Tucson Desert Song Festival

About the Event

Join us as we celebrate the human voice and bring the world’s great vocal artists to beautiful Tucson, Arizona.

The Tucson Desert Song Festival provides a world-class experience for music enthusiasts and novices alike—of enjoyment, education, and interaction with acclaimed classical voices singing with some of Tucson’s leading performing arts groups.

It’s the Tucson Desert Song Festival—a unique blend of glorious singing in orchestral, chamber, choral, and solo formats along with related lectures and master classes in the warmth and charm of Arizona’s renowned Sonoran Desert resort region.

Schedule of Events:

2:00 pm: Carmina Burana with Ashley Fabian, soprano, Joseph Tancredi, tenor, & Octavio Moreno, baritone

Carl Orff’s singular and powerful work, bringing to life texts from the 11th and 12th centuries, comes to the stage with soloists Ashley Fabian, Joseph Tancredi, and Octavio Moreno plus the full might of the Tucson Symphony Chorus. Gabriela Ortiz’s Kauyumari, which pays tribute to the blue deer, a spiritual guide of the Huichol people of Mexico, is followed by Robert Muczynski’s Symphonic Memoir, premiered by the TSO in 1979 and the latest in the TSO’s exploration of this Tucson-based composer.

Location: Linda Ronstadt Music Hall

6:30 pm: Silkroad Ensemble: Uplifted Voices with special guest Pura Fé

GRAMMY-winning Silkroad Ensemble brings together musicians globally to inspire collaboration and promote equity and justice in the world. Conceived by Yo-Yo Ma in 1988, Silkroad continues to break new ground with innovative music, cultural collaboration, and high-quality arts education under the leadership of visionary Artistic Director Rhiannon Giddens. In addition to this performance, members of the Ensemble will engage the Tucson community with a popup concert, vocal classes, and programs for high school students.

In Uplifted Voices, Silkroad shines a light on previously under-recognized voices from across the globe to change our perspective of the history and migration of music. Through a stunning collaboration of global instrumentation, Silkroad’s newest project champions women and non-binary members of the Silkroad Ensemble alongside special guest, Tuscarora/Taíno musician Pura Fé, to tell a musical journey that connects the music of indigenous North America to the World. Drawing inspiration from the folk and ancestral music of Japan, China, Armenia, Ireland, the Hebrides, and native populations across North America, Uplifted Voices brings together this collection of distinctive and powerful musical origins within a contemporary musical tapestry.

Location: Centennial Hall

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