Gomez to Conduct & Play Mozart Serenade at Catalina Foothills High School
(Tucson, AZ)─Maestro José Luis Gomez, now in his second season as Music Director of the Tucson Symphony Orchestra, will make his performance debut in Tucson with Mozart’s Serenade No. 6 for Strings. Gomez will be featured on first violin as well as conductor on the program, Gomez Plays Mozart, Friday, March 8 at 7:30 p.m., Saturday, March 9 at 2 and 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, March 10 at 2:00 p.m. at Catalina Foothills High School, 4300 E. Sunrise Drive in Tucson. Concert Comments start promptly one hour prior to performances and are complimentary with tickets. There is plenty of free parking at the venue.
Gomez started his musical career as a violinist, and by the age of 11 he was Concertmaster of the Youth Orchestra of Zulia State – part of El Sistema de Orquestas Juveniles de Venezuela. He graduated in music and violin from the Manhattan School of Music in New York before embarking on a European orchestral career. Deciding to follow his dream to have more creative input and influence on musical direction he took conducting lessons from Lu Jia, Muhai Tang and John Nelson. After just six months of studying he won the Georg Solti competition in 2010. Since then he has conducted orchestras all over the world.
Mozart wrote some two dozen Serenades to accompany dinners, state occasions, festivals, fireworks celebrations and parties. Serenade No. 6 for Strings is a pastoral piece meant to be enjoyed but not formally listened to as with a symphony, perhaps at a wedding reception or an outdoor garden party. Joining Gomez in the performance will be Concertmaster Lauren Roth, Ann Weaver, principal viola, and James Karrer, principal bass.
The program will feature a second Mozart work, the Wind Serenade, and conclude with Haydn’s Symphony No. 103, nicknamed “Drumroll,” because of the solo drumroll that begins the piece. The second movement was so well received at the premiere that it was performed twice.
The Masterworks Series is sponsored by Splendido which will provide light fare before the Saturday matinee performance. The Masterworks Series receives generous support from Drs. John P. and Helen S. Schaefer. Concert Comments is sponsored by Fishkind, Bakewell, Maltzman, Hunter and Associates Eye Care and Surgery Center.
Tickets are $45 to $55. They are available online at www.tucsonsymphony.org, at the Tucson Symphony Orchestra Box Office, 2175 N. Sixth Avenue or by phone at 520.882.8585. TSO Box Office hours are Tuesday through Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 5 p.m. unless otherwise indicated.
Programming, artists and prices are subject to change.
Contact: Terry Marshall, Public Relations Manager, 520.620.9158
