1  

Preludes and Postludes July 2018

Nogales Barroco March 18 - 25, 2018

In March we hosted Nogales Barroco, a baroque

chamber ensemble organized by Evan Kory. The four friends are all alumni of the Historical Performance program at The Juilliard School and they prepared three programs for their ten-day residency in southern Arizona. The first was an all-baroque concert with Karen Dekker and Nayeon Kim on baroque violins, Arnie Tanimoto on viola da gamba, and Evan Kory on harpsichord. They performed sumptuous lyrical French works as well as passionate virtuosic Italian music. In between the two weekend concerts the SCFPA community gathered on Wednesday morning for a delightful demonstration of historical instruments and a fascinating question and answer session. For this morning get-together theorbist Paul Morton joined Nogales Barroco. We are hoping to have more of these morning talks where audiences and musicians can share their thoughts and ideas next concert season. For the third concert the following weekend, Nogales Barroco added new instruments for a program of romantic 19th century repertoire. Violist Candy Amato joined the ensemble for Dvorak’s thrilling Piano Quintet and it was an unforgettable concert. The musicians came to us from Switzerland, Amsterdam, Korea, and New York and we hope to have them all come together again for another inspiring residency in the future.

From the very beginning of his performance, Antonio Barberena’s accordion instantly filled the Opera House with a beautiful orchestra of sounds. He is a master of his instrument and conveys the magnificence of the accordion effortlessly. Many of us had never heard live classical accordion, and after experiencing his wonderful musicianship we all became instant fans of the instrument and all of its great capabilities. The accordion can often be enjoyed outdoors in casual settings but it truly shines in the concert acoustic of the Opera House under the hands of a master like Antonio Barberena. In addition to Mozart and Piazzolla his program included music from 17th century New Spain and 19th century Mexico, music that was heard in this area of Arizona hundreds of years ago. Throughout his concert, Antonio gave very interesting historical anecdotes about our region. For instance, we learned that the origin of the name Arizona possibly comes from a ranch that was owned by a Spaniard near Nogales, Mexico known as the “Haritz Ona” (the good oak).

Antonio Barberena April 8, 2018

@scfpa.operahouse  

  2  

Duo Artesanal April 15, 2018

Pianist Juliana Osinchuk and clarinetist John De La Paz gave us the unique opportunity of hearing a clarinet-piano duo recital centered around the gorgeous E-flat major Brahms Sonata, one of the last works the composer wrote. In addition to this grand classic, John and Juliana also performed an incredibly difficult 20th century piece called Zarabandeo by Arturo Marquez and the rarely heard Sonata by Leonard Bernstein. Juliana informed us that 2018 is the 100th birthday of Leonard Bernstein, so more of his music will certainly be performed throughout this special Anniversary. Juliana also performed several exquisite works by Frederic Chopin, her pianism was marvelous and beautifully executed.

Tucson Symphony Orchestra

Young Artist Competition Winners April 20, 2018

One of the most anticipated concerts of the season

was an evening concert featuring the winners of this year’s Tucson Symphony Orchestra Young Artists Competition. The young musicians are among the most talented music students in the state of Arizona and they each performed with professionalism and musicality well beyond their years. We had the pleasure of hearing two pianists, a violinist, cellist, and harpist. Each of them is extremely talented and we are excited to see where their bright futures will take them.

The University of Arizona’s Musicians on Tour program has brought many of their wonderful students to the Benderly-Kendall Opera House. We are very grateful to host students from the Fred Fox School of Music and we are constantly amazed by their performances. They come from all over the world and are at the beginning of their great careers in music. The U of A Musicians on Tour April concert featured three pianists: Bruce Kimble, Danielle Pfeiffer, and Tyler Ramos, all students of Dr. John Milbauer and prize-winners of the U of A piano competition. Together they assembled a program of three different time periods, from the classical era Joseph Haydn Sonata in D Major, from the romantic era Robert Schumann’s Kreisleriana, and the impressionist work Images Oubliée of Claude Debussy. The young pianists gave introductions for each of the pieces they played and our lovely Baldwin grand piano, which belonged to our benefactress Gini Benderly, sounded gorgeous.

University of Arizona Musicians on Tour April 22, 2018

  3  

The Santa Cruz Singers presented a program of two beautiful and very contrasting works centered on the unifying theme of love. Johannes Brahms’ Neue Liebeslieder Waltzes Op. 65 for vocal quartet and piano four-hands expresses the joys and frustrations of romantic love while Paul McCartney’s Ecce Cor Meum for full choir contemplates universal love on a grand scale. Juxtaposing these two challenging works was a great success and the two pieces complimented each other. The Brahms quartet was performed by Johanna Landis, Anne Quirin, Rick Waits, and Mark Berg with Christina Wilhelm and Evan Kory at the piano. The waltzes alternating between ensemble pieces, duos and solos were beautifully sung and it was the perfect music for our intimate venue. The Ecce Cor Meum proves McCartney’s great gift for classical composition. What is amazing about the work is that although it is constructed under classical form, with complex harmony and rhythm, the piece for full choir still possesses the spirit of the beloved Beatles. Director Christina Wilhelm said this work was the most complex piece the Santa Cruz Singers has performed and everyone rose to the occasion.

Santa Cruz Singers April 27, 2018

A quote from a review of one his concerts states, “…if a rainbow that appeared after a warm spring rain made sound, it would be that of Feasley’s guitar,” this best describes the experience of hearing world renowned guitarist William Feasley. We’ve come to learn that solo guitar is very well suited for the exquisite acoustics of the Benderly-Kendall Opera House. William performed a diverse group of pieces ranging from the baroque works of Domenico Scarlatti and Fernando Sor, Mexican and Spanish composers Manuel Ponce and Joaquin Rodrigo to the contemporary works of Marcelo Ferraris and Peter Madlem. William has a marvelous technique and is a remarkable interpreter of the entire range of classical guitar repertoire. We are thrilled that he will be joining us next concert season with a multimedia program titled Echoes of Goya. This creative program will feature music that was around Francisco Goya as he was making his art, music inspired by Goya’s work, and music that William Feasley associates with Goya.

William Feasley April 29, 2018

Thank you to all of our Interns!

  4  

 

Based in Hermosillo Sonora, violinist Vilen Gabrielyan and pianist Pedro Vega Granillo traveled to Patagonia to perform a unique program of pieces that are very dear to them. The duo decided to share works from their home countries, Pedro chose Mexican folk tunes by Manuel Ponce and Vilen chose a set of powerful works by the Armenian composer Komitas. The combination of Mexican and Armenian classical music based on folk tunes created a beautiful parallel between two seemingly distant worlds. After the two sets the violin-piano duo performed Johannes Brahms’ Sonata No.1 in G Major. We are very pleased to have collaborated with many fine musicians from Hermosillo this season and we look forward to more concerts featuring musicians from Mexico in the future.

Vilen Gabrielyan & Pedro Vega Granillo May 6, 2018

The last concert of the Benderly Recital Series was presented by SCFPA Artist-in-Residence pianist Evan Kory. The first half featured the solo keyboard works of Enrique Granados, Johann Sebastian Bach, and Robert Schumann. Evan performed the haunting piece by Granados “Quejas, o la maja y el Ruiseñor”, which he shared was the inspiration for the famous song Besame Mucho. After the Granados he performed a set of two and three part inventions by J.S. Bach and the first movement of Schumann’s Fantasie. At the conclusion of the solo piano works, violinist Emily Chao and cellist Juan David Mejia formed a trio with Evan and performed Dvorak’s fiery “Dumky” Piano Trio. Based in Tucson, Emily and Juan have joined Evan to form the Sky Islands Piano Trio, named after our beautiful region. They will be performing again for a members-only concert on November 3. If you are interested in becoming a “Friend of the Opera House”, please visit the donation page on our website: www.scfpapresents.org.

Evan Kory & Friends May 13, 2018

The 2017-2018 concert season ended with four wonderful outdoor concerts at the Concert Haul® Plaza. The programs spanned many genres. We had the pleasure of enjoying mariachi music, jazz and funk, original cowboy songs, and operatic works under the stars. Our first concert was presented by Mariachi Penumbra, a new ensemble comprised of alumni and teachers of the outstanding Nogales High School mariachi program. The young musicians performed many classics of the mariachi repertoire with a lot of heart and enthusiasm. The second outdoor concert in June was John Messenger and his charming original cowboy poetry and songs. After hearing John in the Opera House last February it was a real treat to hear his marvelous storytelling again in our outdoor performance space. The following week we welcomed the incredible jazz ensemble Desert Fever who performed with contagious dance energy and great expression. The final concert was hosted by the Mexican Consulate and was a beautiful program entitled “Songs of my People”, soprano Marcela Ung and pianist Hector Acosta performed Mexican works from the turn of the century. It was an inspiring ending to the season! Stay tuned for the announcement of our 2018-2019 concert season very soon!

Concert Haul® Plaza June Community Concerts