WELCOME
Thank you for coming to such an unusual performance in an unusual space! True Concord’s UpClose series is still a fairly new part of the musical scene, and this year we’re all experimenting with new venues, so we appreciate your sense of adventure! Michael and I are proud to become part of a long performing tradition here at the Hotel Congress: the heart of a downtown with a colorful past and present.
As we were brainstorming the beginning of this program, it was really important to me to connect this performance with the rest of the True Concord season. I know many of you love the big, exciting masterworks that True Concord does so well, often joined by a large orchestra as in our recent performances of Haydn’s Creation, or by world-class soloists like Susanna Phillips, in the Here I Am program from January. I hope tonight’s show provides a supplementary, in-depth view of the composers you’ve already met this season, by re-introducing them to you in new ways.
I wanted the Hotel Congress to be a character in this story as well. Digging into the history of this place has been a gift for me, as I learned more about the history of Tucson and how this building has fit into many different parts of Tucson’s history…and America’s.
There are more stories to tell here…I wasn’t quite able to bring John Dillinger to life for this recital, but I know there will be future opportunities to tell that story…many of you know it well. If you have any of your own stories about the Hotel Congress or about the music we’ll share tonight, I hope you can share them with your neighbor, with us, or with True Concord. I’d love to know what you think about this new, intimate format. I’ll be hanging around after the show and I’d love to chat more with you.
Thank you again, and enjoy the evening! --Emily Marvosh
