The José White String Quartet, the only chamber music ensemble on the concert circuit to have had its start in San Miguel de Allende, will return March 4 and 5 for two performances in the San Miguel el Grande Pro Musica series.

The four musicians started playing together as scholarship students at the Chamber Music Festival in the 1990s. They made their professional debut at the 1998 festival and have appeared in subsequent festivals and Pro Musica concerts. The quartet is based in Aguascalientes, and its members are principal players with the Aguascalientes Symphony Orchestra.

The quartet made its US debut in 2004. The Cleveland Plain Dealer reported that "despite their distance from the established centers of classical music, the young players perform with world-class artistry." 

Three of the players were born in Cuba, and the ensemble took its name from an acclaimed Cuban violinist of the 19th and early 20th centuries. José White enjoyed an international concert career while based in Europe and has inspired string players in Latin America for several generations. 

Silvia Santa María, violinist, was born in Havana and studied at that city's Instituto Superior de Arte and Conservatorio Amadeo Roldan, as well as at the Rimsky-Korsakov Conservatory in St. Petersburg, Russia. She teaches violin at the school of music of the Universidad Autónoma de Zacatecas. 

Also a native of Havana, violinist Sandra Diaz Roqueta studied at the Instituto Superior de Arte. She played with the World Juvenile Orchestra, based in Sweden, and was a member of the Philharmonic Orchestra of Querétaro. 

Sergio Carrillo, viola, was born in Los Angeles and studied there at the School of Music and Arts. He also studied at the Universidad Autónoma de Zacatecas and was a member of the Chamber Orchestra of the Instituto Cultural de Tepic, Nayarit. 

Cellist Orlando Espinosa was born in Havana, where he attended the Instituto Superior de Arte. He was a founding member of the Roldan String Quartet and of the Trio Sagittarius, and he played with the Philharmonic Orchestra of Querétaro.

The concerts take place at 5pm at St. Paul's Episcopal Church, calle Cardo 6. Tickets are 50, 100 and 150 pesos and are available at Galería San Miguel, next to the Presidencia; Casa de Papel, Mesones 57; and at St. Paul's and the Chamber Music Festival office in Bellas Artes, weekdays 11am to 2pm. Tickets may be reserved by calling 152-0387 weekdays from 11am to 2pm. Tickets will also be sold at the door one hour before the concert. For more information, consult the Pro Musica website at http://promusicasma.tripod.com 

Pre-Hispanic music concert (Feb 24, 2006)

Archaeological evidence suggests that the ancient Aztecs maintained a school of music at Tenochtitlán, their capital city. No doubt the young musicians in training studied the pre-Hispanic instruments that we find today in the museums of Mexico, instruments like the teponaztli, a type of wood drum carved from a large tree trunk, and the quiquiztli (conch shell trumpet). These instruments and many others will be played at a recital of pre-Hispanic music in the Teatro Santa Ana of the Biblioteca Pública.

The performing ensemble is called Collar del Viento (the wind's necklace) and consists of six young musicians, ranging in age from 11 to 18 years, who play pre-Hispanic music on replica instruments. Four members of the group have been playing together for over five years. The group is instructed by two professional Mexican musicians from Pozos, Néstor Vargas and Gonzalo Gómez.

Collar del Viento will perform in costume and face paint utilizing the traditional ritualistic effects of incense, flowers and candles. After the performance the audience will have the opportunity to ask questions and examine the instruments.

Collar del Viento
Sunday, March 5, 3pm
Teatro Santa Ana, Reloj 50
50 pesos