Join us for our annual Sundays in the Garden Concert Fall Concert Series featuring the American and Mexican music of Borderlands Ensemble: Music from the Border. The concert is free with admission and free for members as one of the many amazing membership benefits.

Be sure to visit the cash bar for beer and wine, prickly pear lemonade, and our famous prickly pear margaritas. Treat yourself to a wonderful afternoon outdoors, sipping wine, and listening to live music. Seating is limited, so please arrive early. The concert series is brought you in part by the Tucson Guitar Society.

Masks are required for this event because social distancing is not possible in the Performance Garden.

About Borderlands Ensemble: Music from the Border

Based in Tucson, Arizona, the Borderlands Ensemble was formed in 2017 to connect face-to-face with audiences in intimate and unexpected locations. The chamber group includes horn and strings and presents music ranging from new compositions to folk arrangements, classical, and crossover styles. The goal of the group is to disrupt barriers imposed by conventional classical music venues and traditions. The ensemble has performed across Arizona in breweries, biker bars, coffee houses, and other fine establishments, including at the Museum of Contemporary Art (Tucson), the Loft Cinema, and with the Downtown Chamber Series (Phoenix). The group’s adventurous programming, unique approach, and high energy performances promote audience dialog and engagement.

Johanna Lundy is the principal horn of the Tucson Symphony, a position she has held since 2006. Hailed by Gramophone as “simply breathtaking,” she has performed across the United States and abroad. As a soloist and recitalist, Ms. Lundy has appeared as a guest artist with the Aspen Music Festival, Grand Canyon Music Festival, Virginia Arts Festival, St. Andrew’s Bach Society, and the Downtown Chamber Series in Phoenix, among others.  Johanna is the newly appointed horn professor at the University of Arizona Fred Fox School of Music.

Violinist Ellen Chamberlain is known throughout the musical world in many capacities. A two-time recipient of the Director’s Award for Concertmaster, she has performed across the US and played in orchestras in Des Moines (IA), Evansville (IN), Owensboro (KY), Tucson (AZ), and Jerusalem. Ellen plays with the Tucson Symphony and has recently held the assistant and associate concertmaster positions. 

A native of Tucson, Joseph Rousos-Hammond began playing the violin in his elementary school and participated in youth orchestra programs in the area. After attending college at Indiana University and graduate school at the Chicago College of Performing Arts, he returned to Tucson as the principal second violin with the Tucson Symphony. He has held positions with the Civic Orchestra of Chicago, Owensboro Symphony Orchestra and the Columbus Indiana Philharmonic.

A native of Detroit, Michigan, Ann Weaver began her musical studies at age six with her parents, both of whom were members of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra. She began her college studies at Arizona State University and completed her Bachelor of Music degree at the Cleveland Institute of Music. She earned her Master’s degree in Music Performance at Rice University, where she graduated with honors. She is the principal violist of the Tucson Symphony.

Violist Sarah Toy joined the Tucson Symphony Orchestra in 2015. Prior to this position, she was a member of the Canton Symphony Orchestra. In addition to her work as an orchestral player, Ms. Toy enjoys an active career as a chamber musician and educator. She has been featured as a musical guest on NPR’s Says You! and has performed with the Cleveland Chamber Music Society.

Robert Chamberlain is an active cellist in the Tucson performing arts scene. He earned a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Arizona and a Master’s Degree from Indiana University. Robert currently plays with the Tucson Symphony, Arizona Opera, and True Concord. As a chamber musician Robert has been featured on the St. Andrews Bach Society, Greater Oro Valley Arts Council, and the Cedar Valley Chamber Music Festival concert series.

Dr. José Luis Puerta is an assistant professor of music in general music and ethnomusicology at the University of Arizona Fred Fox School of Music. As a guitarist, he collaborates with multiple ensembles in the Tucson Area, as well as serving as the director of education for the Tucson Guitar Society and conductor for the Tucson Guitar Orchestra. He is a founding member of the Caribbean folkloric ensemble Grupo Riken and the Tucson Guitar Quartet. 

Jessica Gonzales is a visual artist known for her many murals around the city of Tucson. Her work is a bold and vibrant representation of her experiences as a woman in society and as a human being interacting with others in a social and intimate realm. As a Latina of biracial background, raised in a family of both liberals and conservatives, her work often reflects the notion of juggling opposition while striving to discover an identity that is her own.