Sedona News – The Sedona Symphony (formerly Verde Valley Sinfonietta) presents its first concert of the 2024-2025 season under the innovative direction of Artistic Director, Janna Hymes. The concert features two-time Grammy-nominated guest artist, guitarist Mak Grgic, performing Rodrigo’s stunning Concierto de Aranjuez on Sunday, October 20 at 2:30 PM in the Sedona Performing Arts Center, 995 Upper Red Rock Loop Rd. in Sedona. The Sedona Symphony will also showcase Rossini’s L’Italiana in Algeri Overture and Mendelssohn’s Symphony No. 4, Op. 90, A major, to round out the program.
Guitarist Mak Grgic has graced stages worldwide, including the Musikverein in Vienna, the Konzerthuset in Stockholm, the Shanghai Grand Theater, the Kennedy Center, Walt Disney Hall, and the National Gallery of Art, performing over 85 concerts each year. Originally from Ljubljana, Slovenia, Mak’s repertoire spans from the music of his native Balkans to avant-garde and microtonal music. Mak’s roles as soloist, collaborator, and recording artist are fueled by curiosity, imagination, and boundless energy. He has commissioned numerous new works for solo guitar and ensemble, collaborating with composers like Michael Gordon and Julia Adolphe. In Fall 2022, he premiered a newly commissioned guitar concerto by Michael Abels, known for the Oscar-winning film Get Out. He holds a full-time teaching position at the University of South Carolina and is the founder and CEO of Notey, a mobile music education startup.
The program opens with Rossini’s L’Italiana in Algeri Overture. It has been said that Rossini wrote L’Italiana in Algeri in 27 days when he was 21, although Rossini himself claims to have written the opera in just 18 days. Rossini mixed opera seria, the noble and serious style of Italian opera, with opera buffa, the comic style of Italian opera that resembles commedia dell’arte. The opera was first performed at the Teatro San Benedetto in Venice on May 22, 1813, and was a notable success.
Written in 1939, Concierto de Aranjuez is Rodrigo’s most well-known work. It was inspired by the gardens at the Royal Palace of Aranjuez, the spring resort palace and gardens in Spain. The work transports the listener to another place and time through the evocation of the sounds of nature. He described the concerto as capturing “the fragrance of magnolias, the singing of birds, and the gushing of fountains” in the gardens of Aranjuez.
Mendelssohn’s Symphony No. 4, Op. 90, A major, was inspired by the colors and atmosphere of Italy. In a letter to his sister Fanny while on a tour of Europe (1829-1831), he wrote: “It will be the jolliest piece that I have ever done…” Mendelssohn, a talented amateur artist, created a series of watercolors, sketches, and began the Symphony while in Italy. He completed the symphony in Berlin on March 13, 1833, in response to an invitation from the London Philharmonic Society, and conducted the first performance on the same day.
The 2024-2025 Season is sponsored by Sedona residents Neil and Mary Pope. The October 20 concert is sponsored by Sedona residents Dee Dee and Darol Jurn. Season Tickets and individual tickets are now available for purchase. Individual ticket prices are $20 – $70 (half price for children) and are available on the Sedona Symphony website ssymph.org and at the door on the day of the concert.
About Sedona Symphony
Now in its 20th season, the Sedona Symphony remains committed to their mission of “enriching the quality of life of our Northern Arizona community through the power of live orchestral music that educates, entertains, and inspires.” Led by the versatility, passion, and innovation of Artistic Director Janna Hymes, the Sedona Symphony offers a diverse range of concerts throughout the season, featuring both well-known classical masterpieces and pops performances.