Staff Reports
SAFFORD – The Gila Valley Arts Council proudly announces the lineup for its 40th anniversary season, starting with The Kristyn Harris Band. In addition to evening performances at the David M. Player Safford Center for the Arts, the council brings groups to area schools and the Safford Library for special concerts and events for school children.
The Gila Valley Arts Council has begun its season ticket renewal drive, available to both existing and new members. Anyone interested in becoming a supporting member and purchasing the best seats before they go on sale to the general public can visit www.gvac.org/membership, or call Tom Green at 928-322-4321 for more information.
The season will start with the Kristyn Harris Band on Sept. 24. Kristyn is a Texas-bred musical powerhouse who has been named the International Western Music Association Entertainer of the Year for four consecutive years. She is the youngest person to have received this honor. She is known for her powerful voice, swing rhythm guitar chops, songwriting, yodeling, and energetic stage presence. Her primary style, Western Swing (think: Bob Wills & the Texas Playboys), has been named the “Official Music of Texas”, and has a vintage sound that crosses between country and jazz, characterized by a swing beat and stellar, exhilarating musicianship. However, her repertoire spans everything from cowboy songs to classic country standards.
Her band consists of star instrumentalists in their own right, who share her love of this music and a joy in performing it, and which can take the form of a combo as small as duo or trio, up to her 4-piece band or full 5-piece with drums. No matter the size, the band has electrifying chemistry that lights up any stage, from a small room to a large event center.
Her latest album was most recently awarded the prestigious Wrangler Award from the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum, and she is also a 5-time recipient of the IWMA Female Performer of the Year (2014, 2015, 2018, 2019, 2021). She was named the Ameripolitan Music Awards Western Swing Female Artist of the Year (2017) and the Pro Cowboy Country Artist Association’s 2017 Entertainer of the Year and Female Vocalist of the Year.
National television appearances include “American Idol”, “Good Morning America”, RFD-TV’s “The Penny Gilley Show”, “The Shotgun Red Variety Show”, and Nickelodeon’s popular game show, “Figure It Out”.
On Nov. 19, the Canadian crossover Quartetto Gelato graces the Gila Valley’s stage and schools.
Quartetto Gelato, with current members Colin Maier, Matti Pulkki, Kirk Starkey, and Tino Popovic, based in Hamilton, Ontario, will be back in the Gila Valley for an encore performance. Their musical repertoire consists of a mix of classical masterworks with tangos, gypsy, klezmer, jazz, and folk songs from around the world. They will treat us to an exotic and emotional mix of accordion, violin, cello, and oboe, and their performances include elements of humor and dance.[
Following will be the first full string quartet the council has hosted in years, with the Beo String Quartet on Feb. 4, 2026. This performance will be held in the 250-seat Recital Hall for an intimate, yet powerful performance.
The eclectic and highly polished Beo String Quartet, founded in 2015, has created a niche for itself as a daring, genre-defying ensemble. Rigorously trained in the classical tradition, violinists Jason Neukom and Andrew Giordano, violist Sean Neukom, and cellist Ryan Ash also know their way around contemporary expression, including the use of electronics, live sound processing, and spatial audio manipulation. Their performances of Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Mendelssohn, or Shostakovich have been compared to those of the best among 21st-century international string quartets.
Undaunted by artistic or logistical challenges, they play the masters in a variety of settings, collaborate with living composers, and explore technology to the fullest. Called “an absolutely spectacular group of young, hungry musicians” by composer Marc Mellits, University of Chicago, and “an ensemble whose music-making speaks to the heart as well as the mind by composer Richard Danielpour, Curtis Institute for Music, Beo defies categorization. Works such as “Haydn Recycled” and “Projection 1: Triple Quartet” combine virtuosic quartet writing and staging in various forms. To date, Beo has performed more than 140 concert works, including some 65 world premieres, throughout Europe and the United States.
Closing out the season will be the Encore Saxophone Quartet on March 4, 2026, which will fill attendees’ souls with the deep and beautiful octave range from the baritone, tenor, alto, and soprano saxophones that blend in perfect harmony.
The award-winning Encore Saxophone Quartet is among Los Angeles’ premier performing ensembles. Touted during their South African tour as “Masters of the saxophone, impressing their listeners not only by brilliant virtuosity but equally by some of the most delicate sounds imaginable”, the Encore Saxophone Quartet is the only American chamber music group selected to perform at the prestigious 2019 Lansum International Music Festival.
Formed in 1984 by internationally renowned saxophonist Douglas Masek, the Encore Saxophone Quartet’s wide-ranging repertoire is grouped into exciting shows of familiar repertoire, such as Hollywood and The Great American Songbook, the more erudite Classic Sax and Jazz Sax, or for those who want to hear a little of everything, Encore Eclectic is the program for you!
In addition to Douglas Masek on soprano saxophone, the Quartet includes Ken Foerch on alto, David Brennan on tenor, and Damon Zick on baritone saxophone- all are distinguished soloists and chamber music artists who perform nationally and internationally. Furthermore, they are dedicated educators who lead inspiring and educational outreach programs, coach chamber music, and mentor the next generation of emerging artists.
The Quartet’s unique blending of innovative and diverse programming, along with informal narrative, transports its listeners on a musical journey that exhibits the many colorful possibilities encompassing the sound spectrum of the saxophone in a quartet setting.
Tickets will be available for sale starting Sept. 1 at Richards Music, online at www.gvac.org, or on the David M Player Center of the Arts ticketing page, or at the door. Adult ticket prices are only $15 or $20 and are all reserved seating. GVAC is still proud to offer special prices for children and students for only $5.
The Gila Valley Arts Council has begun its season ticket renewal drive, available to both existing and new members. Anyone interested in becoming a supporting member and purchasing the best seats before they go on sale to the general public can visit www.gvac.org/membership, or call Tom Green at 928-322-4321 for more information.
GVAC can keep its ticket prices low because of the support we receive from several sources. We graciously thank our donors who join as supporting members every year. This school residency and public performance project was made possible by funding received from the Arizona Commission on the Arts, WESTAF (The Western States Arts Federation), and the National Endowment for the Arts. GVAC is also very grateful for the support received from the United Way of Graham and Greenlee Counties, Freeport McMoRan Corporation, and the Arizona Community Foundation of the Gila Valley.
