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: Puccini’s La Bohème

Giacomo Puccini’s beloved classic La Bohème transports you to the streets of 19th century Paris for one of the world’s most timeless and moving love stories, as sung by a distinguished cast featuring Caitlin Gotimer, Mimì; SeokJong Baek, Rodolfo; Benjamin Taylor, Marcello; Emma Marhefka, Musetta.; Peter Barber, Colline; and Yichen Xue, Schaunard. In the vibrant Latin Quarter, a romance ignites between the poet Rodolfo and beautiful but frail seamstress Mimì. With its exquisite melodies and stirring emotions, La Bohème continues to captivate audiences around the world. Immerse yourself in this unforgettable journey through the passions of youth and the bittersweet beauty of life.

Location: Linda Ronstadt Music Hall

2:00 pm & 7:30 pm: Mahler & Schumann with Sasha Cooke, mezzo-soprano

Metropolitan Opera star Sasha Cooke will perform selections from Mahler’s five-song cycle based on the poems of Friedrich Rückert. The brilliant young composer Chelsea Komschlies’ new work, a TSO commission through the League of American Orchestras Toulmin Commissions Program, also has its world premiere. Maestro Gomez continues his Schumann cycle with the composer’s Symphony No. 3, the Rhenish, and Coleridge-Taylor’s beautiful, rarely-played Ballade completes the program. This concert will be preceded by Concert Comments, a pre-concert talk beginning one hour before each performance.

Location: Catalina Foothills High School