Letitia Bryant is planning a surprise for the audiences at this weekend's "Mozart & Bryant" concerts.
The Tucson Symphony Orchestra principal bassoonist has rewritten the cadenzas to Mozart's Bassoon Concerto "because I wanted to do something different," she explained.
In the second cadenza, she's turned for inspiration to music that is historically far removed from Mozart but shares inspiration and genius.
It will sound vaguely familiar and surprisingly at home in the glory that is Mozart's concerto.
"The cadenza will have a tribute to some other great musicians which are not of Mozart's time," is all the 30-year TSO veteran will allow as a hint. She wants you to guess.
"It's a great piece. I love it," said Bryant, whose performance anchors a TSO MasterWorks program that includes Mozart's Symphony No. 38 "Prague" and the overture from "The Magic Flute." "I think we should do Mozart on every concert."
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Bryant's solo turn comes 14 years after she last took center stage with the TSO.
"Everybody said it was my turn," she joked.
The concerts will be at 8 p.m. today at St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church, 7650 N. Paseo Del Norte, in Oro Valley - $33-$40 through the Southern Arizona Arts and Cultural Alliance, www.saaca.org; and at 8 p.m. Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday at Catalina Foothills High School, 4300 E. Sunrise Drive - $30-$40 through www.tucsonsymphony.org
She won't bail
Letitia Bryant, veteran Tucson Symphony Orchestra bassoonist, said she hasn't made any backup plans to makes ends meet next season when the TSO cuts her workload by a third.
"I'm not going to bail. I'm in for the fight," said Bryant, who has played with the orchestra 30 years.
The orchestra's 2010-11 season eliminates performances and concerts from the pops and classics series, trimming the musicians' services by a third. Most of the musicians are paid per service.
"The Tucson Symphony Orchestra is the musical heart and soul of Tucson," Bryant added, touting its valuable role in educational outreach. "I have probably played for a quarter of a million kids in Tucson."
