Academy of St. Martin in the Fields, Sarah Chang anchor season commencing Oct. 7

Youthful prodigies and historic ensembles. Talented soloists from far and wide and virtuosos close to home. It all comes together in a stirring and varied season of music you will not want to miss when the Yavapai Symphony Association (YSA)  initiates its fifty-sixth season on Friday, Oct. 7 at Yavapai College Performing Arts Center (YCPAC), 1100 E. Sheldon Street, in Prescott.

The YSA launches its season with a recital from Tchaikovsky Competition Gold Medalist Alexander Malofeev, at 7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 7.  This remarkable, 21-year-old Moscow Conservatory student won the Tchaikovsky prize at 15 and won the Grand Prix at the International Competition for Young Pianists in Moscow in 2016. Malofeev will perform a program of Beethoven and Rachmaninov. Tickets are priced at $36 to $54.

The YSA opens 2023 with the Grammy Award-winning Orpheus Chamber Orchestra at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 18. Global sensations since their founding in 1972, the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra tours far and wide from their Carnegie Hall home. Their Prescott appearance will feature renowned French violinist Renaud Capuçon, and music from Prokofiev and Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition. Tickets are $45 – $65.

At 3 p.m. Sunday, February 12, marks the return of patron favorites The ASU Symphony Orchestra. Director Jeffrey Meyer leads this group of gifted, up-and-coming musicians through an afternoon featuring favorite works from the orchestral canon. Tickets are $36 – $54.

March brings a highly anticipated appearance from one of the most recorded chamber orchestras in the world. The Academy of St. Martin in the Fields, the London chamber orchestra founded by John Churchill and Neville Marriner, is best known for its soundtrack to the Oscar-winning film Amadeus – one of the most popular classical recordings of all time. They will perform Bach and Dorman, with Israeli mandolinist Avi Avital, at 7 p.m Tuesday, March 7. Tickets are $45 – $65.

Philadelphia-born violinist Sarah Chang was a Juilliard student by the age of five. At ten, she recorded her first album, Debut, which became a classical best-seller. The YSA brings Sarah Chang to Prescott, where she will join pianist Julio Elizalde in performing a Brahms, Franck and Bartok program at 3 p.m. Sunday, March 26  Tickets are $35 – $54.

Les Violons du Roy, a French-Canadian chamber orchestra, has a long and storied history. Founded in 1884, the Quebec-based orchestra took its name from the celebrated court orchestra of the French kings. Winners of the Classical Album of the Year Award, Les Violons du Roy and guest pianist Inon Barnatan will perform a program of Mendelssohn, Shostakovich and C.P.E. Bach, under the baton of Director Jonathan Cohen, at 3 p.m. Sunday, Apr. 30. Tickets are $36 – $54.

Emerging virtuosos all, the 100 musicians of the Curtis Symphony Orchestra, from Philadelphia’s Curtis Institute of Music, meld into something much greater. Add internationally renowned artists like pianist Yefim Bronfman; and a sparkling repertoire – in this case, Rimsky-Korsakov’s Scheherazade and Schumann’s piano concerto – and the result is an immersive experience with unique resonance. The Curtis Symphony Orchestra wraps up YSA’s 2022-23 season, at 7 p.m. Tuesday, May 16. Tickets are $45 – $65.

The Yavapai Symphony Association offers a variety of season packages, which include all seven concerts, for $194 to $294. All concerts are held at the Yavapai College Performing Arts Center. Programs are subject to change. Tickets are only available by contacting the Yavapai Symphony Association at (928) 776.4255 or www.yavapaisymphony.org.

Yavapai Symphony Association

2022-23 Season

• Alexander Malofeev                                                               Oct. 7 at 7 p.m.
• The Orpheus Chamber Orchestra                             Jan. 18, 2023, at 7 p.m.
• The ASU Symphony Orchestra                                             Feb. 12 at 3 p.m.
• The Academy of St. Martin in the Fields                                Mar. 7 at 7 p.m.
• Sarah Chang                                                                         Mar. 26 at 3 p.m.
• Les Violons du Roy                                                                Apr. 30 at 3 p.m.
• The Curtis Symphony Orchestra                                          May 16 at 7 p.m.

Information provided by Yavapai College Performing Arts Center.