Home Grown Talent Makes We Wish You Christmas Possible
But you won't see him on stage.

I want to take a moment to introduce you to a key player of our December 17, 2023, 3 PM, We Wish You Christmas program. Surprisingly, I'm not talking about someone who is performing in the concert.

For the performance, we have three amazing sopranos (Emily Spencer, Sarah Smith, and Claire Penneau) singing classical Christmas music from across the ages. They are accompanied by an ensemble unusual in instrumentation: principal Arizona Philharmonic musicians on flute, French horn, trumpet & flugelhorn, violin, cello, and percussion, plus Steinway Artist James D'León on piano.

This mini-orchestra was chosen for its sonic and joyful possibilities, but it is not a standard ensemble for which others have written a body of music, let alone Christmas music. So, to create custom arrangements for this concert, Arizona Philharmonic has enlisted the arranging and orchestration skills of a young man named Mathew Lanning.

I know Mathew's musical skills well. He grew up in this area and studied piano and composition with me during high school. Not only was he a skilled pianist, organist, and cellist, he was a prolific composer. He would bring in a completely new orchestral work once or twice a month. His orchestration was imaginative and evocative. During high school, various Prescott ensembles premiered five of his orchestral works, including a piano concerto from which he conducted at the piano. (It was fifteen years before five of my orchestral works had been performed in Prescott!)

Mathew received his Bachelor of Music in Composition from University of Arizona, completed his Masters in Composition at the prestigious New England Conservatory of Music, and is continuing there for his Doctorate in Composition. His music has been performed by orchestras, professional chamber groups, and soloists around the United States, including Transient Canvas and Grammy-nominated Imani Winds. When he is not studying or composing, he assists in the production of concerts involving world-renowned artists such as Philip Glass, Dennis Russel Davies, Maki Namekawa, and William Bolcom at venues like Carnegie Hall and the Morgan Library. (He is rubbing elbows with the big names in American Classical Music.)

We are fortunate to have Mathew lend his skills to Arizona Philharmonic and this program.

We hope you can attend our We Wish You Christmas concert to celebrate this Season. While you are enjoying the elegant selection of classical Christmas works, perhaps you will take pride in knowing that the arranger for this concert found his first passion for music here in Prescott, a community that seems to offer local youth an extraordinary opportunity to explore and embrace the performing arts.

And if you were one of the audience members leaving our 2021 We Wish You Christmas concert with tears of joy, come again and enjoy a whole new set of music arranged by Mathew. He'll be in the audience, and you can say "Hi" to him!

Tickets are available at AZPhil.org/tickets.

- Henry Flurry, Executive Director

A Message from Maestro Peter Bay

Maestro Peter Bay shares his thoughts on his favorite aspects of Arizona Philharmonic. Not only does Arizona Philharmonic perform a variety of great music, but it also is a talented orchestra, full of kind, collaborative, and professional musicians. 

Maestro Bay feels this joy and energy in every rehearsal and performance with Arizona Philharmonic - we are sure you do, too! 

Arizona Philharmonic is an orchestra dedicated to bringing people together through a love of orchestral and chamber music. The Board, staff, musicians, and volunteers are passionate about working together to bring high-quality and engaging performances and programs to Prescott and the surrounding communities. 

Your support of Arizona Philharmonic through contributions to the End of Year Giving Campaign makes inspiring performances happen all season. Your support also means that we can continue to offer our Art4All program, and partner with important service groups like VetTix, to provide tickets to all members of our community. 

-Abby Coffey, Executive Director

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