2022-2023 Performance Season – Our 20th Anniversary
20th Anniversary Celebration
The season concluded with ProMusica Arizona’s 20th Anniversary Celebration featuring the world-premiere of Saguaro Song by Arizona composer Craig Bohmler, well-known for Arizona Opera’s Riders of the Purple Sage. Saguaro Song is a suite of five songs for choir and orchestra with texts by award-winning Canadian author Marion Adler who uses the iconic saguaro cactus as a metaphor for the seasons of life. In addition, ProMusica Arizona presented A World Without Boundaries by Timothy Powell with texts by American astronauts. The piece was commissioned for ProMusica Arizona’s 15th anniversary season. Morten Lauridsen’s “Sure on This Shining Night,” Ola Gjielo’s “Sunrise” (“Gloria”) from Sunrise Mass, and other musical gems were featured to round out the festivities.
Performance times/venues:
Saturday, April 1 at 7:00 pm at All Saints Lutheran Church in North Phoenix
Sunday, April 2 at 3:30 pm at American Lutheran Church in Sun City
A Musical Champagne Salon
Again in 2023, ProMusica Arizona held A Musical Champagne Salon in an exquisite private home in the Anthem Country Club. Guests were treated to an enjoyable evening of musical performances by talented ProMusica Arizona soloists and small ensembles. A wide variety of heavy hors d’oeuvres and desserts, plus champagne, wine, and other beverages, were served and enjoyed indoors and outdoors. This was our major fundraiser for the year, and our members and volunteers did their very best to make the admission price worth every penny!
Salon date and time:
Saturday, March 11 at 6:00 pm
Christmas Through the Ages
The holiday concert, Christmas Through the Ages, featured new arrangements of traditional carols “O Come, O Come Emmanuel” and “The Huron Carol,” as well as favorites like “Carol of the Bells” and “Sleigh Ride.” ProMusica Arizona also presented the world-premiere of ProMusica Arizona Chorale member and professional composer Ryan Gunderson’s “Jesus, Refulsit Omnium“ (“Jesus, Light of All the Nations”), one of the first hymns in honor of the Nativity stemming from 368 A.D. As always, the audience was invited to join in singing several well-known carols of the season.
Performance times/venues:
Saturday, December 17 at 7:00 pm at All Saints Lutheran Church in North Phoenix
Sunday, December 18 at 3:30 pm at American Lutheran Church in Sun City
Favorites – Past & Present
ProMusica Arizona kicked off its 20th anniversary season with Favorites – Past & Present. The opening concert featured a full first half of patriotic favorites including “America the Beautiful,” “God Bless America,” toe-tapping John Philip Sousa marches, and “The Battle Hymn of the Republic.” The second half continued with more favorites including music by John Williams; a medley of songs by Stephen Sondheim, including “Send in the Clowns;” and a Richard Rodgers medley with songs from The Sound of Music, South Pacific, and Oklahoma, to name a few.
Performance times/venues:
October 15 at 7:00 pm at All Saints Lutheran Church in North Phoenix
October 16 at 3:30 pm at American Lutheran Church in Sun City
One of the pieces performed in the second half was “O Fortuna” from Carmina Burana; click on this link to hear the Chorale performing it with the Scottsdale Philharmonic Orchestra.
Favorites – Past and Present was sponsored by Andrew Z Diamonds & Fine Jewelry in Anthem, AZ. Visit their website at www.andrewzdiamonds.com.