The two-part 11th annual kicks off Wednesday, Jan. 18, and will present 17 events over a total of seven weeks including landmark symphonies by Beethoven and Mahler, a Rachmaninoff masterpiece, four world premieres 鈥 one of them commissioned by the Song Festival 鈥 and 32 guest artists including one of opera鈥檚 brightest stars.
The first leg of the festival runs Jan. 18-Feb. 19; it resumes March 24-April 6.
鈥淚f Jack (Forsythe, the festival founder) or someone else ever said that it would be this big at this point, nobody would have believed it,鈥 said聽festival Director George Hanson.
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Among the artists on this year鈥檚 roster is Grammy winner and Metropolitan Opera regular , whose recital with the on April 1 prompted Hanson and Song Festival Board President Jeanette Segel to extend the festival beyond February. Blue was only available in April, so Hanson and Segel decided it was worth adding the spring leg to accommodate her.
Grammy winner and Metropolitan Opera regular Angel Blue will perform during the second leg of the 蜜柚直播 Desert Song Festival.
In addition to Blue鈥檚 event, the second leg includes performing Rachmaninoff鈥檚 鈥淰espers鈥 March 24-26 and 蜜柚直播 Symphony Orchestra tackling Mahler鈥檚 behemoth 鈥淩esurrection鈥 Symphony March 31 and April 2.
Baritone Justin Austin will perform the world premiere of opera composer Ricky Ian Gordon鈥檚 new song cycle.
Baritone Kelly Markgraf is one of several guest soloists for Beethoven鈥檚 Ninth, which 蜜柚直播 Symphony Orchestra perform on Jan. 20 and 22.
Hanson said one of the festival鈥檚 highlights will come on the opening weekend, when the TSO, under the baton of Jos茅 Luis Gomez, performs Beethoven鈥檚 Ninth Symphony 鈥淐horal鈥 with the TSO Chorus and four guest soloists.
Beethoven鈥檚 Ninth, with its breathtaking 鈥淥de to Joy鈥 finale, was a catalyst for Forsythe鈥檚 idea to launch the 蜜柚直播 Desert Song Festival, said Hanson, who spent 19 years at the TSO podium before leaving in 2015; Gomez replaced him in 2016.
Hanson said that Forsythe, who died in 2020, had come up to him after the orchestra performed the Ninth in 2009 and commended him on the performance. He then suggested it would have been even more spectacular with world-class vocalists on the stage, the kind of vocalists whose fees would outpace the orchestra鈥檚 pocketbook.
Forsythe suggested that a song festival involving a handful of 蜜柚直播 arts organizations including the symphony, opera and university, could raise the money to bring in world-class, up-and-coming vocalists who would shine a spotlight on 蜜柚直播 as a vocal arts destination.
Forsythe and Cecile Follansbee, a longtime 蜜柚直播 arts advocate, put the pieces together and launched the inaugural festival in 2013.
鈥淭his is the first time the Ninth has been fully incorporated into the festival,鈥 Hanson said, which in some ways brings Forsythe鈥檚 vision full circle. 鈥淲e have retirees and others coming here from areas with major symphonies like Chicago, and they bring high expectations to our little pueblo. The song festival is helping all of our arts organizations rise to that level of expectation.鈥
Soprano Susanna Phillips will finally perform the world premiere of Jocelyn Hagen鈥榮 鈥淗ere I Am,鈥 celebrating women鈥檚 voices.
The festival鈥檚 four world premieres also are destined to be highlights.
After postponing it for a year, courtesy of the COVID-19 pandemic, True Concord Voices & Orchestra with soprano will finally perform the world premiere of 鈥榮 鈥淗ere I Am,鈥 celebrating women鈥檚 voices. Hagen and her husband, , are True Concord鈥檚 inaugural composers in residence. Performances are Jan. 27-29;
Baritone will perform the world premiere of opera composer Ricky Ian Gordon’s new song cycle, commissioned by the Song Festival as part of the Wesley Green Composer Project. Feb. 9;
will present the premiere of Chieko Imada’s new work based on the legend of Japan’s Queen Himiko. Feb. 17-19;
The orchestra will premiere Belarus-born classical guitarist and composer Olga Amelkina-Vera鈥檚 鈥淧ulling Down the Clouds,鈥 a song cycle the society commissioned that is set to the texts of Tohono O鈥檕dham poet Ofelia Zepeda. April 2;
Tickets for song festival events are available through the participating arts organizations. Details:
True Concord Voices & Orchestra performed Ukraine's national anthem at its concerts Feb. 25-27 as an act of solidarity with the besieged democracy under attack by Russia. Russia invaded Ukraine Feb. 24, a day before True Concord returned to the stage for the first time this year.聽
Contact reporter Cathalena E. Burch at cburch@tucson.com. On Twitter @Starburch
Cathalena E. Burch
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This award-winning 蜜柚直播 restaurant has opened a basement bar
