Tempe Center for the Arts

Helms is its founding artistic director.

This weekend, they'll be playing at Tempe Center for the Arts alongside renowned pianist James Adler, who made his orchestral debut at 17 years old, playing alongside the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.

He'll be premiering two pieces.

Helms came into our studios recently to talk more about it with my co-host Lauren Gilger, beginning with the origins of Desert Overture and how he got involved from the very start.

And, and then seeing a show and go, "Oh, you know, if we advertised it this way," and, and then seeing the people and, uh, seeing the person on stage.

On that side of things, um, I was in the green room at the Tempe Center of the Arts where I was for 12 years doing, um, workshops and shows.

And a show I had booked, uh, not a, uh, a student show, a regular show, was on stage and I'm in the green room on my phone watching a basketball game.

And this one comic who wasn't on the show, he was there.