Sonoran Desert Chorale Announces 16-17 Season

A hundred thousand welcomes to the 23rd Season of the Sonoran Desert Chorale. This traditional Irish greeting seems appropriate as much of our music this year invokes the rich traditions and culture of the Emerald Isle and her neighbors. It will be a season of grand music, good fun, and musical stories as the SDC continues to make connections in song.

Concerts are held in Mesa at First United Methodist Church, 15 E. 1st Ave) and La Casa de Cristo in Scottsdale, 6300 E. Bell Road. Tickets are $18 for adults/$15 for seniors, students and groups of 10 or more.

Tickets may be purchased online at www.SonoranDesertChorale.org or by calling480-305-4538.

See the full schedule below:

O Britannia! A British Invasion

October 8, 2016 at 7:30 pm

First United Methodist Church, 15 E. 1st Ave, Mesa, AZ 85210

October 9, 2016 at 3:00 pm

La Casa de Christo Church, 6300 E. Bell Road, Scottsdale, AZ 85254

Tickets: $18 adults/$15 seniors, students and groups of 10 or more www.sonorandesertchorale.org or 480-305-4538

Hear the rafters ring with the beauty and grandeur of works from the great English choral tradition all the way from the sacred music of Gibbons, Holst, and Rutter, to Lennon, McCartney, and Lloyd Webber. Join the Chorale as it opens its twenty-third season with a tribute to all things British. Rule Britannia!

Desert Voices of Christmas

December 10, 2016 at 7:30 pm

First United Methodist Church, 15 E. 1st Ave, Mesa, AZ 85210

December 11, 2016 at 3:00 pm

La Casa de Christo Church, 6300 E. Bell Road, Scottsdale, AZ 85254

Tickets: $18 adults/$15 seniors, students and groups of 10 or more

www.sonorandesertchorale.org or 480-305-4538

At this most beautiful season of the year, music connects us to feelings of hope and joy and an appreciation of the miraculous. The Chorale translates those feelings into song accompanied by brass, percussion, and two of the mightiest organs in the Valley. You're invited to share with us in a classically rich and joyous celebration of the season.

A Celtic Journey

March 4, 2017 at 7:30 pm

First United Methodist Church, 15 E. 1st Ave, Mesa, AZ 85210

March 5, 2017 at 3:00 pm

La Casa de Christo Church, 6300 E. Bell Road, Scottsdale, AZ 85254

Tickets: $18 adults/$15 seniors, students and groups of 10 or more www.sonorandesertchorale.org or 480-305-4538

Just in time for St. Patrick's Day, the Chorale presents the Arizona premiere of Irish-American composer Ben Allaway's "Heaven and Earth: Mass on the Celtic Journey," that weaves together the folk music of the British Isles with the traditional music of the Anglican church. The work tells nine stories of Celtic peoples, both immigrants and those who never left their homelands, and their relationship to heaven and earth - all things visible and invisible. The sounds of the pipe, the drum, and the fiddle, will have you tapping your feet, clapping your hands, and singing along with the Chorale in this rousing musical experience.

Passage to the British Isles

May 6, 2017 at 7:30 pm

First United Methodist Church, 15 E. 1st Ave, Mesa, AZ 85210

May 7, 2017 at 3:00 pm

La Casa de Christo Church, 6300 E. Bell Road, Scottsdale, AZ 85254

Tickets: $18 adults/$15 seniors, students and groups of 10 or more www.sonorandesertchorale.org or 480-305-4538

Join the Chorale as we're off again - this time to Ireland and Scotland for our sixth international tour. Besides toothbrushes and guidebooks, we'll take with us American folk hymns and spirituals, as well as the melodies of Galway and Dublin and Edinburgh to connect with new friends in the British Isles. But before we go, we'd like to share this musical experience with you. Sounds like a good ceili!

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.

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