09 Feb 2026 Little Rock Winds presents España!
The Little Rock Winds will present “España!” at 7:30 p.m., Feb. 19, at Second Presbyterian Church, 600 Pleasant Valley Drive in Little Rock. The program celebrates the fiery spirit of well-known Spanish music and features mezzo soprano JoAna Rusche in Matthew Tommasini’s Three Spanish Songs. Experience the energy, romance, and colorful rhythms that make Spanish music so much fun. Israel Getzov conducts.
Admission is $15, free for students. Tickets are available online at lrwinds.org/tickets
Concert Sponsored by Robert and Jo Ann McQuade; soloist sponsored by Chris Vanlandingham.
Program
Amparito Roca Jaime Texidor, tr. Winter
Capriccio Espagnole Niklolai Rimsky-Korsakov, tr. Hindsley
España Emmanuel Chabrier, tr. Mollenhauer
Three Spanish Songs Matthew Tommasini
La Procession du Rocio Joaquín Turina, tr. Reed
España Cañí Pascual Marquina, tr. Longfield
American conductor Israel Getzov begins his eleventh season as Music Director of the Little Rock Winds. He also serves as Music Director of the Conway Symphony Orchestra, and Artistic Advisor to the Orquesta Filarmónica de Santa Cruz in Bolivia. Previous positions include Principal Conductor of the Tianjin Philharmonic – the resident orchestra of the Tianjin Grand Theater in China, and Associate Conductor of the Arkansas Symphony.
Recent engagements include Evergreen Symphony Orchestra at Taipei’s National Concert Hall and their 2024 tour to Bangkok, and the inaugural concert of La Orchestra in Ho Chi Minh City. Additional guest conducting include Shanghai Philharmonic, Tianjin Symphony Orchestra, Zhejiang Symphony Orchestra, Abilene Philharmonic, Asheville Symphony, Cleveland Pops, Monroe Symphony, Mid-Texas Symphony, Bolivia Classica, and the Encuentros de Jovenes New Music Festival in La Paz.
Mezzo-soprano JoAna Rusche has appeared in operas, concerts, and recitals throughout the United States and Europe. She has sung such roles as Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni, Angelina in La Cenerentola, Rosina in Il barbiere di Siviglia, The Mother in Amahl and the Night Visitors, Second Lady in Die Zauberflöte, Fiora in L’amore dei tre re, Tamara in The Demon, Soeur Mathilde in Dialogues des Carmélites, Hansel in Hansel and Gretel, L’Enfant in L’Enfant et les Sortilège, and Sheva Haddas in the world premiere of Enemies, A Love Story. She has performed with opera companies and young artist programs including the Academy of Vocal Arts, Palm Beach Opera, Opera North, Opera New Jersey, and Teatro Nuovo.
Dr. Rusche is a two-time District Winner of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions and has received second place in the Birmingham Opera Competition and the Heafner Williams Vocal Competition, first place in the Long Leaf Opera National Vocal Competition and the Charlotte Opera Guild Auditions, and first place in the National Federation of Music Clubs and Auditions at the state and national levels. She was also the recipient of the Orpheus DaCapo Award in the Orpheus Vocal Competition.
