Mother’s Day, May 14 marks the opening of the 63rd season of Tucson Pops Concerts in the Park. Under the direction of Maestro László Veres, the Tucson Pops Orchestra will perform five “Music under the Stars™” concerts on Sundays, May 14-June 11, at 7 p.m. at the DeMeester Outdoor Performance Center in Reid Park.
The May 14 concert will feature young talents Kai Skaggs, a violinist, and Ryan Chen, a guitarist. Skaggs, 15, is a student at Canyon del Oro High School where he is a member of the student orchestra under the direction of Toru Tagawa. He is also member of the Tucson Repertory Orchestra and the Tucson Philharmonia Youth Orchestra where he holds the position of co-concertmaster under the direction of Dr. Suzette Battan. He will play Saint-Saens Third Concerto for Violin and Orchestra (3rd movement) with the Tucson Pops orchestra.
Chen, 15, a freshman at Catalina Foothills High School, has studied classical guitar since he was 6 and won the 2016 Guitar Foundation of America International Youth Competition. He also plays the clarinet in the Catalina Foothills High School Band. For his appearance with the Tucson Pops Orchestra, he will perform “Una Limosna por el Amor de Dios” for solo guitar.
Other musical highlights will include Veres’ annual tribute to Mother’s Day, “My Yiddishe Momme”; a “Tribute to Benny Goodman”; selections from “Die Fledermaus” and the “Sound of Music”; and “The Tucson March,” an original composition dedicated to Veres, the Tucson Pops Orchestra and the City of Tucson by award winning composer and arranger Mark Wolfram.
