TUCSON, AZ – The Southern Arizona Symphony Orchestra and winners of the 3rd Annual Linus Lerner International Voice Competition will present a free public concert in celebration of Mexican Independence Day on September 15th at 8 pm at the Fox Theatre. The program features talented guest artists from Mexico as well as music by Mexican composers.
The Consulate of Mexico in Tucson, in collaboration with the Instituto Cultural Mexicano de Tucson, SASO and the Fox Theatre Tucson, presents this commemoration of the 207th anniversary of Mexican Independence. Free tickets will be distributed by the Mexican Consulate, 3915 E Broadway. For information please call the consulate at 882-5595, ext. 404.
The September 15 concert will feature soprano Liliana del Conde, a rising star in Mexico and general director of the Opera Festival of San Luis, which was held this summer in San Luis Potosí, Mexico, in conjunction with the third annual Linus Lerner International Voice Competition. Other guest soloists include prize winners of the competition: sopranos Sofia Sánchez, Kaitlin Bertenshaw, and Tania Solis, mezzo soprano Estefania Cano, tenor Juanra Urrusti, and baritone Leoncio Luna. They also performed with SASO in the Opera Festival of San Luis earlier this summer.
The concert program includes pieces by celebrated contemporary Mexican composer Arturo Márquez, well-known opera arias and popular songs, and a special appearance by Mariachi Rayos del Sol.
The concert program includes:
- Conga del Fuego Nuevo and Danzón No. 2 by Arturo Márquez
- Sobre las Olas by Juventino Rosas
- “Mein Herr Marquis” from Johann Strauss’ Die Fledermaus
- “Una furtiva lagrima” from Donizetti’s L’elisir d’amore
- “L’amour est un oiseau rebelle” and “Votre toast” from Bizet’s Carmen
- “Vissi d’arte” from Puccini’s Tosca
- Popular songs including Besame mucho, Así, Despedida, Júrame, and
- Marcha Zacatecas with Mariachi Rayos del Sol
Lerner is an internationally recognized vocal coach and conductor. He has recognized Mexico as a source of some of the best emerging opera singers in the world, and has organized a series of opera festivals in Mexico to showcase and develop their talent. SASO musicians have performed with him at opera festivals since 2016, as well as at opera festivals in Oaxaca from 2013 to 2015.
This is SASO’s fifth annual Mexican Independence Day celebration concert. Ricardo Piñeda, Consul of Mexico in Tucson, has said, “We want to share with the public our rich historical and cultural legacy and our different traditions. This event seeks to bring our communities together in remembrance of those who have forged the history of Mexico.”
On the eve of September 16, 1810, Father Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla called upon the residents of the town of Dolores, Hidalgo to rise up against the government of New Spain. This call to arms began an 11-year struggle that culminated with the Cordoba Treaties and the birth of a new nation.
Fox Theatre Tucson – which seats 1,200 – is in downtown Tucson at 17 W. Congress St. Doors will open at 7 p.m.
Founded in 1979, SASO presents world premieres, seldom-performed treasures and classical favorites. The orchestra is a vital community resource that unites performers and audiences through a passion for music – locally and internationally. For more information call 308-6226 or visit www.sasomusic.org