Standing ovation for Voces Unidas of San Miguel
By Beverly Russell, May 4, 2007

San Miguel’s Coro Voces Unidas, a chorus of 36 voices under the direction of Maestro Xavier Hernandez, with accompaniment by the Ensamble San Miguel, received a standing ovation at the end of their concert at Teatro Ángela Peralta on April 25.

Maestro Hernandez and his talented wife, pianist Liliana Gutierrez, who partners with him in this group, are a remarkable pair of young musicians, clearly destined for a successful future. Hernandez, an accomplished tenor, also plays the flute with great sensitivity, and directs the choir at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church. Liliana Gutierrez is an exemplary pianist with a fluent touch. The hour-long program included pieces that each had arranged specially for the concert.

The concert marked a step up the ladder of musical recognition for the local choir which has previously sung in the Iglesia Santa Ana, Oratorio and San Francisco. The choir ably stood the test of the larger theater. Maestro Hernandez has told the choir members that he hopes to take them on the road, to such places as Guadalajara, in the future.

The performance began with “Va Pensiero” chorus from Verdi’s opera Nabucco. The rest of the concert was a celebration of Latino music from various countries and origins. Maestro Hernandez’ masterful selection maintained a variety of rhythms from the Mayan a cappella “Xtoles” to the Cuban “Son de la Loma” and the Columbian “Prende la Vela.” The choir’s program of seven songs was neatly interspersed with five separate contributions from the Ensamble San Miguel: Carly Cross, oboe; Clara Dunham, soprano; Ramiro Granados, amplified and classical guitar; Enrique Prado, cello; with Liliana Gutierrez, piano and Xavier Hernandez tenor and flute.

But it was the spirit of the music, with its lilting, emotional cadences, emphasized by Dunham’s ethereal singing, which touched the hearts of the audience, promoting a feeling of joyfulness for everyone present. The group’s final piece “San Miguelito”—described as a hymn to San Miguel by arranger Hernandez—was repeated as an encore. 

The choir meets for rehearsals in the Biblioteca Pública on Mondays and Thursdays at 5:30pm, and is open to new members who wish to join.

Beverly Russell, a British-born American author of several non-fiction books, came to live in San Miguel in 2006.