Laura Stoutenborough, TSO Principal Clarinet, makes her TSO solo debut

with Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto – Friday, March 2 at St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church

 

Feb. 21, 2012— The Tucson Symphony Orchestra (TSO) will conclude the 2011-12 MasterWorks Chamber Orchestra Series with a program of Mozart and Beethoven.

Presented Friday, March 2 at 8 p.m. by Southern Arizona Arts and Cultural Alliance (SAACA), the final concert will take place at St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church, 7575 N. Paseo del Norte.

George Hanson will conduct the program, Mozart and Beethoven, which will feature the TSO solo debut of Laura Stoutenborough, principal clarinet, on Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto. The program will open with Michael Torke’s Ash and conclude with Beethoven’s Symphony No. 1.

The clarinet was a relatively new instrument still undergoing modifications when Mozart composed the concerto. His friendship with Anton Stadler, a clarinetist with the Vienna Court Orchestra, may have led to an expanded role for the clarinet in orchestral music. Three of the last six symphonies Mozart composed include clarinet. In addition to the symphonies, he composed a quintet for clarinet and strings, the clarinet concerto and used the clarinet extensively in his other wind chamber music. The concerto was one of the last pieces completed by Mozart, noted in his personal catalog immediately after The Magic Flute and La clemenza di Tito.

Laura Stoutenborough, now in her second season as TSO principal clarinet, has played with the New West Symphony, the National Repertory Orchestra, the Aspen Music Festival Orchestras, the YMF Debut Orchestra, and the American Youth Symphony. She won the concerto competition at the Music Academy of the West and took first prize in the Sigma Alpha Iota Competition in California. Stoutenborough received her Doctorate and Master of Music degrees from the University of Southern California and received her Bachelor of Music degree at the University of Minnesota.

Beethoven’s Symphony No. 1 was composed near the end of his first style period. At that time, Beethoven was synthesizing all that came before him while also searching for his own unique voice. However, perhaps because he had already reached artistic maturity at the time of its composition, the Symphony No.1 emerged as a fully-fledged masterpiece, almost a textbook example of a classical symphony.

MasterWorks IV – Mozart & Beethoven

When: Friday, March 2, 2012 - 8 p.m. concert, 7 p.m. pre-concert chat

Where: St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church, 7575 N. Paseo del Norte

Cost: Starting at $40 per seat, with subscription discounts available

Online: http://saaca.org/masterworksconcerts.html

Phone: (520) 797-3959

NOTE TO MEDIA: More photos available upon request

About the Southern Arizona Arts and Cultural Alliance

The Southern Arizona Arts and Cultural Alliance (SAACA) is a not-for-profit organization that exists to ensure that, through engagement in arts and culture, our communities produce strong, inspired citizens. SAACA enlists artists, businesses, governments, and individuals to expand artistic and cultural opportunities in their respective communities. To enhance access to the arts and to promote cultural awareness in the communities it serves, SAACA presents large-scale festivals, events and other programs. The Alliance also promotes educational opportunities in the arts and culture for both the young and the old.

Organization History
The Southern Arizona Arts and Cultural Alliance (SAACA) grew out of the Greater Oro Valley Arts Council (GOVAC), an organization established in 1997 to provide artistic and cultural opportunities for residents of northwest Tucson. GOVAC eventually became one of the largest arts organizations in the region. In 2009, owing to its success, the group expanded its mission to include creation of partnerships with business, governments, and communities throughout Southern Arizona that would encourage innovative, creative cultural expression in the arts for years to come.

For more information about programs and events produced by the Southern Arizona Arts and Cultural Alliance, go to www.saaca.org.

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