In the first collaboration of its combined eighty-nine years, Chamber Music Sedona and the Flagstaff Symphony Orchestra will utilize the special gifts of one of the premiere cellists in the world, Zuill Bailey. He will perform the six Bach Cello Suites Saturday, March 12 (Suites 2, 4 and 6) and Sunday, March 13 as the seventh concert of the 28th Chamber Music Sedona season, and this year introducing the inaugural season of The Met: Live in HD presented at the Sedona Performing Arts Center.
“We’re very excited about this collaboration,” said CMS Executive Director Bert Harclerode. “It’s a natural in so many ways. The contrast of the six Bach Cello Suites performed over two days, and the Dvorak Cello Concerto is a one of a kind opportunity. Through Zuill’s vision and artistry we will touch our collective communities with some of the most remarkable music spanning nearly 250 years from school children to citizens and visitors.”
Bailey brings together the rare combination of celebrated artistry, technical wizardry as well as his engaging personality, Zuill Bailey has secured his place as one of the most sought after and active cellists today. A consummate concerto soloist, Mr. Bailey has been featured with the symphony orchestras of Chicago, San Francisco, Israel, Minnesota, Indianapolis, Dallas, Louisville, Honolulu, Milwaukee, Nashville, Toronto and Utah among other leading orchestras around the world. He has collaborated with such conductors as Itzhak Perlman, Alan Gilbert, Andrew Litton, James DePriest and Stanislav Skrowacezewski and has been featured with musical luminaries Leon Fleisher, Jaime Laredo, The Juilliard String Quartet, Lynn Harrell and Janos Starker.
Mr. Bailey has appeared at the Kennedy Center, the United Nations, Alice Tully Hall, the 92nd St. Y and Carnegie Hall where he made his debut performing the U.S. premiere of Miklos Theodorakis’ “Rhapsody for Cello and Orchestra.” He made his NY recital debut in a sold out performance of the complete Beethoven Cello Sonatas at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
His international appearances include celebrated performances with the Moscow Chamber Orchestra in its 50th anniversary tour of Russia, as well as concerts in Australia, the Dominican Republic, France, Israel, Spain, Hong Kong, Jordan, Mexico, South America and the United Kingdom. Festival appearances include Ravinia, the Interlochen Center for the Arts, Manchester Cello Festival (UK), Consonances- St. Nazaire( France), Australian Festival of Chamber Music, Santa Fe, Caramoor, Chautauqua, Bravo!, Vail Valley, the Maverick Concert Series, and the Music Academy of the West. In addition, he was the featured soloist performing the Elgar Cello Concerto at the Bard Festival in the World Premiere of the Doug Varrone Dance Company’s performance of “Victorious.” An accomplished chamber musician and recitalist, Zuill Bailey performs regularly with pianists Navah Perlman and Awadagin Pratt.
Zuill Bailey is an exclusive recording artist on Telarc. His “Bach Cello Suites” recording immediately soared to the Number 1 spot on the Classical Billboard Charts. Mr. Bailey’s “Russian Masterpieces” release featuring the works of Tchaikovsky and Shostakovich performed with the San Francisco Ballet Orchestra has received widespread critical acclaim. Bailey was awarded the Classical Recording Foundation Award for 2006 and 2007 for the recording of Beethoven’s complete works for Cello and Piano. The highly touted two disc set with pianist Simone Dinnerstein was released on Telarc worldwide. In celebration of his recordings and appearances, Kalmus Music Masters will release “Zuill Bailey Performance Editions,” which will encompass the core repertoire of cello literature.
“We’ve combined many features of our two communities that travel one of Arizona most scenic drives: through Oak Creek Canyon on Highway 89A. From the Grand Canyon Railway and the Verde Canyon Railroad, to the Sedona Historic Museum and the Museum of Northern Arizona, the wineries of Oak Creek and the celestial viewing at Lowell Observatory, we’ve combined great music with great natural resources for our second ‘Cultural Destination Excursions’ covering five days of culture along with fine food, wine, accommodations and more.” said Harclerode.
Bailey performs Bach Cello Suites numbers two, four and six Saturday, March 12 from 3-5pm at a home in Back of Beyond. Admission is $50/person and reservations are required.
Sunday, March 13 2:30pm at St. John Vianney Church, 180 Soldiers Pass Road, Bailey performs Bach Cello Suites numbers one, three and five in a concert sponsored by Edward Ingraham & Martha Mertz. Ingraham will present a pre-concert talk from 1:15-1:55pm in the Don Bosco Room prior to the afternoon concert.
Tickets are available on line at www.chambermusicsedona.org. General admission tickets are $25 also available in Sedona at Bashas’ and Rycus’ Corners-VOC. Tickets may also be purchased in Cottonwood at Planet Video and Music, and in Flagstaff at Arizona Music Pro and Cedar Music. Reserved tickets for the Sunday concert are $40 and may be purchased by calling Chamber Music Sedona at 928.204.2415.
Chamber Music Sedona is a 501(c)(3) organization supported in part by grants from the Arizona Commission on the Arts with funding from the State of Arizona and the National Endowment for the Arts, the City of Sedona Arts & Culture Commission, WESTAF, the Sedona Community Foundation, the Margaret T. Morris and J.W. Kieckhefer Foundations and nearly 300 households and businesses.