For 24 years, the Sonoran Desert Chorale has delighted audiences in the Valley, singing an eclectic selection of music that transcends our differences and accentuates our commonality. The group begins its anniversary season in October with the first of four concert series that founding director Jeff Harris calls “a celebration of 25 years of music.”
Picture yourself cruising the streets of Scottsdale in a 1962 black convertible Cadillac straight out of “Mad Men”—the sun shining, wind in your hair, heads turning to see who could be driving past in such a slick ride. It’s definitely a moment to capture and share with friends.
The concept of yin and yang is a theory of opposites. Everything has a darkness (yin) and a light (yang), and one cannot exist without the other. For night, there is day; for cold there is heat; for birth there is death; and for masculine there is feminine.
It begins with a slight whiff of something wonderful. Within a few hours, the scent of the summertime barbecues of childhood begins to fill the air, and by mid-day, it becomes an aromatic dinner bell for anyone fortunate enough to find themselves within a radius of a city block or two.
In a sport dominated by male coaches, Ashley Wilson-Hammer is breaking through the gender divide of reining with poise and confidence. While her boots may be smaller and she may be lighter in the saddle, there is nothing soft about her drive to be the best.
For many chefs and culinary professionals, the most coveted and meaningful recognition in the industry is the James Beard Award. The James Beard Foundation represents excellence in the culinary industry through its awards, advocacy training, educational initiatives and scholarship programs. In late September, the James Beard Foundation will come to Phoenix as part of its 10-city annual Taste America tour.
Back in the 1600s, a wave of immigrants from Ireland, Scotland and England made their way into remote areas of North and South Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky, Virginia and West Virginia, bringing with them ideas and music from their native countries. As they cultivated the land and forged new lives, they began singing songs and playing music that not only reflected their day-to-day struggles, happiness and loves, but that also gleaned bits and pieces of the cultures from which they came.
Musician, songwriter and producer Drew Tyler is home from Los Angeles for a brief visit when he sits down to talk with me. He’s got an easy smile and boy band good looks, but behind the made-for-an-album-cover exterior, Tyler has talent and a work ethic that have taken him from making a racket on his first drum set at age 2, to a 26-year-old who’s about to release an album of his own under the name “Fly Felix.”
In the aisles of Desert Foothills Library, David Court is a rock star. Though he lacks a swagger and the button-up shirts he wears are far from flashy, when he steps inside this building, he’s a hero.
Touchdowns, cheers and school fight songs—it’s as American as apple pie and the Fourth of July. Yet in Cave Creek, the sound of the band has been nearly non-existent in recent years. Budget cuts all but amputated funding for music, and the high school band program tapered down to a dozen or so students.
