Few music festivals can claim the leadership position or forward thinking of the Tucson Desert Song Festival (TDSF). In a modern world in which classical music is facing a tough battle for continued funding, it is the TDSF that is giving smaller regional organizations an opportunity to thrive.

The festival, which was founded by Jack Forsythe, is currently under the direction of George Hanson, who noted that despite the title of "festival," the organization does not follow with conventional understanding of the term.

"The key thing that differentiates us from all of these organizations is that we are not a presenter," Hanson told Latin Post. "We do not sign contracts with singers. We provide funding directly to eight organizations and each of these organizations agrees to hire singers."

Why is it so crucial for an organization like the TDSF to exist?

"Regional Orchestras almost never hire artists of that caliber because the fees are so high" Hanson noted. "There are so few singers with the musical talent, technique, dedication, the discipline and the intelligence. By the time you get someone with all those pieces in place, there are so few that their managers can basically ask for fees that would not allow them to come to a place like Tucson. That is what my organization does."

The organizations themselves are given rosters of artists from prominent companies to choose from and can also make proposals. Then the board will raise the money so that the fees can be met.

The results speak for themselves with this year's festival featuring such prominent artists as Jamie Barton, Alek Shrader, Amber Wagner and Daniela Mack among others. Barton is the winner of the 2015 Richard Tucker Award and is a fixture at the Met Opera. Wagner and Shrader both won the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions in 2007. Mack has sung at the San Francisco Opera and is slated to perform at the Royal Opera House Covent Garden, Metropolitan Opera and English National Opera among others.

Hanson recalls Forsythe coming up with the idea for the festival during a lunch meeting. At the time, Hanson was the conductor of the Tucson Symphony Orchestra, an organization with which he spent over 20 years at the helm.

"[Forsythe] thought he could help the symphony by creating the festival board to raise money," Hanson explained. "He thought that the city of Tucson ought to have the highest level of artistry that is available."

And so he did. The festival got underway in February of 2013 and will now enter its fourth season. For Hanson, who was appointed in mid-2015, it will be his first experience.

This year's festival will feature the aforementioned artists, among others, performing with such organizations as the Tucson Symphony Orchestra, the Arizona Opera, the Ballet Tucson and the Tucson Guitar Society.

One of the prominent themes of this year's festival includes music inspired by Latino and Spanish culture.

The Arizona Opera will feature Bizet's "Carmen" with Mack in the leading role. Mack, who was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, is also looking to do some Argentine art songs on one of the opera company's featured recitals.

Additionally, the Ballet Tucson and Tucson Guitar Society will team up for a program of Latin song and dance, featuring guitarist Adam del Monte and baritone Bernardo Bermudez.

"In our part of the world, there is a proclivity and attraction to that literature and repertoire so we find ourselves doing a lot of that repertoire anyway," noted Hanson when talking about how the groups selected themes and repertoire for this year.

For his part, Hanson will be performing Gustav Mahler's "Das Lied von der Erde," a symphony for tenor and mezzo soprano that will feature Sasha Cooke alongside Metropolitan Opera tenor Richard Cox.

For Hanson, this performance will be a deeply personal one as it sums up a life of dedication to the work of the famed composer.

"A recording of his first symphony was what tripped the wire in me looking into and becoming a conductor instead of continuing as a pianist," he noted before describing how performances of Mahler's cycle in Wuppertal created euphoria throughout Germany.

"It became 'uber-regional' with people traveling from all parts of the region to hear the symphonies performed," he stated.

The festival runs from Jan. 21 through Feb. 7, 2016.