Tucson Symphony event with Raven Chacon

Join us for an Amerind in Tucson event with the Tucson Symphony

Friday, February 21, 2025, 7:30 pm

Sunday, February 23, 2025, 2:00 pm with preconcert talk at 1:00pm

at Linda Ronstadt Music Hall: 260 S. Church Ave. Tucson, AZ. (NW corner of city block, next to Convention Center parking garage)

Tickets:  $14-$95 available through the Tucson Symphony 

Dvořák and the American Experience

with Ravon Chacon: Inscription

a TSO Co- Commission

Paul Huang, who left TSO audiences spellbound in 2022, returns to perform Dvořák’s Violin Concerto, originally written for the composer’s friend, violinist Joseph Joachim. The concerto is accompanied by two of Dvořák’s Slavonic Dances. Written originally for piano duo while he was still relatively unknown, it was these dances that helped Dvořák achieve notoriety. Dvořák came to the U.S. later in life and wrote the New World Symphony, inspired by African-American spirituals. The concert’s second half features works by American composers with very different backgrounds: a TSO co-commissioned work by Arizona-born Raven Chacon, a 2023 MacArthur Genius Grant awardee, and Still’s Symphony No. 1, known as the “Afro-American.” Chacon, a member of the Navajo Nation, draws on relationships between the western and indigenous communities while Still drew from popular African-American music.

Raven Chacon has mentored over 300 high school Native Composers as part of the annual Grand Canyon Music Festival. He also won the 2022 Pulitzer Prize for Music for “Voiceless Mass”.

William Grant Still was the first African American to have his symphony performed by a major orchestra. His daughter, Judith, lives in Flagstaff, Arizona.

Featured Performers

• José Luis Gomez, conductor

• Paul Huang, violin

Program

• Antonín Dvořák: Slavonic Dance, Op. 72, No. 2

• Dvořák: Slavonic Dance, Op. 46, No. 8

• Dvořák: Violin Concerto

• Raven Chacon: Inscription TSO Co-Commission

• William Grant Still: Symphony No. 1, “Afro-American”

Please note:

• This concert is available as part of a Classic Series or Create Your Own Subscription.
• Linda Ronstadt Music Hall has a clear bag policy. Read more about this venue
• The Friday concert only will be presented in the Classics With a Twist format: there will be on-stage introductions to the music and your chance to ask questions of the artists in a post-concert Q&A.
• Friday’s concert is expected to last approximately 2 hours, including intermission.
• The Sunday concert only will be preceded by Concert Comments,a pre-concert talk, beginning at 1:00 p.m.

This concert and the Raven Chacon project is underwritten by Shirley Chann with additional support from Linda Staubitz and the Amerind Foundation.