Tucson Symphony Orchestra is rolling out a new pops series, bringing back old friends and strengthening partnerships in its just announced 2026-27 season.
TSO Music Director José Luis Gomez will lead his 10th season in 2026-27.
The orchestra's 98th season and the 10th for Music Director José Luis Gomez also includes the long-awaited return of violin great Joshua Bell, who hasn't played with the orchestra since 2013. Bell ends that drought on Feb. 17, 2027, when he returns to play the Bruch Violin Concerto No. 1.
Legendary violinist Joshua Bell returns to the TSO next February after a 14-year absence.
Bell was barely 18 and just emerging on the world stage when he made his debut with the TSO in 1986. He has returned to the orchestra several times since then and has performed a number of concerts at Centennial Hall.
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He was here last April with his wife, soprano Larisa Martínez, to perform the world premiere of Oscar-winning composer John Corigliano’s "Tennessee Songs" with the Tucson Desert Song Festival.
Other guest soloists next season include guitarist Rafael Aguirre performing Concierto de Aranjuez in October in a collaboration with Tucson Guitar Society; and Paul Huang returning to perform Brahms’ Violin Concerto next March.
Guitarist Rafael Aguirre will perform Concierto de Aranjuez with the TSO in October in a collaboration with Tucson Guitar Society.
That concert on March 13-14, 2027, will be Huang's third with the TSO since 2020, when the pandemic interrupted his debut. He was last here in February 2025 performing Dvorák’s Violin Concerto in A minor.
Newly named Principal Pops Conductor Evan Roider will lead the orchestra in its rebranded "Live@theRonstadt" pops series that opens Nov. 21 with "Howdy Tucson! Music of the American West."
Other events include pianist Christian Sands and Gomez exploring Gershwin's 1920s jazz age with the ubiquitous "Rhapsody in Blue" as part of the Tucson Jazz Festival in January and "A Salute to John Williams: Star Wars & More at 50" on April 24-25, 2027.
Other season highlights include:
"Fiesta Latina": Over three concerts in October — "Concierto de Aranjuez" on the Masterworks series Oct. 10-11; Up Close with TSO Concertmaster Jesús Linárez Oct. 17-18; and "Latin Sizzle" on the Classics series Oct. 23 and 25 — Maestro Gómez will shine the spotlight on music from Latin America including from his native Venezuela. The "Latin Sizzle" concert will feature a trio of Venezuelan compatriots, violinist Alexis Cárdenas, cuatro player Jorge Glem and bassist (bajo) Elvis Martínez.
Cellist Sterling Elliott, who recently won an Avery Fisher Career Grant, will perform Elgar's Cello Concerto next April with the TSO.
Young artists: The season features soloist debuts from emerging artists including pianist Christian Sands; Avery Fisher Career Grant winning cellist Sterling Elliott performing Elgar's Cello Concert next April; and violinist and artist in residence Amaryn Olmeda opening the classics series Sept. 25 and 27 with Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto.
Violinist Amaryn Olmeda will open the Classics series next September as the TSO's artist in residence.
Australian-born American Olmeda, who turns 18 at the end of March, comes here with an impressive résumé that includes winning top prize and the audience choice award in the junior division of the prestigious Sphinx Competition in 2021 when she was 12.
Since then, Olmeda, who studies at the New England Conservatory of Music, has soloed with more than a dozen orchestras including Dallas Symphony Orchestra, Calgary Philharmonic, Buffalo Philharmonic and New York Philharmonic.
Grammy-winning rock star violinist Charles Yang makes his TSO debut on the Classics series Dec. 4 and 6 performing Kris Bowers' "For a Younger Self." Bowers composed the work for Yang, a longtime collaborator.
Spotlight on its own: Tucson concertmaster Jesús Linárez is one of several orchestra members to steal the spotlight next season. Linárez, who is in his first season with the orchestra, will join a few of his colleagues for the intimate Up Close recital at Symphony Center before teaming up next April with conductor/violinist Yurly Bekker for Bach's Double Violin Concerto on "Bach & Tchaikovsky" Masterworks concert.
Clarinetist Dario Brignoli will solo on Carl Maria von Weber's Clarinet Concerto No. 1 in the Masterworks series next November while former TSO Principal Horn Nelson Yovera returns to solo on Strauss's Horn Concerto No. 2 in the January Masterworks concert "The Moldau & More."
Soprano Brenda Rae will join the Tucson Symphony Orchestra Chorus for Brahms' Requiem next February.
Collaborations: In addition to teaming up with Tucson Guitar Society, the orchestra will collaborate with its colleagues across the Tucson Convention Center plaza in November for "Beethoven Triple Concerto." The concert, featuring the Danish Trio con Brio from Copenhagen, is presented in partnership with Arizona Friends of Chamber Music, which holds its events at Leo Rich Theater.
The orchestra continues its long-running partnership with the Tucson Desert Song Festival when it presents Brahms' Requiem with the TSO Chorus and soloists, soprano Brenda Rae and baritone Charles Eaton, on Feb. 26 and 28, 2027.
For season tickets, visit tucsonsymphony.org. Single tickets are on sale Aug. 3.
Contact reporter Cathalena E. Burch at cburch@tucson.com. On Bluesky @Starburch
Cathalena E. Burch
Reporter
