Escape to Spain this month without packing more than your handbag when Verde Valley Sinfonietta presents Spanish Nights on Nov. 18 at 2:30 p.m. The concert, the first of three in the sinfonietta’s 2018/19 season, takes place at Sedona Performing Arts Center. The orchestra is led by conductor Kevin Kozacek, who joined the “little symphony” last year. Kevin is the founding director of North Valley Symphony Orchestra in Phoenix. He says the Spanish theme came about in a brainstorming session with the VVS repertoire planning committee. “We chose music that honors the Spanish heritage, but that doesn’t necessarily mean the composer is Spanish,” says Kevin.
The centerpiece of the performance is Rodrigo’s Fantasia para un gentilhombre (Fantasia for a Gentleman). The piece will be performed by guest artist Craig Yarbrough, a guitarist based out of Flagstaff. Born and raised in south Louisiana, Craig began piano lessons at the age of 5 before falling in love with the guitar as a teenager. He earned his master’s degree in musical arts from Arizona State University in 1997 and, in 2003, he founded the Grand Canyon Guitar Society. (He also teaches guitar privately and at Flagstaff Arts and Leadership Academy.) If his face looks familiar, maybe you’ve seen Craig perform with The Knockabouts, a Flagstaff Irish music ensemble.
The sinfonietta’s season continues Feb. 10, 2019, with Sweet Melodies, which Kevin says will feature internationally known violinist Yevgeny Kutik performing one of the top five violin concertos ever composed. The season wraps up on April 7, 2019 with the Emerging Artist concert. The performance features University of California, Los Angeles student Echo Wang on piano. Tony Maramarco, a former Sedona resident and the winner of a silent-auction conducting lesson, will conduct the William Tell Overture (AKA the theme from The Lone Ranger) during that performance.
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