Two performances Saturday by the TSO String Quartet explore the sounds of the desert. The audience is invited to help the players create a soundscape--a musical story that incorporates the cry of a coyote, the crunch of gravel underfoot and wind rushing through cactus needles.
Kids are allowed to bring their parents, as long as they'll behave. (Parents will also need to pony up the suggested $1 donation.)
The concerts, filled with humor, storytelling, demonstrations and audience participation, take place at the performance hall at the Tucson Symphony Center, 2175 N. Sixth Ave., just south of Grant Road. Show times are 10 and 11:15 a.m. Saturday. For more information, call 882-8585.
ARTISTS ASKING WHY: Five Wily Muses, an artist group, confronts issues of artistic hierarchy in an exhibition called Subverting the Prevailing Paradigm.
The show, which opens Friday, is an exploration of the distinction between low art and high art. The works use media considered "craft" by contemporary standards: clay, fibers, video, found objects and natural materials.
A reception, open to the public, is 5 to 7 p.m. Saturday at the Tucson/Pima Arts Council, 240 N. Stone Ave. The exhibit runs through February 9. Gallery hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays through Fridays. For more information, call 624-0595.
STRANGE, BUT GOOD: Folk guitarist Duncan Stitt, who has opened for Tanya Tucker and Tammy Wynette, will perform an odd mix of folk-hip hop, country and blues in a free performance.
Stitt, who also plays piano and writes songs, will strum tunes from his latest album, No Dog Like an Old Dog, from 3 to 4 p.m. Saturday at Bookman's Used Books, 1930 E. Grant Road. For more information, call Chris Stead at 325-5767.
GLASS FOR A GREAT CAUSE: Nationally known glass artists Dante Marioni and Stephen Rolfe Powell have donated their work to a silent benefit auction for a 14-year-old boy with cancer.
Artglass for Dillon, at Philabaum Glass Gallery, is to raise money to pay for the treatment of Dillon Hansen, son of Scott Hansen, an artist at the gallery. An opening is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. Saturday for the event, which runs through January 27. The gallery is located at 711 S. Sixth Ave. For more information, call 884-7404.
TAKE A BREATHER: Stressed out from the holiday hubbub? Take a deep breath and listen to Shirley Dunn Perry, author of Ten Five-Minute Miracles: How to Relax.
Dunn Perry brings meditation, writing, praise and support to the Women's Writing Group at St. Francis in the Foothills. All you have to bring is a pen and some paper.
It's a free unwind that begins at 6 p.m. Thursday at St. Francis, 4625 E. River Road. The group meets in Room 50. For more information, call Lanny Lewis at 529-2686.
