Welcome to the website of the Southern Arizona Symphony Orchestra

Welcome to the Southern Arizona Symphony Orchestra

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About our Music Director

Linus Lerner, DMA
A native of Brazil, Linus Lerner has conducted orchestras, operas, choruses and instrumental groups at home, in the United States, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Spain and Mexico.

Linus has served as associate conductor for Opera in the Ozarks, Eureka Springs; the Tallahassee Youth Symphony Orchestra, Tallhassee; and The University of Arizona Philharmonic.

International guest conducting engagements include the Orchestra Nacional de Valles in Spain, the Symphony and Chamber Orchestras of Porto Alegre in Brazil, the International Opera Workshop in the Czech Republic, the International Opera Workshop in Bulgaria and the Solistas Ensamble of the Instituto Nacional de Bellas Artes in Mexico. He’s also guest conducted The Brooklyn Opera Company, The University of Colorado at Boulder Opera and as assistant conductor for the Arizona Opera.

Linus completed his musical arts doctorate degree in orchestral conducting at the University of Arizona where he led the UA symphony orchestra in numerous performances and operas in Tucson and on their 2002 Mexico tour.

He holds a master’s degree in orchestral conducting from Florida State University where he was assistant conductor of the FSU Orchestra, leading the group in various performances including the American premier of the opera Procedura Penale. He also holds a master’s degree in voice performance from the College Conservatory of Music at the University of Cincinnati and a bachelor’s degree in choral conducting at the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.

In addition to SASO, Linus holds the position of music director of Reveille Men’s Chorus, leading the group in various concerts in the USA, Mexico, Brazil and Canada, and the recording of four CDs.

2008-09 Season Featured Artists

Yvonne Creanga, Viola
Romanian-born violist Yvonne Creanga enjoys a varied career as a chamber musician, orchestral player and teacher. She’s currently a member of the Tucson Symphony Orchestra and adjunct assistant professor at the University of Arizona School of Music.

She has performed at the Festival dei Due Mondi in Charlesto and Spoleto, the Settimane Musicale Senese in Siena and the Norfolk Chamber Music Festival USA. Her ensembles have won prizes at the Coleman Chamber Music Competition, Accademia Chigiana, Conservatoire Americain de Fontainebleau and in Bydgozc, Poland.

Before moving to Tucson, Yvonna taught violin, viola and chamber music at the University of California / Irvine, Vanguard University and Yale University. She’s also taught at the high school level.

In 2003 she served on the faculty of Ameropa, a chamber music festival and academy in Prague. In 2006 she joined the faculty of the Interlochen Arts Camp, the nation's most important summer program for young artists.

Yvonne has been a member of the Orchestra dell'Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in Rome and recorded with the Santa Cecilia Chamber Orchestra for BMG. She’s also played with the American Symphony, New York City Opera and Alexander Schneider's New York String Orchestra, as well as orchestras in Colorado, New Jersey and Ohio.

Yvonne studied at the Yale School of Music and the University of Michigan and received diplomas in chamber music performance from the Conservatoire Americain and L'Accademia Chigiana. Her early training was at the George Enescu Music High School in Bucharest, Romania.

Tucson Chamber Artists was founded in 2004 by music director Eric Holtan. Comprised of some of the finest professional choral artists in southern Arizona, TCA has quickly gained a reputation for musical excellence. Following their 2006 performance of Mozart's Mass in C-minor, Cathalena Burch of the Arizona Daily Star wrote, "No longer can we use words such as 'fledgling' to describe these artists; they're now in the big leagues. Only big-league choirs have the tenacity and talent to pull off the C-minor Mass." The group is committed to presenting the finest choral masterworks and music of our time through informed and inspiring performances. Whether performing with members of the Tucson Symphony Orchestra or as an a cappella choir, TCA enhances the cultural landscape of our community and enriches lives through the transformational power of music.

Brad Benoit, tenor
This fall tenor Brad Benoit joins The Minnesota Opera's Resident Artist Program where he will sing Ruiz in Il trovatore, Arlecchino and Lampwick in The Adventures of Pinocchio and Count Almaviva in the alternate cast of The Barber of Seville.

He also hasparticipated in the prestigious Santa Fe Opera Apprentice Artist Program, covering the role of the Novice in Billy Budd, as well as training programs at the Chicago Opera Theater and the Staunton Music Festival.

Brad is a graduate of Chicago College of the Performing Arts and has sung several roles there, including Cecco in Il mondo della luna, the Lyric Tenor in Postcard from Morocco, the Prologue in The Turn of the Screw and La Théièry in L'enfant et les sortilèges. He has also performed the roles of Rinuccio in Gianni Schicchi for Opera in the Ozarks and Roméo in Roméo et Juliette at his undergraduate alma mater, Loyola University New Orleans.

He’s been a guest soloist in Bach's Magnificat for Music by the Lake, Bach's Cantata No. 140 for the Waukesha Symphony Orchestra and the Midsummer Night Benefit for the Young Musicians for Young Humanitarians in Calistoga, California. This season he will be performing Haydn's Creation, Part I with Marion Philharmonic.

Daniel Katzen, horn
Professor Daniel Katzen began his tenure at the University of Arizona faculty in the Fall of 2008, after finishing 29 years as Second Horn of the Boston Symphony Orchestra His full-time teaching position at the U of A follows 27 years teaching horn and brass repertoire at New England Conservatory and Boston University. In addition, Prof. Katzen consults with the orchestral program at University of California in Irvine, and performs and records with various Los Angeles orchestras and film studios.

Prof. Katzen's studies and performance career have taken him to 25 states and 22 foreign countries on five continents to perform more than 5000 concerts. In March of 2008, he was featured in both his premiere solo recital at the U of A and his farewell appearance at New England Conservatory's Jordan Hall.

Prof. Katzen says "I am delighted to be able to get back West again, and to continue the work of my IU colleague Dr. Keith Johnson at the University of Arizona. I am tremendously impressed with the students, faculty and administration at the School of Music and the opportunities to further develop the Horn Studio."

Michael Kiefer, Trumpet
This is Michael’s fourth year as principal trumpet with the Southern Arizona Symphony Orchestra. He also performed with the Tucson Symphony Orchestra, Arizona Opera Orchestra, Las Vegas Symphony Orchestra and as a freelance musician in Las Vegas. He is an active member of the International Trumpet Guild.

Michael received his bachelor’s degree in music education from the University of Arizona and a master of music in trumpet performance from the University of Nevada in Las Vegas.

He was an assistant band director and music arranger for the Palo Verde High School Titan Vanguard in Tucson, helping them win many state and national honors. He later served as graduate assistant for the UNLV bands.

His teachers include Richard Peters, Walt Blanton and Russ Plylar.

Michael works as a software engineer at Raytheon Missile Systems.

Miroslava Panayotova, Piano
Bulgarian pianist Miroslava Panayotova has performed as recitalist and concerto soloist in the United States, Canada, Bulgaria, Russia, Slovakia, Romania and Mexico She’s also performed at music festivals including the Green Mountain Chamber Music Festival in Vermont, XXI Festival Dr. Alfonso Ortiz Tirado 2005 in Mexico and the Orford Festival in Canada.

She’s currently pursuing a doctoral degree in piano performance with a minor in musicology at the University of Arizona, where she studies with Tannis Gibson. In 2006, she toured the Southwest as soloist with University of Arizona Pianists on Tour. As a winner of the 2006-2007 President’s Concerto Competition, she performed with The Arizona Symphony Orchestra.

Miroslava also has won first prize at the 2007 Green Valley Piano Competition, the Silver Medal at the Svetoslav Obretenov National Piano Competition in Bulgaria and was a semifinalist at the 2002 Missouri Southern International Piano Competition.

She holds performance degrees from the State Academy of Music in Sofia, Bulgaria where she studied with Daniela Andonova. She competed a master’s of music at the University of South Florida where she studied with Svetozar Ivanov.

She continues as an adjunct member piano faculty at the University of South Florida, teaching applied piano, class piano and chamber music. She also continues her long-lasting association with choral ensembles as an accompanist.

Angeline Ng, Piano
After studying and performing on three continents, Angeline Ng has made Tucson home. Born in Singapore, she studied music with her mother from early childhood. She earned Performer’s Diplomas in piano and violin from Trinity College of Music and The Royal Schools of Music before studying abroad. In England, she received a Bachelors Degree in Piano Performance at Newbold College, and in California, a master’s degree at the University of Redlands. She has pursued a Doctor of Musical Arts at the University of Arizona, and has studied the Dorothy Taubman Technique in Baltimore. An active teacher, accompanist and chamber musician, Angeline performs regularly and is the Director of Music at Lutheran Church of the Risen Savior in Green Valley. Since first soloing in 1995 with SASO at Saddlebrooke, she has become a charming SASO tradition.

Christine Harper
Christine began her musical studies at age nine as a pianist, adding flute lessons six months later. She continued to study both flute and piano earning a bachelor's degree in both instruments from Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana, where Kathryn Lukas, Damian Bursill-Hall, and Henry Upper (piano) were her primary teachers. She also holds a Master of Music degree in flute performance from the University of Arizona. Her Arizona flute teachers include Philip Swanson, Nancy Andrew and Brian Luce. In addition to playing principal flute with the Southern Arizona Symphony, Christine performs with The Tucson Chamber Artists, The High Notes jazz flute quartet, and maintains a private teaching studio. Christine is also an experienced educator, currently in her ninth year of teaching general music, band and beginning orchestra in the Tucson Schools.

Martin Majkut, Guest Conductor
Throughout the 2007-2008 season, Martin prepared SASO musicians in rehearsals, then stepped aside to make way for the four finalists for music director and Adam Boyle’s last performance. After a year of working with the orchestra behind the scenes, SASO audiences finally get to see Martin on the podium.

Martin received his bachelor of arts degree in choral conducting in 1998 and a masters of music in 2000 from the University of Music and Dramatic Arts in Bratislava, finishing his degree with an “Excellence in Studying” award. In 2000 he became the assistant conductor of the Slovak Philharmonic, the most prominent orchestra in Slovakia, his homeland. In 2003 he was awarded a Fulbright scholarship, which enabled him to travel the United States and study at the University of Arizona. Last year he completed his musical arts doctorate in orchestra studies. He also received the “Distinguished Graduate Student” Award for outstanding academic achievement.

An assistant conductor for the Arizona Opera, Martin has performed with the UA Philharmonic, the Arizona Symphony Orchestra, all the major orchestras in Slovakia – and at last – the Southern Arizona Symphony Orchestra.

Irving Olson, Conducting Debut
Irving Olson likes adventure. He and his wife Ruth have traveled the world and photographed the people and places they visited. Large format photography is primary passion – after Ruth of course. They also like music and are major supporters of SASO. But Irving is more hands-on than that. Born in 1913, he started out repairing radios, then built an electronics empire of 88 stores. He sold it and retired at age 50. For a while he built wooden steam trains, now he makes bows from exotic woods like zebra wood or ambrosia maple. But he still didn’t have his hand in music. So he bid on the chance to conduct the orchestra and won. After a few pointers from Linus, Irving will take the podium in October to conduct Strauss’ Radetzky March. Another goal achieved.

Julius "Gute" Gutierrez, Conducting Debut
A Unit 12 resident for 10 years, Gute and his wife Janelle have been supporters of SASO ever since. Born to a Venezuelan mother and a Cuban father, he grew up in New York City and served in the U.S. Air Force for 20 years - as a pilot in Korea, and Vietnam where he was shot down twice. Gute holds five Air Medals, the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Silver Star. Gute also worked as a financial planner for 20 years, retiring in 1991.

When not practicing his conducting skills, Gute enjoys astronomy, golf and philately. He has also been a docent at Biosphere. In music his favorites are Beethoven, Shostakovich, Tchaikovsky, Prokofiev, Chopin, Puccini and he is particularly fond of the Bruch Violin Concerto.