The Civic Orchestra of Tucson will celebrate women in music with two upcoming concerts this month, just in time for Women’s History Month. 

On March 15 and 16, the community orchestra will play music about, composed by and performed by women. 

On March 15, the orchestra will present a sensory friendly, abridged show at Canyon del Oro High School, followed by a full length performance at Crowder Hall on the University of Arizona Campus on March 16. Both are free to the public. 

Michele Holzman, general manager of the Civic Orchestra of Tucson, said the program will feature a variety of women-oriented musical compositions, including the fourth movement of Gaelic Symphony, composed by Amy Beach, a female contemporary of Tchaikovsky. 

“Amy Beach was the first American woman to get a symphony published and performed,” Holzman said. 

The orchestra will also play music from Tchaikovsky’s “The Sleeping Beauty,” accompanied by dancers from the UA’s dance program. They will perform choreography by Holzman, providing a visual element to the show. 

“We have a piece composed by a woman, we have music about women, which is ‘Sleeping Beauty’ performed by four female dancers and then our female soloist,” she said, referring to Soo Yoen Kim, a highly regarded piano soloist who will join the orchestra for Chopin’s Piano Concerto No. 1.  

“We’re trying to see women and all the different aspects of music,” Holzman said.

Viola player Peggy Anderson said celebrating women in music is important because symphonies used to be male-dominated. That has changed dramatically over time, she said. COT is made up of about 60% female musicians. 

Anderson added that collaborating with UA dancers also helps spread the love of music. 

“It’s really wonderful whenever we collaborate with anyone – one of the orchestra’s missions is outreach and trying to partner with local organizations to just bring music to the community,” Anderson said. “And it feels good to have women be recognized for their part.”

Holzman said the orchestra recognizes the value of playing music that is diverse and represents a broader community. 

As general manager, she finds creative ways to “introduce our audience to someone besides the European white men,” she said. “The conductor of the Tucson Symphony, Jose Luis Gomez, really tries to diversify and bring different types of music to Tucson and especially music by Hispanic composers – I’ve been pushing to try and find different things besides the old standards.”

The Civic Orchestra of Tucson has performed free concerts in Tucson and Southern Arizona since 1975, allowing them to better serve the community, Holzman said.

“The majority of our concerts are free because we’re trying to bring a cultural experience to people that maybe can’t afford to go down and pay $75 for a ticket at this symphony,” Holzman said.

All of the musicians in the orchestra are volunteers. As one of them, Anderson said part of her reason for playing with the orchestra is to bring the community together to enjoy the music.

“We’re trying to get outreach to the community and get younger generations to appreciate this kind of music,” Anderson said. “I just love it when I’m on the stage and I look out and the audience is full.”

COT’s Celebrating Women concert starts at 3 p.m. on Saturday, March 15 at Canyon Del Oro High School and 3:30 p.m. on Sunday, March 16 at Crowder Hall. 

For more information, visit the Civic Orchestra of Tucson’s  website. 

Arizona Sonoran News is a news service of the University of Arizona School of Journalism.