Tucson Desert Song Festival

Mahler & Schumann with Sasha Cooke, mezzo-soprano
2025-02-02 14:00, 2025-02-01 19:30, 2025-02-01 14:00 (America/Phoenix) | Catalina Foothills High School, 4300 E Sunrise Dr, Tucson, AZ, 85718, United States
Metropolitan Opera star Sasha Cooke will perform selections from Mahler’s five-song cycle based on the poems of Friedrich Rückert. The brilliant young composer Chelsea Komschlies’ new work, a TSO commission through the League of American Orchestras Toulmin Commissions Program, also has its world premiere. Maestro Gomez continues his Schumann cycle with the composer’s Symphony No. 3, the Rhenish, and Coleridge-Taylor’s beautiful, rarely-played Ballade completes the program. This concert will be preceded by Concert Comments, a pre-concert talk beginning one hour before each performance.

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Puccini's La Bohème
2025-02-01 14:00 | Linda Ronstadt Music Hall, 260 S Church Ave, Tucson, AZ, 85701, United States
Giacomo Puccini’s beloved classic La Bohème transports you to the streets of 19th century Paris for one of the world’s most timeless and moving love stories, as sung by a distinguished cast featuring Caitlin Gotimer, Mimì; SeokJong Baek, Rodolfo; Benjamin Taylor, Marcello; Emma Marhefka, Musetta.; Peter Barber, Colline; and Yichen Xue, Schaunard. In the vibrant Latin Quarter, a romance ignites between the poet Rodolfo and beautiful but frail seamstress Mimì. With its exquisite melodies and stirring emotions, La Bohème continues to captivate audiences around the world. Immerse yourself in this unforgettable journey through the passions of youth and the bittersweet beauty of life.

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New Directions In Song
2025-01-29 12:00 | UA School of Music, Holsclaw Hall, 1017 N Olive Rd, Tucson, AZ, 85719, United States
Singers from the UA School of Music will present a recital of contemporary art song, featuring new trends and discoveries. Hosted by faculty artist and Chair of Vocal Studies Dr. Kristin Dauphinais.
Free Admission

Mahler's Third Symphony with Sasha Cooke, mezzo-soprano
2025-01-26 14:00, 2025-01-24 19:30 | Linda Ronstadt Music Hall, 260 S Church Ave, Tucson, AZ, 85701, United States
One of the brightest stars on the operatic stage and a Tucson favorite, internationally recognized mezzo-soprano Sasha Cooke returns to the TSO for a riveting performance of Mahler’s colossal third symphony. Organized over six movements, the work is the composer’s hymn to nature and one of his most complete musical statements. José Luis Gomez, conductor.

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Blues In the Night: A Musical Revue created by Sheldon Epps (Previews Jan 26-31)
2025-01-26 00:00 - 2025-01-31 00:00 | Temple of Music and Art, 330 S Scott Ave, Tucson, 85701, United States
A musical celebration of the blues and its influence on American music, this toe-tapping revue weaves the stories of three women and one man as they navigate love, heartbreak, and rebirth. Set in a swanky 1930s Chicago hotel, this emotionally uplifting story features 26 of the hottest torch numbers by blues and jazz icons like Bessie Smith, Johnny Mercer, Harold Arlen, Duke Ellington, Billy Strayhorn, Ida Cox, and Benny Goodman to name a few. Come and celebrate a uniquely American music genre on this powerful and uplifting journey through the hearts of four of the country’s best crooners and a dozen of America’s best composers.

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Previews:
Sun 7:00 PM 1/26 (Preview)
Tue 7:30 PM 1/28 (Preview)
Wed 7:30 PM 1/29 (Preview)
Thu 2:00 PM 1/30 (Preview)
Thu 7:30 PM 1/30 (Preview)
Fri 7:30 PM 1/31 (Opening)

Recital: Kristin Dauphinais, mezzo-soprano with Nigel Foster, piano
2025-01-25 15:00 | UA School of Music, Holsclaw Hall, 1017 N Olive Rd, Tucson, AZ, 85719, United States
Mezzo-soprano Kristin Dauphinais is highly regarded for her artistry and versatility. She has worked in a variety of genres including musical theater, opera, concert, oratorio, chamber music, and solo recitals. Her performing career has taken her throughout the United States as well as tours in Italy, China, and Australia and additional concert performances in Germany, Spain, Austria, and Luxembourg. Distinguished pianist and collaborative artist Nigel Foster is the founder and director of the London Song Festival, an annual event promoting song repertoire. Throughout his career, he has performed at major UK venues and has given concerts across Europe, Asia, the United States. This recital program will feature the song settings of American Poetess, Sara Teasdale (1884-1933).

Free Admission

Caity Gyorgy with her piano trio Anthony D’Alessandro, piano, Thomas Hainbuch, bass, & Jacob Wutzke, drums
2025-01-24 20:30, 2025-01-24 18:30 | The Century Room, 311 E Congress St, Tucson, 85701, United States
Caity Gyorgy is a two-time JUNO award-winning Canadian vocalist known for singing bebop and swing music. She has performed at jazz clubs and festivals across Canada, Mexico, Japan, and the USA and has worked and recorded with incredible musicians including Christine Jensen, Pat LaBarbera, Jocelyn Gould, Ira Coleman, Bryn Roberts, and Joe LaBarbera, to name a few. In addition to being a performer, Caity is an avid writer and composes songs in the style of the Great American Songbook. Her compositions have been sung by other vocalists around the world and have won multiple awards, including the Grand Prize in the jazz category of the 2021 John Lennon Songwriting Contest. Her most recent album, Hello! How Are You?, released in August 2024, features Caity accompanied by her regular piano trio with Anthony D’Alessandro on piano, Thomas Hainbuch on bass, and Jacob Wutzke on drums.

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Nigel Foster Masterclass
2025-01-24 11:00 | UA School of Music, Holsclaw Hall, 1017 N Olive Rd, Tucson, AZ, 85719, United States
Collaborative pianist and Founding Director of the London Song Festival, Nigel Foster, leads a masterclass with singers from the UA School of Music. Nigel’s musical interests range from the baroque to contemporary music, though his main love and passion is the song repertoire. Born in London, he studied piano at the Royal Academy of Music and the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. He has since been appointed an Associate Professor of the Royal Academy of Music.
Free and Open to the Public

Art Song Lecture by Nigel Foster
2025-01-21 15:00 | UA School of Music, Holsclaw Hall, 1017 N Olive Rd, Tucson, AZ, 85719, United States
Nigel Foster is the founder, director, and pianist of the London Song Festival, an annual event promoting song repertoire. In addition to featuring internationally known artists, the Festival acts as a major showcase for young up-and-coming singers. Nigel’s musical interests range from the baroque to contemporary music, though his main love and passion is the song repertoire. Born in London, he studied piano at the Royal Academy of Music and the Guildhall School of Music and Drama where his teachers were Roger Vignoles, Graham Johnson, and Iain Burnside. At both the Academy and the Guildhall, he won every prize and award available for piano accompaniment and has since been appointed an Associate of the Royal Academy of Music.

Free Admission

Dominique Eade with pianist Armen Donelian
2025-01-17 20:30, 2025-01-17 18:30 | The Century Room, 311 E Congress St, Tucson, 85701, United States
Dominique Eade is an extraordinary vocalist, composer, improviser, and RCA recording artist. Poetic and passionate, Dominique blends musical virtuosity with a songwriter’s straightforward emotional sensibility. She creates music that has garnered critical acclaim, earned the admiration of her peers, inspired audiences, and served as a creative signpost for generations of singers. Joining Eade at the piano is performing artist, composer, and Fulbright Scholar Armen Donelian. Since 1975, Donelian has distinguished himself in 25 countries as a featured solo pianist, band leader, and educator. His distinctive music blends diverse influences from his Armenian origin, classical technique, and his association with many of the biggest names in Jazz.

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Recital: Ryan Speedo Green, bass-baritone with Adam Nielsen, piano
2025-01-16 19:00 | UA School of Music, Holsclaw Hall, 1017 N Olive Rd, Tucson, AZ, 85719, United States
Acclaimed Metropolitan Opera and Vienna State Opera bass-baritone Ryan Speedo Green makes his Tucson debut with a program of works by Mahler, Liszt, Schubert, Wolf, and Mussorgsky. Named “the real showstopper” by The New York Times, two-time GRAMMY Award-winning vocalist Ryan Speedo Green has quickly established himself as an artist of international demand at the world’s leading opera houses. Distinguished collaborative artist, soloist, répétiteur, and coach Adam Nielsen joins him at the piano.

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Tucson Baroque Music Festival: Divine Love
2025-01-12 15:00 | Grace St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, 2331 E Adams St, Tucson, AZ, 85719, United States
An exploration of Bach in the Church and Garden, featuring Brandenburg Concerto No. 5 and Cantata BWV 32 Liebster Jesu, mein Verlangen with soprano Amanda Forsythe and bass-baritone Dashon Burton.
American soprano Amanda Forsythe, celebrated for her performances on both sides of the Atlantic, is a regular soloist with the highly acclaimed baroque ensembles Les Talens Lyriques, the Monteverdi Choir and Orchestra, the Boston Early Music Festival, the Handel and Haydn Society, Boston Baroque, Tafelmusik, Apollo’s Fire, Opera Prima, Pacific Musicworks, Early Music Vancouver, and the Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra. Three-time GRAMMY Award-winning bass-baritone Dashon Burton has established a vibrant career appearing regularly throughout the US and Europe. Recent highlights include performances of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with the San Francisco Symphony, Copland’s Old American Songs with the New World Symphony, Bach’s Christmas Oratorio with the Washington Bach Consort, and Handel’s Messiah with the Philadelphia Orchestra.

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Tucson Baroque Music Festival: Bach's Circle
2025-01-11 15:00 | Grace St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, 2331 E Adams St, Tucson, AZ, 85719, United States
Music of J.S. Bach and his contemporaries, featuring bass-baritone Dashon Burton and Telemann’s Flute and Recorder Concerto.
Hailed as an artist “alight with the spirit of the music” (Boston Globe), three-time GRAMMY Award-winning bass-baritone Dashon Burton has established a vibrant career appearing regularly throughout the US and Europe. Highlights of his 2023/24 season included a performance of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with the San Francisco Symphony and Copland’s Old American Songs with the New World Symphony. Burton also performed Bach’s Christmas Oratorio with the Washington Bach Consort, sang Handel’s Messiah with the Philadelphia Orchestra, and appeared at Tanglewood and Caramoor in critically acclaimed performances of Handel’s Acis and Galatea with Philharmonia Baroque in the summer of 2023.

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Tucson Baroque Music Festival: All Roads Lead To...
2025-01-10 19:00 | Grace St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, 2331 E Adams St, Tucson, AZ, 85719, United States
Vocal and instrumental works by G.F. Handel, featuring soprano Amanda Forsythe.
American soprano Amanda Forsythe, celebrated for her performances on both sides of the Atlantic, is a regular soloist with the highly acclaimed baroque ensembles Les Talens Lyriques, the Monteverdi Choir and Orchestra, the Boston Early Music Festival, the Handel and Haydn Society, Boston Baroque, Tafelmusik, Apollo’s Fire, Opera Prima, Pacific Musicworks, Early Music Vancouver, and the Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra. Her début solo album of Handel arias, The Power of Love with Apollo’s Fire, was recently followed with the highly praised album Heavenly Bach. Her discography includes more than 25 albums and DVDs, many of them premiere recordings.

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Recital: Nicole Cabell, soprano with Michael Dauphinais, piano
2024-04-09 19:00 | UA School of Music, Holsclaw Hall, 1017 N Olive Rd, Tucson, AZ, 85719, United States
The magnificent soprano Nicole Cabell – winner of the BBC Singer of the World Competition, one of the most prestigious prizes won by such luminaries as Barton, Hvorostovsky, and Terfel – makes her Tucson Desert Song Festival debut. The recital program will include favorite opera and Great American Songbook selections including Puccini, Gounod, Gershwin, Jerome Kern, and Cole Porter.
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Tickets: $40

Nicole Cabell: Gloria & Bernstein
2024-04-07 15:00, 2024-04-06 19:00 | Catalina Foothills High School, 4300 E Sunrise Dr, Tucson, AZ, 85718, United States
Take Bernstein’s hit musical Candide of French genius Voltaire, mix in the Chichester Psalms, the most played piece worldwide for Bernstein’s Centennial Celebrations, and top it off with the 20th-Century French master composer (on his 125th birthday) Francis Poulenc’s glorious Gloria, and you have the ideal True Concord program! Add in the fabulous soprano Nicole Cabell – winner of the Singer of the World Competition, one of the most prestigious prizes won by such luminaries as Barton Hvorostovsky and Terfel – in her True Concord debut.
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Tickets: $23.50 – $63.50

Nicole Cabell: Gloria & Bernstein
2024-04-05 15:00 | Valley Presbyterian Church, Green Valley, 2800 S Camino Del Sol, Green Valley, AZ, 85622, United States

Verdi's Requiem with Katie Van Kooten, soprano, Ronnita Miller, mezzo-soprano, Mario Chang, tenor, & Morris Robinson, bass
2024-03-24 14:00, 2024-03-22 19:30 | Linda Ronstadt Music Hall, 260 S Church Ave, Tucson, AZ, 85701, United States
One of the pinnacles of the orchestral-choral repertoire, Verdi’s Requiem is infrequently presented because of its large forces. When it does come around, performances are always an event, especially with this hand-picked quartet of international soloists (Katie van Kooten, soprano, Ronnita Miller, mezzo-soprano, Mario Chang, tenor, and Morris Robinson, bass) and the uplifting massed voices of the TSO Chorus led by Maestro José Luis Gomez. These concerts mark the work’s 150th anniversary.
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Tickets: $14 – $90

Recital: Lawrence Brownlee, tenor with Kevin Miller, piano
2024-03-13 19:00 | UA School of Music, Holsclaw Hall, 1017 N Olive Rd, Tucson, AZ, 85719, United States
Lawrence Brownlee is a leading figure in opera, both as a singer on the world’s top stages and as a voice for activism and diversity in the industry. Captivating audiences and critics around the globe, he has been hailed as “an international star in the bel canto operatic repertory” (The New York Times), “one of the world’s leading bel canto stars” (The Guardian), and “one of the most in-demand opera singers in the world today” (NPR).
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Tickets: $40

Mark Morris Dance Group: The Look of Love - Songs of Burt Bacharach With Vocalist Marcy Hariell
2024-03-12 19:30 | Centennial Hall, 1020 E University Blvd, Tucson, AZ, 85719, United States
Following the roaring success of his Beatles tribute Pepperland, Mark Morris teams up again with musical collaborator Ethan Iverson for The Look of Love, a wistful and heartfelt homage to the chart-topping songs of Burt Bacharach. A towering figure, across decades of popular music, Bacharach is known for crafting soaring melodies embedded in unique orchestrations influenced by jazz, rock, and Brazilian music – his longtime lyricist Hal David providing unsentimental, often bittersweet lyrics.
This evening-length showpiece features original choreography by Morris and new, lush musical arrangements by Iverson, performed by an ensemble of vocals, piano, trumpet, bass, and percussion, with singer, actress, and Broadway star Marcy Harriell on lead vocals.
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Tickets: $39 – $69

Lawrence Brownlee Masterclass
2024-03-12 18:00 | UA School of Music, Holsclaw Hall, 1017 N Olive Rd, Tucson, AZ, 85719, United States
Singers from the UA School of Music participate in a masterclass led by celebrated tenor Lawrence Brownlee.
Free and open to the public.

Master Class - A Play by Terrence McNally
2024-03-02 19:30 - 2024-03-23 19:30 | Temple of Music and Art, 330 S Scott Ave, Tucson, 85701, United States
Master Class, the Tony-winning play by Terrence McNally, tells the story of the uncompromising opera diva Maria Callas as she delivers a life altering master class to students at an elite opera training program. During the class, she encounters three vastly different students who are by turns hilariously crushed, soulfully uplifted, and profoundly inspired by her singular artistry. Based on a series of real-life classes Callas delivered at Juilliard, Master Class inspires us, transports us, and transforms us by carving a window into the soul of one of the most complicated and celebrated artists of the 20th century who pushed the boundaries of artistic sacrifice and quality.
Please see the ticket link for a full listing of performances March 2-23.
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Tickets: $25 – $90

Recital: Michael Fabiano, tenor & Laurent Philippe, piano - Jimmy López Bellido World Premiere "Quiet Poems"
2024-02-15 19:00 | UA School of Music, Holsclaw Hall, 1017 N Olive Rd, Tucson, AZ, 85719, United States
Renowned tenor Michael Fabiano and long-time performing partner pianist Laurent Philippe present the world premiere of a new song cycle by Jimmy López Bellido with poems by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Nilo Cruz. The work, titled Quiet Poems, was commissioned by the Tucson Desert Song Festival through the Wesley Green Composer Project.
Best known for his enormously successful opera Bel Canto, also with libretto by Cruz, commissioned and premiered by Chicago Lyric Opera, Peruvian composer Jimmy López Bellido has had works performed by major orchestras and opera companies around the world. His champions include Renée Fleming and Esa-Pekka Salonen. Michael Fabiano stands among the most dynamic and prolific tenors on the world stage today. The recipient of the 2014 Beverly Sills Artist Award and the 2014 Richard Tucker Award, he is the first singer to win both awards in the same year and is considered one of the great voices of our time.
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Tickets: $40
