Bringing Together Professional Musicians and Grade-School Composers

Arizona Philharmonic’s Jan. 9 performance of ¡Andalusia!, the Music of Southern Spain, has taken on a special Prescott community involvement. Not only is Maestro Peter Bay leading the orchestra with three exceptional soloists (Maria Flurry on marimba, and flamenco artist husband and wife team Chris Burton-Jácome on guitar and Lena Jácome, dancer), but there will be a special Prescott guest conductor and a selection of mini-compositions from Prescott-area school students.

Conductor in Chief

“At a recent luncheon, Police Chief Amy Bonney shared with me that she’d originally enrolled in Northern Arizona University to study music, with a dream of conducting,” said Arizona Philharmonic Executive Director Henry Flurry. “Early on, Chief Bonney redirected her energies to criminal justice, but never forgot her dream. We decided to make her dream a reality, so after some private coaching from Maestro Bay, Chief Bonney will conduct the Star-Spangled Banner at the introduction of AZ Phil’s ¡Andalusia! concert, 3 p.m. Jan. 9, at Yavapai College Performing Arts Center. When offered this baton, Chief Bonney exclaimed, ‘Holy cow!’

“We invite everyone to join us to witness Chief Bonney’s debut at the podium. Prescott Mayor Phil Goode will introduce the chief, and AZ Phil will contribute a portion of the concert proceeds to the Prescott Police Youth Role Model Scholarship Program,” added Flurry. Information on that program be found at prescottpolicefoundation.org/. Organizations and individuals are invited to contact Henry Flurry at henry@azphil.org and match AZ Phil’s contribution. Tickets for ¡Andalusia! are available at AZPhil.org.

¡Andalusia! – The Music of Southern Spain

Maestro Peter Bay will conduct a dramatic exploration of the music of Southern Spain in ¡Andalusia! Featured on the concert is Impulso: Symphonic Dances for Marimba, Flamenco Guitar and Dancer by Henry Flurry and Chris Burton-Jácome. Maria Flurry solos on marimba, Burton-Jácome on flamenco guitar, and Lena Jácome as flamenco dancer. Impulso melds the flamenco and classical traditions into an exciting journey of passion, tragedy and joy. This is the first time the entire work will be performed in Prescott.

The concert will also include Manuel de Falla’s The Three-Cornered Hat Suite and Georges Bizet’s Carmen Suite, two suites derived from stage works set in Andalusia, Spain.

Triple Treat

As a special treat, the concert will open with a suite of miniature works for orchestra that were group-composed by area public-school classes. “Prior to the pandemic, AZ Phil collaborated with the Jim and Linda Lee Planetarium on this outreach project supported by the City of Prescott Acker Trust Fund,” explained Flurry. “Students attended a special planetarium show to learn about night-sky objects inspired by animals. AZ Phil then visited the classrooms where students composed short orchestral works about these animals.” The pieces were to be premiered in May 2020, but were delayed until this concert.

Arizona Philharmonic, a 501(c)3, is celebrating its fourth season as Prescott’s regional professional orchestra. Visit AZPhil.org for more information. QCBN

 By Sandra Farrell

Sandra Farrell is a former broadcast and print journalist. More recently, she was press secretary for elected officials and she retired from the San Francisco Federal Reserve Bank as media manager. She and her husband and two dogs moved to Prescott a year ago and love all things Prescott. She is a volunteer with Arizona Philharmonic, AZPhil.org.