Tucson Federation of Musicians

Kimberly Toscano, Principal Timpanist of the TSO, has been named the new Orchestral Correspondent for Tomtom magazine, a periodical dedicated to female drummers, and her first article on Sound is available on that publication’s website. Toscano is also serving as Acting Director of Percussion at the University of Arizona and is now an Evans/D’Addario Drumheads Concert Artist (Visit her artist page HERE. In February 2012, she will be performing the Philip Glass Double Timpani Concerto with Timothy Adams, Jr.

Jessica Campbell and Cindy Behmer performed at the 2011 College Music Society International Conference held in Seoul and Gyeongju, South Korea in July. Their duo, the KontraCor Duo, gave a lecture recital on new music that they commissioned for our one-of-a-kind doubling double reed duo entitled, Exploring the Sounds of Doubling Double Reeds: Demonstrating New Music for Oboe, English horn, Bassoon, and Contrabassoon. Among the new works they performed was a duo by Jay Vosk called “Kontra-Dances.” “Professional educators and composers who were in attendance were intrigued by our presentation,” says Behmer. “As a result, we recently received a new composition for our duo that we will be performing at an upcoming CMS southwest chapter conference.” Beyond the exciting lecture-recital portion of the conference, the duo experienced great food, friendly people, and beautiful sights throughout their stay in Seoul and Gyeongju. Behmer reports: “Rather than relying on the convenient (and tourist-friendly) hotel package designed by the conference, we planned our trip on a musicians’ budget. By doing so, we were able to experience the subway and metro transportation system, several small and excellent restaurants close to our guesthouse quarters, and the local markets filled with fresh fruit and tasty snacks. Our experiences in South Korea were professionally rewarding, exciting, memorable, and completely enjoyable.”

The devastating Japanese earthquake and tsunami of March 12, 2011 left people all over the world looking for a way to help the nation recover. Local 33 member Laura Tagawa and her husband, Toru, felt compelled to act, so they enlisted the help of other Tucson musicians with ties to Japan to organize a benefit concert on March 26, 2011. Participants included Local 33 members Aaron Boyd, Yvonne Creanga, Paula Fan, Michael Fan, Melanie Olsen Fan, Anna Gendler, Jim Karrer, Wynne Wong-Rife, Emma Votapek and Diane Zelickman, as well as University of Arizona professors and students, and other musicians from the Tucson community. The program featured performances ranging from solo instrumental to string quartet to Japanese dance to string orchestra, and the standing-room only crowd responded enthusiastically with donations totaling $15,400, which were sent directly to the Japanese Red Cross. “It is always rewarding when music brings people together for a cause like this,” says Local 33 Executive Board member Emma Votapek. “The generosity of not only the audience members, but the musicians who donated their time and talents to make the concert a success, was overwhelming.

Many of Tucson’s finest musicians joined together on June 3, 2011 to provide a wonderful evening of chamber music, and to support a very worthy local organization. The Academy for Cancer Wellness, founded by Alice Chang, holds this annual event to raise funds for its Under-Insured Cancer Patients’ Endowment Fund. Organized by Carla Ecker, this year’s event was a great success, reaching its financial goal to vest funds and bringing together friends and family of those touched by cancer. Music and Memories IX began with an extensive silent auction with live jazz followed by the eclectic program. Ms. Ecker was joined by fellow Local 33 members:  Paloma Winds (Andrew Braden, Rebecca Cain, Sara Fraker, Deena Reedy, Victor Valenzuela), David Morgan, Michael Wharton, Mark Votapek, Emma Votapek, Kimberly Toscano, and several other Tucson musicians. “Music and Memories provides the perfect opportunity of making great music while supporting an organization that has assisted many musicians in the community, including myself in my recent bout with breast cancer,” says Ecker. “I am so grateful to all those who participated and who came out to support the ACW.”

The 2012 Western Conference of AFM Locals will take place February 24-26 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Annual Regional Conferences are held to bring together officers of AFM locals from the US and Canada. At the 2011 Western Conference in Vancouver, Don Bourque was elected WC President for 2014 and Tucson Local 33 was designated to host the 2014 Western Conference. Stay tuned for conference dates and details on how we can all help to make this meeting a success.