Latin jazz to warm a cool night,
Aug 25, 2006
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Magos Herrera & Jazz Cats Friday, August 25, 7pm, 150/100/80 pesos, Ángela Peralta Theater Info: 152-2200 |
Magos Herrera returns to San Miguel to share her special blend of sultry jazz mixed with Brazilian and other rhythms. Considered to have one the most beautiful voices on the contemporary Mexican music scene, Herrera is a master of harmony and vocal improvisation.
Herrera is accompanied by the Jazz Cats, the talented trio of musicians Gabriel Hernández, Antonio Loyola and Alex Kautz.
Voices unite to rise in song
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"Voces Unidas de San Miguel"
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Every Monday at 5pm in the Sala Quetzal, a very interesting blend of characters get together to sing beautiful choral compositions that vary from opera to traditional Mexican and Latin American music, all choreographed by the expert direction of Javier Hernández and the precise and beautiful piano notes that Liliana, his wife and the maestra pianist, create with infinite grace.
The "Voces Unidas de San Miguel" choir performs a series of concerts at least twice a year in different venues such as San Francisco Church, the Parroquia, the Ángela Peralta Theater and the Santa Ana Church, among others. The choir is well known to San Miguel residents, not just because of the excellent music selections but also because of their professionalism.
Part of the proceeds of this week's two summer concerts at the Biblioteca Pública will benefit the library's programs for students and children. Tickets are on sale at the Teatro Santa Ana box office.
Art and sponsorship enrich entertainment
By Tim Hazell
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We live in a town under the microscope. San Miguel is cropping up everywhere, as a result of articles, documentaries and books about its colonial and pre-Conquest legacy. |
This jewel of the Bajío has become a Mecca for cultural and casual travelers. Once known mainly as a hub for visual arts, with a painters' colony of repute, the town-with its ideal climate, colorful façades and cobbled streets nestled in rolling verdant hills-now attracts musicians, writers, filmmakers, actors and directors from international backgrounds. It is also home to some of the world's leading festivals and retrospectives.
The nature and relationship between San Miguel's formidable talent pool-those who create intellectual and artistic products, and the organizations and patrons who support new enterprises-is changing. Friend and colleague Doug Robinson, a jazz composer and multi-instrumentalist best known to audiences for producing the recent Ray Charles tribute at Teatro Ángela Peralta, had this to say about the current status of liberal arts in San Miguel: "Our current project, 'A Forest of the Americas,' is a fusion of chamber music for the traditional ensemble, laced with elements of jazz and ethnic cultures and the haunting sonorities of Mesoamerican instruments.
"From my point of view, we've got all the ingredients of a world-class entertainment destination. We've got talented musicians and composers living among us; we've got a good reputation with artists in Mexico and in the States; and we have forward-thinking groups like San Miguel el Grande Pro Musica and the San Miguel Educational Foundation, who are committed to producing worthwhile events. It's also encouraging to see that there's a growing group of corporate and individual sponsors who seem eager to help with funding. If everyone pitches in and does their part, and if we keep the focus on creativity without losing touch with the traditions of the music, then this will be the place in which musicians all over the world will want to perform.
"Next January's world premiere of 'A Forest of the Americas' is a good example of blending traditional elements with newer styles," Robinson continues. "With 'A Forest of the Americas,' we're shooting for something completely new in nature, even though we're using instruments that were invented hundreds of years ago. Tim and I are co-composing a suite of musical pieces that combine Mesoamerican musical textures with European classical instruments and song forms, along with harmonic twists that borrow more from jazz than anything else. We're right in the middle of the composing process, but so far we're looking at an ensemble that includes pre-Colombian instruments, violin, contrabass, sitar, oud, 12-string guitar and acoustic piano. We're off to a great start in terms of funding with a US$5,000 grant from the San Miguel Educational Foundation, and the more money we raise, the higher the level of performers we'll be able to gather to bring the music to life.
"'A Forest of the Americas' has the potential to reach more than just the community of San Miguel. We hope to take the show on the road, so to speak, and also to use audio and video recordings of the performances as examples of how such disparate styles can be fused into something coherent and pleasurable. Of course, now all we have to do is finish writing!"
Ancient traditions can integrate harmoniously with Western, ethnic and modern indigenous perspectives. The rasp (omichicahaztli), globular ocarina, double- and triple-barreled flute, log drum (teponaztli) and rainstick (chicahuaztli) form an intrinsic part of our orchestrations, alongside grand piano, violin, contrabass and dulcimer. Doug and I hope to use the medium of sound to present a tableau of native and immigrant legacies that have defined peoples and mores of the Americas, as individual and collective histories, throughout the past and still relevant into the present. This collaboration is made possible with the active participation and encouragement of San Miguel el Grande Pro Musica and generous assistance from the San Miguel Educational Foundation (SMEF).
"A Forest of the Americas" is scheduled for performances at Saint Paul's Church in January 2007. Apart from demonstrating that communities can work together to overcome differences of nationalities, ventures that bring artists and patrons together through innovation and vision foster closer international ties and broaden cultural experiences. San Miguel is a crossroads for those who choose to reinvest their gifts as professionals, members of groups promoting education and culture and inspired social entrepreneurs.
Chamber Music Festival ends on a high note
By John S. Brooks, photos by Holly Wilmeth
| The Festival de Música de Cámara de San Miguel de Allende ended on a high note, thrilling a sold-out house with a rapturous performance of Mozart's Symphonie Concertante played by the St. Petersburg and Vega String Quartets and violinist Tim Fain. | |
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From the beginning, the new Festival administration signaled its intention to bring a breath of fresh air to the Festival by inaugurating the series with a sold-out concert by the Turtle Island String Quartet, an innovative group-hailed by cellist Yo-Yo Ma as "a unified voice that truly breaks new ground"-that combines traditional chamber music with folk, bluegrass, rock and many other musical styles.
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"This was the most successful Festival in the 28 years of the Festival's existence," says board president Ed Clancy. "We had three completely sold-out concerts at the Ángela Peralta, not to mention a free concert at Bellas Artes from which we actually had to turn people away." |
The Bellas Artes concert was dedicated to Leonard Brooks, the only one of the Festival's founders still residing in San Miguel.
| Another highlight of the Festival was the special concert at Las Monjas in memory of Festival patron Bill Porter, which sold out in spite of its 300-peso ticket price. "I was very touched by this outpouring of love for Bill," said Barbara Porter, Bill's widow and a member of the board. | |
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One factor contributing to the popularity of the Ángela Peralta concerts was the decision by the board to slash balcony tickets by more than half, bringing the price down to 50 pesos. Administrative director Silvia Grosso then went on the air to publicize the tickets on radio and television.
"We've never seen the balcony fill up like that," says Clancy. "We were determined to have a greater Mexican attendance, and we succeeded. I talked to several people there who said they'd never attended a Festival concert. And they said they'd be back, too."
Distinguished music critic Juan Arturo Brennan, writing in the August 12 issue of La Jornada, had this to say:
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"Barely into its first year in office, the new board has taken firm steps toward what has always been one of the Festival's primary goals: |
the inclusion of more Mexican citizens in the audience of what has been, until now, a series of exclusive concerts for the US expatriate community. While much remains to be done in this regard, the board is moving in the right direction."
Concert
"Postcards from Mexico"Thursday, September 14, 7pm
Teatro Santa Ana, Reloj 50, 50 pesos
Jack Stillwater and Frances Rose Zelenka will present "Postcards from Mexico," a concert of classic Mexican melodies arranged for two classical guitars.
The program includes such classic Mexican songs as "La Bikina," "Besame Mucho," "Maria Elena," "Adoro," "Aquellos Ojos Verdes" and "Somos Novios." Proceeds will benefit Anyel, a children's music education program in San Miguel.