Sonoran Desert Chorale & Run Boy Run Partner for Bluegrass Concerts in March

The 60 member Sonoran Desert Chorale will be joined by sensational Arizona bluegrass band, Run Boy Run, for its upcoming March concert titled, Come To The Meetin'.

Performances of Come to the Meetin' will take place Saturday, March 7, 2015 at 7:30 P.M. at First United Methodist Church, 15 E. First Avenue, Mesa and Sunday, March 8, 2015 at 3:00 P.M. at Valley Presbyterian Church, 6947 E. McDonald Drive, Paradise Valley. Tickets are $18 for adults and $15 for seniors, students and groups of 10 or more. Tickets may be purchased online at www.SonoranDesertChorale.org or by calling 480-305-4538.

Winner of the Telluride Bluegrass Festival Band Competition and guests on A Prairie Home Companion with Garrison Keillor, Run Boy Run will bring their unique sound to the Chorale's performance of The World Beloved: A Bluegrass Mass plus a selection of early American hymns and folk songs. An additional concert highlight will be Run Boy Run presenting songs from their recent CD release.

"To bring the solemnity of the classical choir-based mass together with the down home sparkle of bluegrass-now there's an assignment. My highest hope is that listeners coming from one tradition-classical or bluegrass-and perhaps dubious about the other, might discover something new and wonderful in the combination, as I have," reflected Mass composer, Carol Barnett.

For The World Beloved: A Bluegrass Mass, Barnett, along with librettist Marisha Chamberlain, combined the classical mass with modern choral sophistication, touching poetry and conventional bluegrass instrumentation to create an exhilarating musical experience. The sound is rich with the roots of American bluegrass music - ballads, fiddle tunes and dances.

Run Boy Run will perform songs from their release, Something to Someone, as well as their debut album, So Sang the Whippoorwill. Existing comfortably in the tension between tradition and the musical frontier, Run Boy Run's all-acoustic format blends bluegrass, folk and the old timey American vernacular with touches of classical and jazz. Their music is rooted in the traditional music of the Appalachian South, but is also definitively present in the 21st century.

As noted in the Columbia Daily Tribune, "There is a timelessness to Run Boy Run's sound, yet also a timeliness found in its mindful arrangements, nimble playing and the sweet newness of its singing."

From winning the band contest at Pickin' In The Pines (mere weeks after forming in 2009) and a special appearance at the Telluride Bluegrass Festival in 2012, to two appearances on National Public Radio's A Prairie Home Companion, Run Boy Run have been making friends and fans alike with their open-ended musical approach and wonderful stage presence. A Prairie Home Companion host Garrison Keillor was impressed enough that he penned the liner notes to the band's debut CD.

Run Boy Run come from Tucson, Arizona, and were tagged by Paste magazine as "One of the top 10 Arizona bands to hear now." The band is brother and sister Matt Rolland (fiddle, guitar) and Grace Rolland (cello, vocals), sisters Bekah Sandoval Rolland (fiddle, vocals) and Jen Sandoval (mandolin, vocals) and bass player Jesse Allen. With three strong female voices, singing separately or in harmony, and deeply rooted familial connection to traditional American music, Run Boy Run didn't come lately to their sound; it's in their collective blood.

Their debut full-length album, So Sang the Whippoorwill, was released in March 2013 to regional and national critical acclaim. Their second full-length album, Something to Someone, was recorded with the talented team of Ryan Hadlock and Jerry Streeter (The Lumineers, Brandi Carlile, Elephant Revival) at historic Bear Creek Studios in Woodinville, WA and was released in October 2014 on Sky Island Records.

Sonoran Desert Chorale was founded in 1994 and is led by Music Director Jeff Harris. Since its inception, the group has become a highly regarded and sophisticated choral organization, presenting musical compositions from cultures around the globe as well as important pieces from the European and American music traditions. Concerts frequently include guest performances and collaborations with distinguished artists and organizations in the community such as the Phoenix Children's Chorus, The Southwest Brass, Mesa Caledonian Pipe Band and the Four Seasons Symphony. The Chorale has engaged in five European concert tours, with performances throughout Europe, including Venice, Rome, Florence, Vienna, Salzburg, Prague, Budapest, Ljubljana, Bayeux, Rouen, Chartres, and Strasbourg. The Chorale was invited to perform with Broadway superstar Michael Crawford for the inaugural concert of the $150 million Mesa Arts Center. The Chorale was selected to appear at the Western Division Convention of the American Choral Directors Association in Salt Lake City, UT.