The Gila Valley Arts Council has announced the performance schedule for its 2022-2023 season.
African female a cappella group Nobunto will launch the Gila Valley Arts Council season in November.
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Things will kick off Nov. 16, when Nobuntu will be performing at the David M. Player Center for the Arts in Safford. Nobuntu is a five-member a cappella vocal ensemble made up of young women from Bulawayo, Zimbabwe. Their repertoire is a fusion of traditional Zimbabwean rooted music, Afro jazz, gospel and crossover in pure voices with minimalistic percussion, traditional instruments such as Mbira and some dance movements.
Duo Deloro will bring their flamenco and Slavic-influenced guitar stylings to the David M. Player Center for the Arts on Jan. 11.
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Next up will be Duo Deloro on Jan. 11. Duo Deloro consists of classical guitarists Adam del Monte and Mak Grgic. They will perform a mix of flamenco and Slavic-influenced pieces.
The Fitzgeralds will make their high-energy return to the Gila Valley on Feb. 22.
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On Feb. 22, the Fitzgeralds will take the David M. Player stage. This Canadian ensemble’s performances include Celtic fiddle pieces, high-energy step dancing, and a focus on original compositions and arrangements, according to GVAC.
String trio the Black Oak Ensemble will wrap up the GVAC concert season on March 22.
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The season will wrap on March 22 with the Black Oak Ensemble. The string trio started in 2011 when they performed for a standing-room-only audience on Chicago’s prestigious Music in the Loft Series. Since then, they have performed for the Stradivari Society and appeared at the Chicago Cultural Center, Art Institute of Chicago, Mayne Stage, WFMT Radio, Windy City Live and the Latino Music Festival.
“A string trio is somewhat unique compared to the classical string quartet,” GVAC President Tom Green observed. “What I find so enjoyable, is that in the trio form, the viola gets to sing with equal voice and balance.”
Founded in 1985, GVAC brings artists to the Valley who visit local schools and present special daytime shows just for kids as well as conduct educational workshops in as many music rooms as possible.
“GVAC is all about educating children,” Green said. “The evening performances for the general public are great and the money we receive really helps to defray the cost of keeping the artists around for an extra day or two to work with school kids.”
The 2021-2022 season was GVAC’s first after COVID. Green said the total outreach for the season affected 4,503 students in Graham and Greenlee counties, as well as 419 other community members. That compares to 2,958 students and 529 community members in 2019-2020.
“Last season was certainly welcome after the previous season was postponed,” Green said. “We saw people attending the evening concerts in larger numbers and with quite a few new faces in the audience. The schools also gave us renewed support for every event. The children coming to the morning bus-ins walked in with beaming faces and excitement. We could tell that children were so happy to be able to get back into doing normal things, being with their friends and attending events inside the wonderful David M. Player Center for the Arts.”
Reserved seating for the four concerts is currently being offered to GVAC members. Ticket sales will be opened to the general public on Oct. 10.
Single event tickets will be available online at www.saffordusd.com/domain/33 or at Richards Music in downtown Safford. Tickets for premium reserved seating and general reserved seating will be $15 and $10, respectively. Student ticket prices are $5 for all seats.
All shows are scheduled to start at 7 p.m. at the David M. Player Center for the Arts, 980 S. 14th Ave., Safford.
