Tucson Symphony Orchestra wraps up its monthlong ¡Fiesta latina! series next weekend with a special Día de los Muertos concert on Nov. 1, the first of four concerts next month and nine special events through next April.
The Phoenix Symphony had planned six events in November including the holiday favorite “Elf in Concert” until the orchestra announced on Oct. 20 it will suspend the season after the Nov. 1 performance of “‘Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl’ in Concert.”
The move sent shockwaves throughout the state and raised concerns about the fates of other professional orchestras, including the state’s oldest ensemble here in Tucson.
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TSO President and CEO Paul Meecham tried to allay any concerns with reassurances that the Tucson orchestra is “operational and we’re giving a full season of concerts.”
Tucson Symphony Orchestra Music Director José Luis Gomez leads the ensemble in a rehearsal last week with Venezuelan cuatro venezolano player Jorge Glem, one of the guests for the orchestra’s “Latin Sizzle” concert.
Phoenix Symphony cited its dire financial situation as the reason it is hitting pause; Meecham said the TSO’s “assets are in a pretty healthy state” despite ending the 2025 fiscal year with a $228,000 deficit.
The deficit goes back to at least 2023, according to the organization’s 990 financial disclosure form filed with the IRS, but Meecham said it has been growing smaller every year as revenues increase.
Much of that increase comes from contributed revenue, the corporate and individual donations that are on track this fiscal year to make up more than half of the orchestra’s $6 million budget.
“On an annual basis, we used to raise about $1.7 million. Now we're raising over $3 million, and I think a lot of that has been that we've been able to diversify our contributions — more individuals, more foundations,” Meecham said. “Our plan is to try and serve a broader cross section of our community, whether it's through the schools programs or the Hispanic Latino audience or retirement communities, but we are very much more intentional about trying to touch as many parts of our community as possible.”
José Luis Gomez leads the Tucson Symphony Orchestra in rehearsal before last Friday’s first performance of “Latin Sizzle,” a concert focusing on Venezuelan music and musicians.
That presence in the community has also helped propel ticket sales beyond $2 million for the 2026 fiscal year that ended on June 30, according to financial data compiled on the nonprofit database Candid.
The orchestra is also focused on growing its $18 million endowment “to really help secure the long-term financial stability of the TSO,” Meecham said. The orchestra each year draws 5% from its endowment for its operations budget.
In addition to the Nov. 1 “Día de los Muertos” concert, some upcoming TSO season highlights include the return of violin phenom and artist-in-residence Amaryn Olmeda for an Up Close chamber concert Dec. 12-13; jazz piano virtuoso Christian Sands performing “Rhapsody in Blue: George Gershwin and the Jazz Age” Jan. 16-17, 2027, a collaboration with the HSL Properties Tucson Jazz Festival; and Brahms’ Requiem with the TSO Chorus and guest vocalists Feb. 26 and 28 as part of the 15th annual Tucson Desert Song Festival.
Classical guitarist Rafael Aguirre performed Joaquín Rodrigo’s “Concierto de Aranjuez” to open the TSO’s ¡Fiesta Latina! series in early October with TSO Conductor José Luis Gomez at the podium.
Phoenix Symphony is the state’s largest and only full-time orchestra, while the TSO is the state’s first, launching in 1929. The TSO also is the state’s oldest continuously operating arts organization.
In their Oct. 20 announcement, Phoenix Symphony officials said suspending the season was a difficult decision brought on by the financial reality that the organization didn’t have the “resources necessary to continue.” Its most recent 990 IRS filing showed the symphony had a $2 million shortfall on its $14.3 million budget.
The Phoenix orchestra is laying off its 66 musicians following the Nov. 1 performance. The musicians, members of the Professional Musicians of Arizona AFM Local 586, were about a month into negotiations for a new contract at the time of the announcement, according to Cindy Baker, president of Local 586. The existing contract expires on Oct. 31, she said.
Among the musicians being let go are several who recently “relocated to join the symphony and make Phoenix their home,” the musicians posted on Facebook hours after the announcement. One of those is the internationally celebrated Chilean-Italian conductor Paolo Bortolameolli, who last spring was named the Phoenix Symphony’s music director designate after an intensive three-year search, The Arizona Republic reported.
Bortolameolli led the orchestra in its season opening concert “Paolo Conducts Rachmaninoff & Prokofiev” Oct. 9-11 and was set to conduct the “John Williams’ Epic 95th Birthday Celebration” concert in early February.
Contact reporter Cathalena E. Burch at cburch@tucson.com. On Bluesky @Starburch
Cathalena E. Burch
Reporter
