouse Drive in SaddleBrooke; and 3 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 2, at St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church, 7575 N. Paseo Del Norte, on Tucson’s northwest side.
SaddleBrooke tickets are $35 through dvpac.net. Tucson tickets are $28 through sasomusic.org.
Contact reporter Cathalena E. Burch at cburch@tucson.com. On Bluesky @Starburch