Scottsdale
Arizona
Arizona Musicfest 2023
Arts and Entertainment
October 12, 2023
From: Arizona MusicfestSchedule:
November 5, 2023
Arizona MusicFest Young Musicians Fall Concert - 1pm
Don’t miss your chance to hear the stars of tomorrow…today! Featuring some of the best young classical talent in Arizona, this concert will delight you as these superb musicians showcase their astounding musical talent, maturity and artistry.
Venue: Musical Instrument Museum
November 6, 2023
Elvis: The Concert of Kings - 7:30pm
Experience the legendary power and presence of music’s greatest icon, Elvis Presley. Featuring three of the world’s finest Elvis tribute performers, the look, vocals, and charisma of the King are brought to life in this entertaining concert salute. From the electrifying early 1950s, to the sex-symbol era of the 1960s, to the powerful Las Vegas years of the 1970s, you won’t believe your eyes and ears. The show is hosted by Charles Stone, Presley’s friend and former tour director. Elvis has NOT left the building!
This concert will be performed without an intermission.
Venue: Highlands Church
November 11, 2023
Frankie Avalon - 2pm
With a career that has spanned over three generations in music, television, and motion pictures, Frankie Avalon has certainly made the transition from teen idol to true star. Avalon’s career highlights include the #1 hits “Why” and “Venus,” as well as “I’ll Wait for You,” “Ginger Bread,” “Just Ask Your Heart,” and “Dede Dinah.” In addition, he has appeared in over 40 films including his role as ‘Teen Angel’ in the popular movie Grease, when he famously sang “Beauty School Dropout.”
Venue: Highlands Church
November 17, 2023
The Music of Billy Joel & Elton John - 2pm and 7pm
Starring Michael Cavanaugh
Michael Cavanaugh is the new voice of the American Rock & Roll Songbook. A charismatic performer and musician who was handpicked by Billy Joel to star in his Broadway musical hit, Movin’ Out, Cavanaugh evokes a style rivaling the Piano Man himself. In 2005, following his Broadway run, Michael began touring worldwide, creating a show that reinterprets the modern pop/rock songbook of Billy Joel and Elton John. Experience the iconic music of these two pop/rock icons performed by this acclaimed Tony and Grammy Award nominee.
Venue: Highlands Church
November 19, 2023
Cantus - 2pm
Fanfare magazine called Cantus “The premier men’s vocal ensemble in the United States,” while The Philadelphia Inquirer called the group nothing short of “exquisite.” Known for its innovative programming and riveting performances of music ranging from the Renaissance to the 21st century, Cantus has performed at Lincoln Center, Kennedy Center, and Tanglewood. The ensemble has collaborated with the Minnesota Orchestra, Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, and the Boston Pops, and is frequently heard on classical public radio stations nationwide and on SiriusXM Radio.
Venue: Musical Instrument Museum
December 1, 2023
John Pizzarelli & Catherine Russell - 7:30pm
Swinging in the Holidays & More
Grammy Award winning producer, guitarist and singer John Pizzarelli has been hailed by the Boston Globe for “reinvigorating the Great American Songbook and re-popularizing jazz.” Well-known to Musicfest audiences for his exceptional musicianship and witty banter, for this special holiday concert John is joined by his frequent collaborator, acclaimed Grammy-nominated jazz vocalist Catherine Russell. Enjoy special jazz renditions of beloved Christmas tunes, as well as other favorites.
Venue: Highlands Church
December 4, 2023
The Texas Tenors - 7:30pm
Deep in the Heart of Christmas
Emmy Award Winners and Billboard #1 Recording Artists The Texas Tenors sleigh ride into town fresh from America’s Got Talent: The Champions with their heartwarming and touching holiday concert Deep in the Heart of Christmas. Celebrating their 15th anniversary tour, the trio will perform seasonal favorites and Texas Tenors crowd pleasers featuring thrilling harmonies and award-winning arrangements. Grab the whole family and make some new and lasting Christmas memories with 2022 Texas Country Hall of Fame Inductees The Texas Tenors.
Venue: Highlands Church
January 5, 2024
Paul Anka - 7:30pm
Legendary performer Paul Anka returns to Musicfest as part of his Seven Decades Tour. One of the most successful singer/songwriters in music, with over 500 songs to his credit and 100 million albums sold, Paul Anka has the distinction of being the only artist in history to have a song on the Billboard charts during seven consecutive decades. His instantly recognizable hits include “Put Your Head on My Shoulder,” “Diana,” “Puppy Love,” “My Way,” and dozens more. Paul Anka is a force of nature and a consummate showman, commanding every audience and playing to standing ovations around the world!
Venue: Highlands Church
January 6, 2024
Paul Anka - 2pm
Legendary performer Paul Anka returns to Musicfest as part of his Seven Decades Tour. One of the most successful singer/songwriters in music, with over 500 songs to his credit and 100 million albums sold, Paul Anka has the distinction of being the only artist in history to have a song on the Billboard charts during seven consecutive decades. His instantly recognizable hits include “Put Your Head on My Shoulder,” “Diana,” “Puppy Love,” “My Way,” and dozens more. Paul Anka is a force of nature and a consummate showman, commanding every audience and playing to standing ovations around the world!
Venue: Highlands Church
January 12, 2024
The Barricade Boys - 7:30pm
Leading Men of London's West End
Combine the greatest pop, rock, swing, Motown, and musical theater hits of all time, and you have The Barricade Boys. These four superstar performers will share hilarious and inspiring stories from their time performing on the stages of London’s West End and around the world, in hit shows including Les Miserables, Wicked, The Phantom of the Opera, The Sound of Music, and more. Get ready for a jaw-dropping night of vocals, sensational dance routines, and more fun than you can shake a stick at.
Venue: Highlands Church
January 19, 2024
Neil Berg’s 50 Years of Rock & Roll Part 4 - 7:30pm
Back by popular demand with an all-new show! The concert that makes you feel 18 again returns to Musicfest with a brand-new concert featuring songs from Rock & Roll legends. Combining stars from Broadway’s greatest rock musicals and hosted by the talented and always-engaging Neil Berg, Part 4 promises more incredible, high-energy performances from artists who are passionate about the greatest rock songs of the last 50 years!
Venue: Highlands Church
January 20, 2024
Neil Berg’s 50 Years of Rock & Roll Part 4 - 2pm
Back by popular demand with an all-new show! The concert that makes you feel 18 again returns to Musicfest with a brand-new concert featuring songs from Rock & Roll legends. Combining stars from Broadway’s greatest rock musicals and hosted by the talented and always-engaging Neil Berg, Part 4 promises more incredible, high-energy performances from artists who are passionate about the greatest rock songs of the last 50 years!
Venue: Highlands Church
January 29, 2024
Jazz at Lincoln Center: Sing & Swing - 7:30pm
For over three decades, Jazz at Lincoln Center, under the direction of Wynton Marsalis, has been a leading global advocate for jazz, culture and arts education. Sing & Swing celebrates the Great American Songbook, brought to life by two of this generation’s brightest stars, Bria Skonberg and Benny Benack III. Both possessing prodigious trumpet talent and vocal charm, they will relive and reimagine some of the classic partners in jazz and popular song, including Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong, Judy Garland and Bing Crosby, and Dean Martin and Peggy Lee.
Venue: Highlands Church
February 2, 2024
The Doo Wop Project - 7:30pm
Starring five engaging, charismatic, and dashing Broadway stars from smash hits including Jersey Boys, A Bronx Tale, Beautiful, and Motown: The Musical, this exciting performance features fresh renditions of classic Doo Wop hits as well as “doo-wopified” versions of contemporary hits including Adele’s “Rolling in the Deep” and Garth Brooks’ “Friends in Low Places.” This is the Doo Wop Project, performing the greatest music in American pop and rock history…from the classic sound of five guys singing harmonies on a street corner to the biggest hits on the radio today.
Venue: Highlands Church
February 3, 2024
The Doo Wop Project - 2pm
Starring five engaging, charismatic, and dashing Broadway stars from smash hits including Jersey Boys, A Bronx Tale, Beautiful, and Motown: The Musical, this exciting performance features fresh renditions of classic Doo Wop hits as well as “doo-wopified” versions of contemporary hits including Adele’s “Rolling in the Deep” and Garth Brooks’ “Friends in Low Places.” This is the Doo Wop Project, performing the greatest music in American pop and rock history…from the classic sound of five guys singing harmonies on a street corner to the biggest hits on the radio today.
Venue: Highlands Church
February 5, 2024
Classical Mystery Tour - 7:30pm
60th Anniversary: The Beatles Coming to America!
On February 7, 1964, The Beatles arrived in the US to play their first-ever concerts in America. Now, 60 years later—almost to the day—Classical Mystery Tour recreates the Fab Four’s historic concert program. The evening begins with the original concert program performed as it was heard six decades ago. For the evening’s second half, the band is joined by the Musicfest Pops Ensemble to perform classic Beatles favorites. From early tunes through the solo years, Classical Mystery Tour is the best of The Beatles like you’ve never heard them: live and with an orchestra.
Venue: Highlands Church
February 12, 2024
A New World A-Comin’ - 7:30pm
Featuring Brian Stokes Mitchell and Lara Downes
Broadway legend and two-time Tony Award winner Brian Stokes Mitchell and trailblazing pianist Lara Downes (“2022 Classical Woman of the Year” NPR’s Performance Today) join together for a revelatory evening of music and conversation reflecting on the transformative expansion of music from the first half of the 20th century. Celebrate the musical legacies of George Gershwin, Duke Ellington, and other pivotal composers who shaped the sound and spirit of American music as we know it today. Accompanied by the Musicfest Pops Ensemble, the artists will perform beloved classics including “Sophisticated Lady,” “Lush Life,” and “Rhapsody in Blue,” as well as rare musical gems.
Venue: Highlands Church
February 17, 2024
Kristin Chenoweth - 7:30pm
One of the biggest stars in entertainment today, Kristin Chenoweth makes her Musicfest debut in a one-night only performance. With a career that spans film, television and stage, in 2015, Chenoweth received a star on The Hollywood Walk of Fame. In 1999, she won a Tony Award for You’re A Good Man, Charlie Brown and was also nominated for her role as Glinda in Wicked in 2004. Chenoweth was nominated for two Emmy Awards and for a People’s Choice Award for her role on Glee. In 2009, she received an Emmy for “Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series” for Pushing Daisies.
Venue: Highlands Church
February 19, 2024
Moon River and Me - 7:30pm
Centennial Celebration of Henry Mancini, Starring Monica Mancini
2024 marks the centennial year of Henry Mancini, famed composer of “Moon River,” as well as iconic themes for The Pink Panther, Peter Gunn, and other classic music for the screen. This special concert features the legendary composer’s daughter, double-Grammy nominee Monica Mancini, accompanied by the Musicfest Pops Ensemble. Moon River and Me celebrates the extraordinary artist who was nominated for an astounding 18 Academy Awards (winner of four), as well as 72 Grammys (winning a record setting 20), in a memorable evening of the composer’s beloved music.
Venue: Highlands Church
February 27, 2024
MozART Group - 7:30pm
A string quartet that makes you laugh? It’s no joke! Known throughout the world for their brilliant blending of classical music and comedy, the MozART Group is an ingenious fountain of noble craziness. Comprised of exceptional classical musicians, their uproarious vignettes will fill the hall with laughter and great music. The Group’s 2020 Musicfest debut was a surprise hit of the season. Don’t miss their highly-anticipated encore performance!
Venue: La Casa de Cristo Lutheran Church
March 3, 2024
Rhapsody in Blue - 2pm
Festival Orchestra with Marcus Roberts Trio
Festival Orchestra Week kicks off with a centennial celebration of one of today’s most recognized classical compositions, Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue. Joining the Orchestra to perform this iconic Jazz Age masterpiece is the acclaimed Marcus Roberts Trio, offering an innovative and entertaining approach to the beloved work. Maestro Robert Moody and the Orchestra complement the jazz-inspired Rhapsody with My Homeland by Dvo?ák and the ebullient Le Tombeau de Couperin of Ravel.
Venue: La Casa de Cristo Lutheran Church
March 5, 2024
Superman, Schumann & Strauss - 7:30pm
Festival Orchestra
The musicians of the Festival Orchestra take the spotlight in this special performance highlighting the excellence of the ensemble. The featured masterwork of the concert showcases the orchestral grandeur of Strauss’ Also Sprach Zarathustra, a bold tone poem famously known in popular culture as the opening of 2001: A Space Odyssey. The monumental work was also the inspiration for John Williams’ Superman March, a piece which will open the evening. The remaining work of the concert features Festival Orchestra cellist Joel Noyes (Asst. Principal, Metropolitan Opera Orchestra) in Schumann’s masterful Cello Concerto, a work often regarded as the first great concerto of the cello repertoire.
Venue: La Casa de Cristo Lutheran Church
March 8, 2024
Festival Orchestra POPS Celebrates Modern Broadway and Hollywood - 7:30pm
From The Greatest Showman and Moulin Rouge to Aladdin and Rent, this concert features music from the stage and screen that uplifts, inspires, and tells the stories of our time. Broadway’s Telly Leung and Loren Allred (The Greatest Showman, Britain’s Got Talent) join the Festival Orchestra for a special night of both familiar and new music that will thoroughly entertain and enthrall you.
Venue: La Casa de Cristo Lutheran Church
March 10, 2024
Renée Fleming with the Festival Orchestra - 2pm
One of the most beloved and celebrated singers of our time, soprano Renée Fleming captivates audiences with her sumptuous voice, consummate artistry, and compelling stage presence. With a repertoire spanning opera and the classical tradition to jazz and Broadway, Fleming has graced the stages of the greatest opera houses, theaters, and concert halls of the world. A five-time Grammy Award winner, the “People’s Diva” has also performed the national anthem at the 2014 Super Bowl and received the National Medal of Arts from President Obama. Musicfest is honored to present this legendary singer in concert with the Festival Orchestra.
Venue: La Casa de Cristo Lutheran Church
March 12, 2024
Gunhild Carling Back by Popular Demand - 7:30pm
A brand-new show from last year’s surprise hit artist! Swedish musical sensation Gunhild Carling is an internationally-acclaimed superstar and internet phenomenon. Whether she’s singing favorite jazz standards, playing one of her many instruments (trumpet, trombone, harmonica, oboe, harp, flute, recorder, or jazz bagpipe!), or juggling and tap dancing, Gunhild’s sublime showmanship shines. Part musical extravaganza/part Vaudevillian spectacle, Carling’s performance, accompanied by the Musicfest Pops Ensemble, is guaranteed to be one of the most feel-good, toe-tapping, exhilarating shows of the season!
Venue: La Casa de Cristo Lutheran Church
March 16, 2024
Rita Moreno The Legendary Artist in Conversation - 7:30pm
Rita Moreno is a true Hollywood and Broadway legend, having been honored and recognized for her acclaimed performances on both stage and screen. She has won all four of the most prestigious awards in show business: an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar, and a Tony, and is the recipient of the Peabody Career Achievement Award, the Kennedy Center Honor for her lifetime contributions to American culture, the Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, and the National Medal of Arts. She is also the author of the New York Times bestselling book, Rita Moreno: A Memoir. Arizona Musicfest is honored to present Ms. Moreno in conversation with Cheryl Boone Isaacs, the Founding Director of the Sidney Poitier New American Film School at Arizona State University, and the former president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
This concert will be performed without an intermission.
Venue:Highlands Church
March 22, 2024
Judy Collins - 7:30pm
With an impressive career spanning over sixty years, legendary singer/songwriter Judy Collins has thrilled audiences worldwide with her unique blend of interpretative folk songs and contemporary themes. From “Both Sides Now” and “Send in the Clowns” to “Mr. Tambourine Man” and “Amazing Grace,” Collins has inspired audiences with sublime vocals, boldly vulnerable songwriting, personal life triumphs, and a commitment to social activism. Today, her luminescent presence shines brightly as new generations bask in the glow of her iconic 55-album body of work and her inspiring legacy as one of our country’s cultural treasures.
This concert will be performed without an intermission.
Venue:Highlands Church
March 25, 2024
Ladysmith Black Mambazo - 7:30pm
For 60 years, South Africa’s five-time Grammy Award winners Ladysmith Black Mambazo have warmed the hearts of audiences worldwide with uplifting vocal harmonies, signature dance moves, and charming onstage banter. It was Paul Simon’s 1987 Graceland album that introduced Ladysmith Black Mambazo to the world. The late former South African President Nelson Mandela designated the group “South Africa’s cultural ambassadors to the world,” a title the members carry with them with the highest honor. Black Mambazo has performed for millions of people, singing a message of peace, love, and harmony.
This concert will be performed without an intermission.
Venue: Pinnacle Presbyterian Church
April 1, 2024
Trailblazing Women of Country From Patsy to Loretta to Dolly - 7:30pm
Patsy Cline, Loretta Lynn, and Dolly Parton revolutionized country music and blazed a trail for future generations of female artists. With their chart-topping hits and record-breaking sales, these legendary artists wove threads of contemporary womanhood, musical excellence, earthy glamour, and unapologetic authenticity throughout the tapestry of country music. The result was unprecedented commercial success and a place, for each, in the Country Music Hall of Fame. Trailblazing Women of Country features Miko Marks, CMT’s 2022 “Next Woman of Country”, and Nashville singer Kristina Train, supported by a 5-member all-female band.
Venue: Highlands Church
April 5, 2024
World Doctors Orchestra - 7:30pm
Proceeds benefit the St. Vincent de Paul Virginia G. Piper Medical Clinic
As a special season add-on, Musicfest is pleased to host the World Doctors Orchestra. Featuring 85 physician-musicians from around the globe, the WDO, directed by the German maestro/cardiologist Stefan Willich, has performed concerts around the world since 2008 to advance global health, compassion, and healing through music and charity. The all-American concert program, which features works by Copland and Gershwin, is a special benefit performance, with proceeds helping to support the St. Vincent de Paul Virginia G. Piper Medical Clinic.
Venue: La Casa de Cristo Lutheran Church
April 15, 2024
Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain - 7:30pm
The Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain is an all-singing, all-strumming ukulele ensemble, which believes that all genres of music are available for reinterpretation, as long as they are played on the ukulele! Funny, virtuosic, twanging, and awesome, the Orchestra offers an astonishing revelation of the rich palette of orchestration afforded by ukuleles and singing (and a bit of whistling). From Tchaikovsky to Nirvana to Spaghetti Western soundtracks, the Orchestra takes us on “a world tour with only hand luggage” and gives the listener “One Plucking Thing After Another.”
Venue: La Casa de Cristo Lutheran Church
April 26, 2024
Hotel California - 2pm and 7:30pm
A Salute to the Eagles
By respectfully and accurately reproducing the sounds of one of our generation’s greatest bands, Hotel California: A Salute to the Eagles has touched the hearts of fans all over the world. The most successful and longest running show of its kind, Hotel California is the only show to have ever received “Official Authorization” to perform the Eagles catalog of music. Join us on a trip down a dark desert highway… Feel the cool wind in your hair … It’s time to check into … The Hotel California.
This concert will be performed without an intermission.
Venue: Highlands Church
Date: November 5, 2023 - April 26, 2024
Location: Various Venues in Scottsdale and Phoenix
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