Women's choir to premiere work by Tucson composer at Carnegie Hall

But this time, the chorus and its longtime director Terrie Ashbaugh are taking center stage.

The chorus will be part of a 150-voice mass choir that Ashbaugh will guest conduct on June 14 at Carnegie Hall's Stern Auditorium as part of the 2026 MidAmerica Productions Carnegie concert series.

The concert's highlight will be the world premiere of "Tides of Life — Les Marées de la Vie," a work Ashbaugh commissioned from Tucson conductor/arranger/composer Khris Dodge.

"Absolutely love it," Ashbaugh said of Dodge's five-part woman-focused work; Tucson vocalist Katherine Byrnes wrote the lyrics. "He's a jazz guy, so there are lots of elements of jazz mixed with symphony. It's very inspirational and exhilarating to sing."

The official world premiere will be at Carnegie Hall in June, but Arizona Women's Chorus is giving Tucson a sneak peek at 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, April 25 and 26, at La Rosa, 800 N. Country Club Road.

Dodge and Tucson Pops Orchestra, which he has led since fall 2022, will accompany the ensemble in what will be only the second time in its 45-year history that Arizona Women's Chorus has performed with an orchestra.

"Tides of Life" is the second work that Dodge wrote for the choir. Fifteen years ago, he penned a suite based on Robert Frost poems.

"That project turned out to be very unique and cool," recalled Dodge, whose musical plate also includes serving as executive director of the HSL Properties Tucson Jazz Festival and on the board of Tucson Desert Song Festival. "We have worked on several projects before which have required a great deal of collaboration of our unique and combined talents, but this is the first time that we have worked together on an original composition."

Dodge started sketching ideas for "Tides of Life" last January. A couple of months later, "once the themes started to 'stick'," he brought Byrnes into the project, he said.

"I would send her a recording of a small portion of a song and she would listen to it and write a poem based on the emotions/elements I thought the theme conveyed," he said of the collaboration. "She would send me the recording back and we continued in a similar fashion for a few months."

"Tides of Life" traces a woman's life journey through the metaphor of natural elements, from "Air," the first breath a woman takes, to "Fire," the "passionate energy of young adulthood," according to Byrnes' composer notes.

"Earth" represents adulthood, that period where life's experiences have made you richer and more grounded; while "Water" "resonates with the joy and playfulness" of the soul, she said.

"Ultimately, the piece reflects on life’s journey and all the elements that came to be throughout, symbolizing the eternal cycle," Brynes wrote. "Death and renewal. The tides of life."

Dodge described the five-movement work as “simple in gesture and rich in craft — tuneful yet daring, delicate yet elemental — and dedicated to all women whose lives guide us through the tides of time,” and credited Byrnes with writing lyrics that perfectly aligned with the Arizona Women's Chorus voices. 

Dodge has written hundreds of choral arrangements for small and large groups and has done arrangements for Khris Dodge Entertainment, which he launched in 2015 to produce high-quality concerts of various genres from pop and Broadway standards to contemporary pop tribute shows with Tucson's top-tier vocal talent.

But throughout his career, which included 20 years with Arizona Opera, 15 of them managing the orchestra, he's never had a work make it to New York's prestigious Carnegie Hall.

"It's not every day that you get the opportunity to have a piece you wrote performed in Carnegie Hall," said Dodge, who was 17 years old when he made his Carnegie debut as part of a youth orchestra. "I don't take this opportunity lightly; I am humbled and honored to have this piece performed in such a historic place. ... My 17-year-old self would have never dreamed that I would come back some day and do this."

Dodge and Byrnes will be in the audience for the June 14 Carnegie world premiere featuring the New England Symphonic Ensemble.

"Tides of Life" is Arizona Women's Chorus's fifth commission.

"Part of our mission is to perform new repertoire for women's voices, which means it often has to be written specifically for them," Ashbaugh said.

This weekend's performances will include Dodge's suite. Tickets start at $39.48 through larosatucson.org.

Dodge will be at the podium with Tucson Pops on May 10 for its annual Mother's Day concert at Reid Park, 900 S. Randolph Way. The concert starts at 7 p.m., and admission is free.