Eighth Annual Tucson Desert Song Festival: Xuefei Yang, guitar & Ian Bostridge, tenor

Eighth Annual Tucson Desert Song Festival: “The American Voice”
Festival Coordinator: George Hanson
Artistic Director: Julia Pernet
Collaborative Event
January 15, Wednesday-February 6, Wednesday
Various Venues
Full Schedule & Info: tucsonsongfest.org

The Tucson Desert Song Festival (TDSF) is a collaborative series involving local and national performing arts organizations, brought together in Tucson to celebrate the beauty of the human voice. This year the festival celebrates the American voice with a gathering of world-renowned classical singers exploring the colors, rhythms and melodies of America’s rich and complex musical character. American composer Richard Danielpour will be the festival’s artist-in-residence. Festival partners include Arizona Early Music Society, Arizona Friends of Chamber Music, Arizona Opera, Ballet Tucson, True Concord Voices and Orchestra, Tucson Guitar Society, Tucson Jazz Festival, Tucson Symphony Orchestra, as well as UA Presents and the Fred Fox School of Music.

University of Arizona Highlights:

Festival Opening Lecture: “Art Song in America” – Host: Kristin Dauphinais
January 15, Wednesday, 7:00 p.m., Holsclaw Hall, $Free
Presented by the Fred Fox School of Music

University of Arizona faculty artist Dr. Kristin Dauphinais hosts the opening lecture for the 2020 festival, which celebrates the American voice. This lecture will explore the themes and character of American art song. UA voice students will perform selections relating to and illustrating the themes from the lecture.

Composer’s Concert: “Danielpour’s Songs of Love and Loss” – Hila Plitmann, soprano
January 17, Friday, 7:00 p.m., Holsclaw Hall, $Free
Presented by the Fred Fox School of Music

Richard Danielpour, one of America’s most important composers of his generation, is the first composer to be commissioned by the TDSF through the Wesley Green TDSF Composer Project. This concert will feature the première of Danielpour’s set of songs based on ancient Persian texts, “Songs of Love and Loss (Five Songs on Poems of Rumi),” which was written for his friend, renowned Israeli soprano Hila Plitmann. The work will be performed with Fred Fox School of Music string faculty.

“New Directions in Song” – Host: Kristin Dauphinais
January 22, Wednesday, 12:00 p.m., Holsclaw Hall, $Free
Presented by the Fred Fox School of Music

Featuring works of contemporary art song with new trends and new discoveries,
the program will be performed by distinguished UA vocal students.

Xuefei Yang, guitar & Ian Bostridge, tenor
January 22, Wednesday, 7:00 p.m., Holsclaw Hall, $35, 30, 10
Presented by the Tucson Guitar Society
Tickets & Info: tucsonguitarsociety.org, 520-342-0022

Masterclass: Xuefei Yang, guitar
January 23, Thursday, 10 a.m.-12:00 p.m., Crowder Hall, $Free

Masterclass: Ian Bostridge, tenor
January 23, Thursday, 10:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m., Holsclaw Hall, $Free

Singers from Ravinia’s Steans Music Institute – Kevin Murphy, piano
January 27, Monday, 7:00 p.m., Holsclaw Hall, $Free
Presented by the Fred Fox School of Music

“Song of America: Beyond Liberty” – Thomas Hampson, baritone & Lara Downes, piano
January 28, Tuesday, 7:30 p.m., Centennial Hall, $75, 60, 50, 40, 30
Presented by UA Presents – Tickets & Info: uapresents.org, 520-621-3341

“Killer ‘B’s – American Song from Amy Beach to the Beach Boys”
New York Festival of Song in concert
January 30, Thursday, 7:30 p.m., Crowder Hall, $30, 10
Presented by Arizona Friends of Chamber Music
Tickets & Info: arizonachambermusic.org, 520-577-3769

Matthew Polenzani, tenor & Christopher Cano, piano
January 31, Friday, 7:00 p.m., Holsclaw Hall, $35, 15
Presented by Arizona Opera – Tickets & Info: azopera.org, 602-266-7464

Full Schedule & Info: tucsonsongfest.org

Comment on Facebook

One thing that needs to be considered in this time of major climate change concern is the carbon emissions of flying in artists from overseas. The carbon emissions of flying Stockholm-Tucson roundtrip come to about 3 tons per economy class passenger. That is comparable to the carbon emissions produced by the average American in 1 year of driving. Could a US-based organist have played this recital (shorter travel distance and lower emissions)? Or, is Hammarstrom already on tour in the US (thus consolidating multiple recitals into 1 overseas trip)? There is also the option of offsetting flight emissions. Saying this as a DMA grad of the UA organ program and as an astronomy educator who’s following the astronomy field’s efforts to mitigate climate impact.