Citizen Staff Writer
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David Syme has canceled his guest appearance Sunday with Tucson Pops Orchestra.

The pianist’s cancellation was prompted by extensive damage his Houston home received during Hurricane Ike, according to a news release from the orchestra.

The Pops, under the direction of László Veres, still will perform its “Music Under the Stars” show, possibly with a guest artist. Veres plans to reschedule Syme for one of the Pops’s spring concerts, the release states. The fall concert series, Sundays through Oct. 5, all are at 7 p.m. at DeMeester Outdoor Performance Center at Reid Park, at Country Club Road and 22nd Street, with free shuttle service available before and after each event.

Weekend Plus

• Read more on the series at tucsoncitizen.com/ss/ weekend/96462.php.

Citizen Staff and Wire Reports
LAW AND ORDER REPORT

Over the four-day Country Thunder music festival, which ended Sunday in Florence, law enforcement officers made 186 underage alcohol-related arrests.

Pinal County Sheriff’s deputies also arrested 22 people suspected of DUI.

The youngest youth arrested was 15, said Sgt. Wes Kuhl, a special investigator with the Arizona Department of Liquor Licenses and Control.

“Many of the underage had breath-alcohol levels exceeding .20 percent,” Kuhl said in a news release.

Several underage drinkers were arrested more than once, Kuhl said.

According to sheriff’s deputies, the average blood alcohol content among those arrested for DUI was .154. The legal limit is 0.08.

The release didn’t say whether any youths were from the Tucson area.

After realizing there were underage drinkers at last year’s festival, Kuhl said, the liquor control department sent six special investigators this year and teamed up with the Phoenix Youth Alcohol Aggressive Driving Squad, the Arizona Department of Public Safety and the Pinal County Sheriff’s Department.

Being underage and possessing or consuming alcohol, furnishing alcohol to an underage person or using a fake ID to get alcohol are class one misdemeanors punishable by up to $2,500 in fines, six months in jail and three years on probation.

Having spiritous liquor in the body of an underage person is a class two misdemeanor punishable up to $750 in fines, four months in jail and two years probation.

Staff and wire reports

CHUCK GRAHAM

cgraham@tucsoncitizen.com

Night time is play time when Tucson goes into summer mode. Just like in that Disney movie “The Living Desert,” all the human critters come out after dark to stroll around and enjoy themselves. The summertime arts offerings are always more eclectic, and often many of these movies and concerts are free. The presenters are always grateful, though, for any free-will donations.

Here’s where to find Tucson’s performing artists after sundown.

Make room for “Bark! The Musical”

Arizona Onstage Productions will open a summer production of the musical comedy “Bark!” Even though all the singing actors onstage are playing dogs, this show is nothing like that other musical about domesticated pets, “Cats.” The off-Broadway hit runs for 11 performances, July 12-29, in the air-conditioned Beowulf Alley Theatre downtown at 11 S. Sixth Ave. Tickets are $20-$27.50. For details, 270-3332, or visit www.arizonaonstage.org

“Bebop Meets Broadway” at Beowulf Alley

Local jazz musicians have their way with classic Broadway show tunes in a cozy theater setting for a pair of performances, June 12 and 26, at Beowulf Alley Theatre, 11 S. Sixth Ave. The players out front are Lamont Arthur, keyboards; Tony Frank, trumpet; and Debbie Luna, vocals. The song list is sure to include “The Lady is a Tramp,” “Secret Love” and “Ease On Down The Road.” Tickets are $25. Light refreshments at 6:30 p.m., show at 7:30 p.m., followed by a jam session at a nearby restaurant to be announced. For details 882-0555, or visit www.beowulfalley.org

Invisible Theatre’s summer cabaret

“Sizzling Summer Sounds” is a Tucson tradition presented by Invisible Theatre the past couple of decades during the extreme dry heat of June. This summer the venue is a little different as the cabaret kids eschew their usual sophisticated restaurant setting to set up shop at the IT’s own theater, 1400 N. First Ave. Pastiche Modern Eatery, 3025 N. Campbell Ave., will provide the dining part of this tradition, so the events become a kind of Tucson-style movable feast. Guests enjoy a Cabaret Dinner at Pastiche and the performance at IT, then head back to Pastiche for après show drinks and desserts at special prices.

Show tickets are $25 each, or a three-event package for $66. Dinners are $20 (doesn’t include beverage and gratuity). Here is the entertainment schedule:

• June 14 – “From This Moment On – A Cole Porter Tribute” by Jeffrey Haskell, Katherine Byrnes, Jack Neubeck and Liz McMahon at 8 p.m.

• June 15 – “A Blues and Boogie Woogie Blast” provided by singer Joe Bourne and pianist Arthur Migliazza at 8 p.m.

• June 16 – the Cole Porter tribute returns at 8 p.m. June 17 – more of the Blues and Boogie Blast at 3 p.m.

• June 21-22 – “Wild Women of the West!” with Lisa Otey, Liz McMahon and Elise Ackermann at 8 p.m.

• June 23 – “The Band, The Blonde and The Baritone Jazz It Up!” with a tribute to Duke Ellington by Jeffrey Haskell, Betty Craig and Jack Neubeck at 8 p.m.

• June 24 – “Calypso Dreams” by Khris Dodge, Marcus Terrell and Cliff Berrien bring a change of pace at 3 p.m.

• June 28 – “Three Jazzy Gents” are Rob Boone, Daniel “Sly” Slipetsky and Rob Wright grooving in real time at 8 p.m.

• June 29-30 – “Heartbreak Hotel – A Tribute to Young Elvis” by Robert Shaw and the Lonely Street Band at 8 p.m.

• July 1 – “God Bless Americana!” with Los Angeles entertainer and author Charles Phoenix presenting a slide show tour of his retro vacation across the good ol’ U.S. of A. To get a taste of his tour, www.godblessamericana.com. For details on “Sizzling Summer Sounds,” 882-9721, www.invisibletheatre.com

Cool grass and cool free movies

Somehow, nostalgia always feels better outdoors. Maybe because there is more oxygen rushing to your brain. We know it must work because this marks the seventh season of Cinema La Placita, a showcase of free movies shown every Thursday downtown on the green of La Placita Village, at the southwest corner of Broadway Boulevard and Church Street. After 5 p.m. all downtown street parking is free.

The popcorn is also free, or bring a picnic basket (no alcohol) and a blanket, or enjoy light dining at one of the village restaurants. Plastic chairs are set up on the plaza proper.

Big families are always welcomed in this genial and forgiving atmosphere of a shared communal experience. Donations of $3 per person are appreciated, but there is never any pressure. Movies begin at 7:30 p.m. or as soon as it is dark enough.

Showing Thursday is “Three Days of the Condor.” June 14 brings the 1954 version of “Sabrina” with Humphrey Bogart and Audrey Hepburn. June 21 is another Bogie classic “Key Largo,” and June 28 continues the special “Shot in Tucson” series with “Boys on the Side,” starring Whoopi Goldberg, Mary-Louise Parker and Drew Barrymore.

Cinema La Placita runs through October, with the film schedule announced a month in advance. Get on the e-mail list at www.cinemalaplacita.com, or listen to the recorded announcement at 326-5282.

Tucson Pops Orchestra plays the DeMeester

Since 1973 the Tucson Pops Orchestra has been playing free outdoor concerts, attracting several thousand people to each performance. Now in the midst of its 2007 spring season at the DeMeester Outdoor Performance Center in Reid Park, the Pops Orchestra, under the baton of music director Laszlo Veres, will present guest soprano Nancy Davis Booth on June 10, concluding the spring season June 17 with guest artists the Three Royal Tenors. Both performances begin at 7 p.m.

Some fixed bench seating is available at the DeMeester, though many regulars prefer to bring a folding chair or blanket to sit on. Picnic baskets are encouraged, although the city parks department forbids using any glass containers anywhere in the park. For further orchestra announcements, check www.tucsonpops.org

Summer jazz, free and otherwise

All year around, Sunday evenings bring a jazz jam to the Old Pueblo Grille, 60 N. Alvernon Way. There is never any cover or minimum charge. A full bar and dinner menu are always available. Pete Swan, Tucson drummer and host, invites a different special guest each week who is backed by Swan’s house trio. After an opening set featuring the guest artist, other musicians often step up to play. The sessions always run from 7-10 p.m.

Summerset series

This summer the Tucson Jazz Society has arranged a special Summerset Series of indoor concerts with high-profile visiting artists at a couple of different local resorts. The concerts begin at 7:30 p.m. Tickets for each show are $25 general admission, $20 members of TJS.

Here is the schedule:

• June 16 – Kyle Eastwood (son of Clint), playing contemporary and hard bop at the Marriott Starr Pass Resort, 3800 W. Starr Pass Blvd.

• July 1 – smooth jazz saxophonist Warren Hill at Loews Ventana Canyon Resort, 7000 N. Resort Drive

• July 21 – Gabriel Francisco with Demitri and Thano Sahnas in an all-acoustic jazz guitar evening at the Marriott Starr Pass Resort

• Sept. 9 – the Turning Point Band plays Southwest contemporary jazz at the Loews Ventana Canyon Resort.

For details, call TJS at 903-1265 or visit www.tucsonjazz.org

At the Rialto

The downtown Rialto Theatre, 318 E. Congress St., chips in with its own smooth jazz concert by the quintet Acoustic Alchemy on June 22, appearing with guitarist Michael Gulezian. Tickets are $28, all seats reserved. For details, 740-1000 or visit www.rialtotheatre.com

Creepy late night weekends at the Loft

The Loft Cinema, 3233 E. Speedway Blvd., plays it straight most days and nights of the week, but late-night weekends can get more than a little weird. Fridays and Saturdays at 10 p.m. are reserved for screening the theater’s weekly Cult Classic. Saturdays at midnight continue the nation’s longest-running unbroken engagement of “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” accompanied by a very knowledgeable and appropriately costumed shadow cast. Many members of the audience also dress for the occasion.

The Cult Classics scheduled so far are: June 8-9, “Donnie Darko (The Original Cut)”; June 15-16, “Starship Troopers”; June 22-23, “Red Dawn”; June 29-30, “The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert”; July 6-7, “Meatballs”; July 13-14, John Carpenter’s “The Thing”; Aug. 3-4, “The Blues Brothers”; Aug. 10-11, “Hedwig and the Angry Inch”; Aug. 17-18, “Point Break.”

A new Loft feature just beginning is Mondo Mondays, when crazed and glazed features such as “Carnival of Souls” on June 11; “Boy in the Plastic Bubble,” remembered for John Travolta’s unique performance, on June 18; and Sam Fuller’s “The Naked Kiss” on June 25 are returned to this big-screen altar for further adoration. Admission is a budget-friendly $2, encouraging additional consideration for the Loft’s special Mondo Munchies snack pack.

Shakespeare in the park

“Much Ado About Nothing” is this summer’s Shakespeare pick for the Tucson Parks & Recreation Department’s Community Theatre offering. Mary Francis Glenn is directing the production, giving the Bard’s classic comedy a 1960s California-style beach party setting.

All performances are free, beginning at 8 p.m., Fridays through Sundays, from June 22 to July 1 at the DeMeester Outdoor Performance Center in Reid Park.

There is some permanent bench seating in front of the stage, though many regulars prefer to bring their own blanket or lawn chairs. Picnic baskets are welcomed, but park regulations prohibit glass containers. For info, 791-4873 Ext 125.

Citizen Staff Writer

Daniel Buckley

dbuckley@tucsoncitizen.com

What a grand 25th birthday celebration was last night’s Espectacular concert!

Brimming with nostalgia, passion and future promise, the hefty show had something for every mariachi fan.

For the traditional set, mariachis Cobre, Los Camperos de Nati Cano and Vargas could not fail to satisfy. And for the younger, hipper set, singer Pedro Fernández’s powerful pipes and theatrical stage antics brought a new twist to the mariachi experience.

Fernández hit the stage dressed in a black traje (the suit of the gentleman cowboy that has become the uniform of the mariachi) bedecked with gold trim, like some kind of rhinestone charro. A black cape emblazoned with a stylized representation of his initials completed the cartoon superhero look.

He strutted and danced his way around the stage, working the young ladies in the audience, stopping long enough to steal a kiss from one. From the rock-show lighting to the campy choreography of his fiddlers, every aspect of the set had a kind of Elvislike mystique about it (or should I say “El Vez”?). But in the final analysis, this guy can really sing, he has one hell of a stage presence, and he brings a kind of variety of repertoire that is most welcome.

It was fitting somehow that Tucson’s Mariachi Cobre was the first of the big groups to hit the stage. As group leader Randy Carrillo recalled, it was the impression that a trip members of Cobre made to a mariachi festival in San Antonio in 1981 that gave the group the burning desire to transplant the concept to Tucson. Now, 25 years later, the Tucson International Mariachi Conference that Cobre helped start is the longest continually running conference in the world.

Fitting as well because in its own way, Cobre raised the bar with respect to vocal artistry in mariachi music. Last night the patented Cobre sound was in full effect, with Steve Carrillo, brothers Miguel and Israel Molina, Mario Trujillo, Mack Ruiz and Hector Gama all singing as if lives depended on it. And two newcomers – Omar Olivas and Arturo Pasalaguas – showed that they, too, have the vocal chops to be worthy of the Cobre brand.

Mariachi Los Camperos de Nati Cano picked up where Cobre left off, delivering an energetic set marked by crisp, regal instrumental lines, sizzling ensemble virtuosity and passionate, expressive vocals. How these guys are able to crank out that level of musical heat after days of workshops is just amazing.

Mariachi Vargas de Tecalitlán took things up another notch, demonstrating why with over 100 years of music-making under its belt this group continues to hold the crown. Its luminous vocal harmonies, superb sonic blend and skin-tight instrumental phrasing were pure art.

The group’s propulsive rendition of the classic “Cascabel” was dazzling and volatile. Yet despite the breakneck clip of the performance, the players somehow managed to achieve the cleanest, chiseled features and finest dynamic shading. The sound was sleek, acrobatic and lithe.

But it wasn’t all pyrotechnics. Vargas proved second to none in the area of pure romance, its singers wandering out into the crowd to woo the ladies with their velvety tones.

For my money, the high point (literally and figuratively) was the group’s rendition of “El Pastor,” lofting stratospheric falsetto tones, fortified by endless breath, that hung in the air like clouds.

In total it was a set of irrepressible spirit, symphonic precision and crowd-pleasing instincts.

The show started in the traditional way, with students and masters packed as tightly on the stage as the capacity Tucson Convention Center Arena crowd watching. But instead of one of traditional fare, the huge group broke into Richard Strauss’ “Also Sprach Zarathustra” – the theme from “2001 – A Space Odyssey.” Apparently in the beginning, there were mariachis. And God saw that this was just right!

There’s more ahead today at Fiesta Garibaldi. Be there and drink your musical fill.

FIESTA DE GARIBALDI SCHEDULE

10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday, Reid Park, Country Club Road and 22nd Street; $5 adults, free to children

Main stage performers

10 – Mariachi Los Toritos

10:30 – Mariachi Mixteco

11 – Mariachi Puno del Oro

11:30 – Mariachi Aguilitas de Davis

noon – Mariachi Diablos del Sol

12:30 p.m. – Mariachi Herencia de Mexico

1-1:30 – Mariachi Anacatlan

1:30-2 – Mariachi Brillante Juvenile

2-2:30 – Mariachi Tesoros de Tucson

2:30-3 – Mariachi Cesar Chavez

3-3:30 – Mariachi Milagro

3:30-4 – Mariachi Escorpion

4-4:30 – Mariachi Juvenil de San Diego

4:30-5 – Ballet Folklórico Tapatio

5:-5:30 – Mariachi Atzlan

5:30-6 – Mariachi Los Portrillos

6:-6:30 – Mariachi Tesoro de San Fernando

6:30-7 – Mariachi Chula Vista

7-8 – Mariachi Los Camperos de Nati Cano

8-9 – Mariachi Los Arrieros

9-10 – Paloma del Rio

Second stage performers

noon – corridos

12:30 – Davis Aguilitas Folklórico

1 – Mariachi Los Changuitos Feos

1:30 – Ballet Folklórico Tapatío

2 – Mariachi Herencia de Mexico

2:30 – Grupo Folklórico Los Tucsonenses

3 – Mariachi Rayos del Sol

3:30 – Las Estrellas De Roskruge Folklórico

4 – Mariachi Sangre Mexicana

4:30 – Mariachi Monarca de Salpointe

Citizen Staff Writer

The proceeds of Up With People’s concert Saturday will go to El Rio Community Health Center and its dental services.

Up With People, an international exchange program for people ages 18 to 29, will perform at Casino Del Sol’s AVA Theatre, 5655 W. Valencia Road, through Feb. 19.

Saturday’s show costs $20 for adults and $10 for children.

In addition to helping the center raise money, the Up With People cast will spend today reading to children at the health center as part of Love of Reading week.

To buy tickets to the concert, call (800) 344-9435. VIP tickets are available for $50, which includes the concert, covered seating and a pre-show reception. Those tickets are available through the El Rio Foundation by calling 207-4948.

- HEIDI ROWLEY,

hrowley@tucsoncitizen.com

Citizen Staff Report

The Daughtry concert starts at 8 p.m. Tuesday at The Rock, 136 N. Park Ave. A story in Thursday’s Calendar had the incorrect date. For more information, call 629-9211.

Citizen Staff Writer

The U. S. Air Force Concert Band will perform a wide range of music, from Renaissance to contemporary, from 2 to 4 p.m. today at the Marana Municipal Center, 11555 W. Civic Center Drive.

The group, based at Lackland Air Force Base near San Antonio, performs free concerts all over the nation, said Leigh Ann Ganuelas, director of the Marana Arts Council. It performed several concerts in Phoenix this week.

“They were traveling through and looking for a venue, and I was lucky enough to get them,” Ganuelas said. “We hope we have a real good turnout because they are fantastic.”

Guests are invited to bring lawn chairs, a blanket to sit on, even picnics, she said. No food or water vendors are expected so guests should plan to provide their own water, sunscreen and refreshments.

- LARRY COPENHAVER,

lcopenha@tucsoncitizen.com

Citizen Staff Report

The date of Maurice Brown’s Tucson Jazz Society concert was incorrect on Page 11 in Thursday’s Calendar. He performs at 6:30 p.m. Sunday at St. Philip’s Plaza, 4280 N. Campbell Ave.

Citizen Staff Photographer

PHOTO CAPTION: XAVIER GALLEGOS/Tucson Citizen

About 800 students from kindergarten through eighth grade enjoy a preview of “Noche de las Estrellas,” a mariachi concert. It was held last Saturday at Sunnyside High School.

Other photo galleries: Tucson International Mariachi Conference.

Citizen Staff Writer

Dan Buckley

Review

The Tucson International Mariachi Conference got off on a whole other foot this year, but there was nary a stumble in last night’s four-hour Espectacular show.

In contrast to the typical opening, with folklórico dancers in brightly-colored skirts swirling their way down the aisles and across the stage of the packed Tucson Convention Center Arena, last night’s folklórico presentation started closer to home with a celebration of dance from the border states. Whether coincidental or planned, the cowboy hats, denim skirts, boots and vests, combined with lively steps, influenced by both sides of the border, amplified the notion that we who live along the line separating the United States from Mexico share a huge cultural legacy that blurs political lines.

Mind you, there was plenty of the more traditional dance fare from the heartland of the mariachis sprinkled throughout the show. Likewise the vitality, precision and overall brilliant execution of the dance, created and overseen by conference folklórico director maestro Rafael Zamarrippa, was as taut number for number, region for region as the brilliant border bash that started the show.

Four hours may seem like a sprawling event but in terms of this annual event, which has gone on past midnight many a year, it was, and seemed, pretty short. But the overall impression was not that it was less exciting but rather that it was more compact, quicker moving and action-packed.

Three top-flight groups and a lovely soloist shared the headliner slots at this 24th anniversary show.

Mariachi Internacional de America de Guadalajara was the wild card, having never made an appearance at the Tucson conference before. But the group made a profound impression straight out of the gate. Decked out in black trajes (the outfit of Mexico’s gentleman cowboy) with silver ornamental stitching, this group set the bar high as the opening act. Its rhythms seemed impossibly taut, whether delivering crisp violin pizzicatos or staccatos or driving vihuela rhythms. Man for man, the group members dug into the strident rhythms with agile grace. This mariachi’s trumpets were especially potent and forceful, filled with pride and the swagger of a matador. Maybe it was the experience of hearing them for the first time, but to these ears, this mariachi was tops in the show.

But it was frankly a good night for everyone involved. El Paso’s Los Arrieros, back for the first time since 2001, wowed the crowd again with its showmanship, original arrangements and sheer energy. Its vocalist were versatile, moving and powerful, especially music director Juan Contreras whose huge, operatic-quality voice shook the rafters of the hall.

Chuy Guzman, music director of Los Camperos de Nati Cano and overall musical director of the conference, seemed intent on cranking everything up a notch, and his bandmates responded in kind, lending lithe athleticism and supple grace to sones, rancheras and classics. As all night, their individual and ensemble vocal work was inspired.

Newcomer and rising star Alejandra Orozco made her first Tucson conference date a memorable one. The dusky-toned singer from Guadalajara seemed to joyfully dance on the springboard rhythms Mariachi Internacional de America provided, her powerful, expressive vocal instrument ideally suited to her repertoire.

All three mariachis and the folklórico dancers returned to close the show with enough sheer momentum and velocity to spin listeners out to tomorrow.

Good news! If you missed it you have a shot at hearing all the headliners and much more at Fiesta Garibaldi in Reid Park.

IF YOU GO

What: Fiesta de Garibaldi

When: Today 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.

Where: DeMeester Performance Center at Reid Park, 22nd & Country Club

Admission: $5 (children free)

Schedule

10: Mariachi Anacatlan (Anaheim, Calif.)

10:30: Mariachi Puño de Oro

11: Mariachi Mixteco (Imperial, Calif.)

11:30: Mariachi Miztli (San Diego, Calif.)

noon: Mariachi Aguilitas de Davis

12:30: Mariachi Luz

1 : Ballet Folklórico Tapatio

1:45: Mariachi Brillante Juvenil

2:15: Los Changitos Feos

2:45: Mariachi Los Aguilitas de Aztlan

3:15: Mariachi Diablos del Sol

3:45: Mariachi Atzlan

4:15: Mariachi Escorpion (Brownsville, Texas)

4:45: Mariachi Fiesta Mexicana

5:15: Mariachi Chula Vista (San Diego, Calif.)

5:45: Mariachi Master Apprentice Program

6:30: Mariachi Internacional de America*

7:15: Alejandra Orozco*

8: Los Arrieros*

9: Mariachi Los Camperos*

* Headliners from Mariachi Espectacular

By POLLY HIGGINS

phiggins@tucsoncitizen.com

Tucson may finally be getting The Strokes when their popularity is potentially at its lowest in the U.S., but don’t let that determine whether you go to see them at KFMA Day Saturday. Declining record sales or not, they’re still one of the best live bands currently touring.

When the New York five-piece played Mesa Amphitheatre a couple of months ago, they were tight as ever, and they performed pretty much the set list a fan would hope for – “Last Nite” and “Hard to Explain” from the first album, “What Ever Happened” from their second and the more solid ones from the “First Impressions of Earth” CD, including “Juicebox” and “Heart in a Cage.”

Since the band’s previous two jaunts to Arizona have seen them only at venues up north, kudos to KFMA for snagging them.

As usual, the KFMA is meant to please a fairly wide rock audience, so for your $45 you also get drama-rockers AFI (“A Fire Inside,” if you’re burning), and The Cult, the AC/DC-fueled, Ian Astbury-led group that at least parental guardians will be able to sing along to.

The acts get less well-known from there – Rise Against (punk with a dash of pop), Rock Kills Kid (Killers- and Strokes-influenced rock), 2 Cents (metal) – but, really, three guaranteed-solid bands is a good deal.

Here’s the lineup:

1:30-2 p.m. – TBA

2:25 – 2 Cents

3:35 – Rock Kills Kid

4:45 – Rise Against

5:55 – AFI

7:20 – The Strokes

8:50 – The Cult

IF YOU GO

What: KFMA Day, with The Strokes, The Cult

When: noon Saturday

Where: Tucson Sportspark, 6901 Casa Grande Highway (near I-10 and Ina Road)

Price: $45

Info: Tickets available at all area Catalina Marts (16455 N. Oracle Road, 1850 E. Prince Road, 2385 N. Silverbell Road, 8845 E. Tanque Verde Road, 3550 N. Campbell Ave., 7910 E. Golf Links Road, 1169 W. Irvington Road) and www.kfma.com.

Citizen Staff Photographer

PHOTO CAPTION: XAVIER GALLEGOS/Tucson Citizen

Citizen Staff Writer

By LARRY COPENHAVER

lcopenha@tucsoncitizen.com

A free concert marking the 40th anniversary of the Tucson Concert Band will be offered at Crowder Hall at the University of Arizona at 3 p.m. Sunday.

The program, under the direction of Herschel Kreloff, will include music honoring the late Howard Beaver, founder of TCB; and Jack Lee, a former leader of University of Arizona bands and a former director of TCB, said John Prokop, president of TCB, in a news release.

Beaver and Lee died in 2005.

The program opens with Rossini’s “Italian in Algiers” from the opera by the same name. Other selections include “Beaver’s Delight” by Joseph Spaniola, commissioned in 2004 by the TCB to honor Howard Beaver; Jack Lee’s “Civil War Rhapsody”; “A Huntingdon Celebration” by Philip Sparke; and “Them Basses” by G.H. Huffine, which features tubas and trombones.

TCB, formerly Beaver’s Tucson Concert Band, is a community concert band of volunteers that provides creative opportunities for musicians 18 and older through public performances.

Citizen Staff Report

Citizen Staff Report

Alison Krauss & Union Station, featuring Jerry Douglass, are postponing their concert scheduled for Tuesday at the Tucson Convention Center because of illness.

Tickets for the concert will be honored at a rescheduled show.

Doug Aitken, spokesman for Outback Concerts based in Nashville, Tenn., expects the new date to be announced within the next two days.

Citizen Staff Writer

By PAUL L. ALLEN

pallen@tucsoncitizen.com

Seating is limited for a Dec. 15 Christmas concert to benefit Tumacácori National Historical Park’s education program.

The 6:30 p.m. concert at the park’s church will feature the Tubac Singers performing Christmas carols from several eras and cultures.

Just 100 seats are available and reservations are recommended. Tickets are $20 a person.

Because the church is unheated, organizers urge those attending to dress warmly and perhaps bring a blanket.

Luminarias will light the walkway and church interior.

Tumacácori is about 45 miles south of Tucson via Interstate 19.

To make reservations, go to or call Tubac Center of the Arts, 9 Plaza Road, (520) 398-2371.