Thursday 18
STRINGING UP ANOTHER GREAT SEASON. One of America's foremost harpists will join the Tucson Symphony Orchestra for this season's second concert.
Yolanda Kondonassis, who made her debut at age 18 with the New York Philharmonic, plays the Argentinean composer Alberto Ginastera's melodious Harp Concerto in a performance that also features the "New World" Symphony by Antonin Dvorák.
Conductor George Hanson will lead the TSO through Dvorák's enormously popular Symphony No. 9, best known by its "New World" nickname. It was written in the United States while the Czech-born composer served as director of the National Conservatory of Music from 1892 to '94.
Kondonassis has won universal critical acclaim for her recordings, which include much of the standard repertoire as well as her own transcriptions and compositions for harp. She recently completed recording the first-ever harp transcription of Vivaldi's The Four Seasons with the Orchestra of Flanders.
Performances tonight and Friday begin at 8 p.m. at the Tucson Convention Center Music Hall. Pre-concert talks, free to ticket holders, start at 7 both nights. Tickets cost $11 to $35 and are available by calling the TSO box office at 882-8585 or Ticketmaster at 321-1000.
WALK THE WALK. Find out about the art of glassblowing this evening as you learn more about the Tucson art scene.
The Thursday Artwalk continues tonight with a visit to Philabaum Glass Studio, where you'll enjoy a glassblowing demonstration and talk by Tom Philabaum.
Meet at the studio, 711 S. Sixth Ave., between 4:30 and 5 p.m. today. The $3 tour starts at 5 p.m. For more information and to make reservations, call 624-9977.
THREE-STAR LADY. In the late 1960s it would have been almost unimaginable that a woman in the U.S. Army would ever rise to the rank of general.
Her name is Claudia Kennedy and, before she retired in 2000, she had accumulated three stars, which come with the lofty rank of lieutenant general.
She has written a book about her experiences, of course. Generally Speaking chronicles her rise to the top, set against a backdrop that included Vietnam, the Cold War and the women's movement.
If you would like to learn more about this remarkable soldier-turned-author, catch her tonight in a talk that starts at 6 at Borders Books and Music, 4235 N. Oracle Road.
Friday 19
BEAN FLING. Since the 1970s, a small but dedicated band of rogue climbers has fomented this annual gathering in the Dragoon Mountains east of Tucson. Known as the "Bean Fest," which apparently involves an eponymous celebration of the musical fruit, this all-day/all-night fiesta offers an adrenal rush of intensive rock climbing, music making, burrito construction and other pagan proclivities.
"If we'd known it would still be going strong after more than 20 years, we would've given it a better name," one insider confessed. Clever or not, the loosely organized, unsponsored gathering has swelled to notoriety among climbers from across the nation, bringing some 100 responsible enthusiasts together to celebrate their love of anti-gravity.
All climbers are welcome, with or without a partner, from sun-up to sundown and beyond in the Dragoons' east stronghold. Bring your gear, grub, cup and spoon, and full responsibility for your safety and well-being. Take I-10 east to Exit 318, and continue east through Dragoon. About 7.5 miles (east) from the post office, turn right on Cochise Stronghold Road, which heads straight to the camp. For more information, e-mail dianarempe@hotmail.com. Rock on!
PUSHING THE JAZZ ENVELOPE. A Tucson appearance by the Odean Pope Trio and David Murray is part of an ongoing series of shows devoted to showcasing the best of improvising jazz artists.
Complementing the music will be the unique sculptural creations and lighting of performance artist Mat Bevel as new music presenter Zeitgeist inaugurates its fifth Jazz at the Institute series.
Tenor saxophonist Odean Pope's musical identity has been fused with that of bebop legend Max Roach for so long that his individual accomplishments are far less known than they ought to be. He first joined Roach's quartet in 1967 and has been a member, off and on, ever since. But Pope has his own original sound on tenor and has led his trio and saxophone choir in stimulating performances of his own compositions for the last 20 years.
The prolific tenor saxophonist and bass clarinetist David Murray, though just 46, has been on the national scene since 1975, when he moved to New York and made an immediate splash in the vibrant loft scene of the time. Murray is perhaps the most recorded jazz musician in the last 20 years; even his official discographies are admittedly provisional as obscure recordings on a multitude of European labels continue to turn up.
Completing the quartet are bassist Tyrone Brown, a longtime Pope associate and fellow Max Roach Quartet member, and the talented young drummer Craig McIver.
The Odean Pope Trio with David Murray performs tonight at 8 at the Mat Bevel Institute, 530 N. Stone Ave. Tickets cost $16 at the door and $14 in advance at CD Depot, 1712 E. Speedway Blvd., and Antigone Books, 411 N. Fourth Ave. For more information, call 621-7355.
BUY INTO A GOOD CAUSE. More than 100 of the area's finest artists are pitching in for a great cause, and you can, too.
Just show up and buy something at the 11th annual Fine Art and Craft Fair. It benefits the Big Brothers/ Big Sisters of Tucson.
Some 15 percent of sales will go to the organization during the event, which also includes food, art demonstrations, a raffle and free gift wrapping.
The fair is from 10 a.m. to dusk today through Sunday at La Placita Village at Broadway Boulevard and Church Avenue. For more information, call 624-2447.
Saturday 20
GOING ONCE, GOING TWICE ... Deian McBryde has been described as "perky, kooky, bubbly and dandy."
McBryde, guest artist at Joy, a cabaret concert and silent auction benefit, has performed standards and comedy in nightclubs and cabarets across the United States, Europe and Australia.
In 1998, he was named one of "America's Men We Love" by Girlfriends Magazine, and held a top spot on the Outvoice Music Charts for both his debut CD, Mollyboy, and his cover of "My Heart Belongs to Daddy". Outmusic awarded him the first-ever OMA Award as 2001 Outmusician of the Year.
Desert Voices, Arizona's premiere lesbian and gay chorus, presents the fourth annual event to kick off the chorus' 13th-anniversary season.
The silent auction will feature more than 100 items, including autographed CDs from kd lang, Elton John and Holly Near; vacation getaways to Inn of the Turquoise Bear in Santa Fe and Chapman Guest House in Las Vegas; artwork, items for the home, restaurant gift certificates and more. An autographed photo and script from the cast of NBC's Will & Grace will be auctioned at the event.
You'll have the opportunity to meet and mingle, shop 'til you drop, and be joyfully entertained in an evening featuring food donated by local restaurants and chefs, and an open bar.
The auction and concert will take place at Muse (formerly th eInternational Arts Center) at 516 North Fifth Ave., across the street from Wingspan. Tickets cost $15 in advance and $20 at the door, if available. Tickets can be purchased at Antigone Books, Tucson Trunk, Rainbow Planet Coffeehouse, Hear's Music and Zip's University, or by calling the chorus hotline at 791-9662.
MAKE YOUR FEET HAPPY. Get out of the house and onto the dance floor.
The Tucson Friends of Traditional Music present contra and square dancing with local callers and the driving energy of live string band music. Contra dancing is energetic social dancing in a non-drinking, non-smoking atmosphere. Bring a friend or come alone. Everyone gets to dance.
The dance takes place from 8 to 11 tonight at First United Methodist Church, 915 E. Fourth St., between Park and Tyndall, just west of the university. Admission costs $7 general, $6 for TFTM members. First-time dancers receive a free ticket to the next dance. For more information, call 293-3783.
Sunday 21
PLAYING A TRIP. Pianist Pedja Muzijevic invites you on a musical tour of the Iberian peninsula.
The latest in the Piano and Friends Sunday matinee series features a program filled with the works of Italian transplant Domenico Scarlatti and natives Antonio Soler and Enrique Granados.
In the first half of the program, you'll enjoy sonatas by Scarlatti and Soler, written in the latter part of the 18th century, which expand technical and interpretive boundaries. The second half presents a rare opportunity to hear one of the pinnacles of romantic piano music, virtuosity and a narrative gift worthy of Schumann.
The concert begins at 3 p.m. at the TCC Leo Rich Theatre, 260 S. Church Ave. Tickets cost $15 general, $5 students. For more information and tickets, call 577-3769 or visit www.arizonachambermusic.org.
STEMMING THE RAIN DRAIN. Ever look out in the middle of a monsoon downpour and wish you could keep some of that precious water?
You can, as you'll discover today during a tour of four homes whose owners have implemented innovative ways of harvesting and using the seasonal rainfall. Each site offers other alternative features of interest as well.
The tour meets at Time Market, 444 E. University Blvd, at 1:45 p.m. Cost is $10 to $40 on a sliding scale, and Tucson Tokens are accepted. An optional post-tour discussion and meal takes place at the Casbah Tea House. For more information, call 206-8000 or e-mail womenbuilders@theriver.com.
LAST SHOT AT SHAW. George Bernard Shaw's first comedy, and a controversial one at that, Arms and the Man, closes after a matinee performance today.
The play, created more than 100 years ago, is a satire infused with Shaw's wit and smarts. Arms takes place during the Serbo-Bulgarian War of 1885 and centers on Raina, played by Valerie R. Feingold; her betrothed, Sergius, played by Cliff Madison; other household members including such talent as Cynthia Jeffery, Bruce Bieszki, Jeffery Scotland and Holli Trenhaus; and the "Chocolate Cream Solider," Bluntschli, played by Jeremy Thompson.
An unexpected bedchamber meeting between Raina and Bluntschli begins the action of the play, and romance and comedy follow.
The last show is a 3 p.m. matinee today at 5317 E. Speedway Blvd. For more information, call 327-4242.
Monday 22
GREAT WEATHER FOR THE PARK. The weather doesn't get much better than this in Tucson, or anywhere else, for that matter.
Shorter daylight hours and cooler temperatures make Tohono Chul Park a great destination. Educational programs, art and cultural exhibits, nature trails, gardens and special events offer you the opportunity to experience the desert and all its treasures.
But be aware that hours have changed. Check out the greenhouse from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Mondays through Sundays. Walk in the Park tours are at 9 a.m. Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, and 1 p.m. Sundays. Birds of Tohono Chul Park presentations are at 8 a.m. Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays. Art in the Park is 11 a.m. Tuesdays and Thursday and at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. Sundays. Xeriscape Tours are at 10 a.m. the third Saturday of each month.
For more information, call 742-6455 or visit www.tohonochulpark.org. The park is located at 7366 N. Paseo del Norte, one stoplight west of the intersection of Ina and Oracle roads.
Tuesday 23
ONLY THE GOOD DON'T DIE YOUNG. Outside, it is raining, a steely, endless rain.
Racism is alive and well and chemically enhanced. It is a world where only the beautiful survive, but never past the age of 60.
Gene, the scientist who genetically engineered the population, is the patriarch of Y. York's cast of survivors, which includes his wife Esther and their two daughters. The daughters dare to call their "female and male elders" dad and mom, and all have surreptitiously given up government-issued, emotion-repressing "stoppers."
Arizona Repertory Theatre 's Rain. Some Fish. No Elephants offers a compelling and gripping drama that depicts a terminally ill utopia.
Performances at the Laboratory Theatre, at Park and Speedway in the UA fine arts complex, begin at 7:30 p.m. October 23-27 and November 1-3. Matinees are scheduled for 1:30 p.m. on October 27 and 28 and November 4. Tickets cost $19 regular admission, $17 seniors and UA employees and $12 students. For tickets, call 621-1162.
Wednesday 24
VERY PUBLISHED POET. W.S. Di Piero is a busy guy. The author of seven books of poems, he's also a teacher and art critic.
Di Piero's most recent work, Skirts and Slacks, was published this year. He has also published three highly regarded volumes of essays and art criticism, Shooting the Works, Out of Eden and Memory and Enthusiasm, and he has translated works of Euripides, Giacomo Leopardi, Sandro Penna and Leonardo Sinisgalli.
His awards include a Guggenheim Fellowship, National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship and a Lila Wallace-Reader's Digest Award. He lives in San Francisco and teaches at Stanford University.
Tonight's free reading begins at 8 in the UA Modern Languages Auditorium, on the north side of the mall west of Cherry Avenue. Di Piero also will give a lecture on poetry at 10:30 a.m. on October 25 in Room 205 of the "Swede" Johnson Building, 1111 N. Cherry Ave. For more information, call 626-3765, e-mail poetry@u.arizona.edu or visit www.coh.arizona.edu/poetry.
