Founded in 1991, The Sons of Orpheus is a non-profit community choir made up of men from in and around the Tucson, Arizona area.  I have been singing with them for three seasons now.  I really enjoy my "night out with the boys", so to speak.  Dressed in our black tux and Stetson hat, we manage to turn heads where ever we perform.  Our repertoire ranges from Wagner to Broadway, from russian folk songs to cowboy classics.  The table below, which is a lineup of the music we will perform in our spring concert this year (1999), really shows our range and variety.  Whew, and if that isn't enough, we have two different christmas collections. 

Although we primarily sing, we are a community minded organization.  Many of our concerts have been performed as a benefits to one organization or another.  For example, each year on the first Monday after Thanksgiving, we do a concert to kick off the Christmas season, in conjunction with the Arizona School for the Deaf and Blind. . This benefits the Community Food Bank.  Admission is a can or two of food. 

For the past two years we have performed a Christmas concert with the Tucson Boy's Chorus in the San Xavier del Bac Mission here in Tucson.  This concert is a fund raiser for the mission's restoration project. 

One of my favorite concerts of the year, is the annual Christmas dinner put on by a muscular dystrophy support group.  You can really feel that the audience appreciates what you are doing.  AND, they really get into the spirit of things.  It is always fun to put a smile on someone else's face.  It helps you to appreciate the good things of life more. 

The Russian music was introduced to the group through an invitation to perform with the UA Balalaika Orchestra.  The balalaika is that triangular guitar type instrument with three strings.  Between the orchestra, the Sons of Orpheus and a dance troop called the Kalinka Dancers, this annual concert is quite an event. Live multi-media...hmmm. It is a real treat for the eyes, the ears and the soul. 

We also take the show on the road a bit. This past Christmas we were invited to sing at the White House.  We performed two concerts there and one each in the Old Post Office Pavilion and at Union Station.  We are also planning on a trip to Europe in the summer of 2000.  That sould really be exciting.  We are already booking concerts. 

1999 Spring Concert Lineup
First Half	Second half
Freudig begrüssen wir die edle Halle (The Tournement of Songs), from Wagner's Tannhäuser (sung in German of course)  A Dvorac trio, Tri Muzske Sbory, op. 43 (sung in its native Cech)  Zal  Divna voda  Devce v haji  Five russian folk songs (sung in Russian)  Kazbek  Poliushka Polyeh  Fput  Slavnoye Morye-Svyaschchenyy Baikal  Katyusha	A cowboy set  Back in the Saddle Again  Cowboy Sweetheart (featuring JoAnne Anderson our western yodler)  Tumbling Tumbleweeds  The Green Leaves of Summer (from the movie "The Alamo")  The Man Who Shot Liberty Valence  The Theme from Rawhide  Some German drinking songs (sung in German and Latin)  Gaudeamus igitur  Der Trinker  Die Wacht am Rhein  Was Bringen uns die Reben  Wohlauf noch getrunken  A baseball set  Talking Baseball  There Used to be a Ballpark  Winners  What You'd Call a Dream

02/04/99