The Southern Arizona Symphony Orchestra presents a season of celebration and movement in 2021-2022
SASO celebrates the power of music to connect us and make us move with a dynamic series of performances beginning in October. After a year of scaled back ensembles and live-streamed events, the full orchestra returns with a diverse lineup of acclaimed international guest soloists led by Maestro Linus Lerner.
The 2021-2022 performances feature music from ballets and operatic dance scenes by Tchaikovsky, Borodin and Stravinsky, and suites of dances by Dvořák and Grieg. The season’s theme of movement and dancing will take added meaning as we shake off the restrictions of the pandemic and celebrate the ability to express ourselves more freely. In honor of the 100-year anniversary of Camille Saint-Saëns’ passing, SASO will perform the lively Bacchanale from Samson and Dalilah, the French composer’s best known opera. Other season highlights include a collaboration with the Tucson Flute Club and a pair of Mendelssohn concertos featuring Ivo Stankov on violin and Lachezar Stankov on piano. The Bulgarian brothers have performed around the world and will join SASO for the November concert. This concert will be the occasion for the American launch of a CD featuring the Stankovs, recorded with the renowned Royal Philharmonic of London conducted by Linus Lerner. In March the orchestra will perform alongside the winner of the 2022 Dorothy Vanek Youth Concerto Competition, continuing a long tradition of showcasing Southern Arizona’s most talented young musicians. SASO’s season will wrap up with festive works by Dvořák and a piano concerto by Moszkowski featuring Italian soloist Pasquale Iannone.
Visit our ticketing page to purchase your seats today!
2021–2022 performances
Saturday performances: 7:30 pm at DesertView Performing Arts Center, 39900 S. Clubhouse Drive, SaddleBrooke
Sunday performances: 3:00 pm at 3:00 pm at St Andrew’s Presbyterian Church, SW Sanctuary 7575 N Paseo del Norte, Tucson
October 16 and 17
Verdi and Grieg
Verdi: Overture to La Forza del Destino
Beethoven: Emperor Concerto (Piano Concerto No.5), with James Dick
Grieg: Symphonic Dances
November 13 and 14
Tchaikovsky, Saint-Saëns and Mendelssohn
Saint-Saëns: Bacchanale from Samson and Dalilah
Mendelssohn: Concerto for Violin, Piano and Orchestra, with Ivo Stankov and Lachezar Stankov
Mendelssohn: Piano Concerto No. 1 (movement 3), with Lachezar Stankov
Tchaikovsky: The Sleeping Beauty (suite)
February 5 and 6
Beethoven, Borodin and talented youth
Borodin: Overture to Prince Igor
Beethoven: Violin Concerto in D Major, with Edwin So Kim
Wieniawski: Violin Concerto No. 2 (movement 3), with Joshua Thai (junior winner of 2020
Dorothy Vanek Youth Concerto Competition)
Borodin: Polovtsian Dances from Prince Igor
March 12 and 13
Flying High with Holland, Stravinsky, Gershwin and talented youth
Holland: Sun Flight (Concerto for Flute Ensemble and Orchestra), with Tucson Flute Club
Gershwin: Rhapsody in Blue, with Andrea Trovato
Stravinsky: Firebird Suite
Also featuring winners of 2022 Dorothy Vanek Youth Concerto Competition
April 30 and May 1
Dvořák and Moszkowski
Guest Conductor: Eric Lederhandler
Dvořák: Festival March
Moszkowski: Piano Concerto No. 2, with Pasquale Iannone
Dvořák: Slavonic Dances