August 22, 2008, Chamber festival scores with audiences and musicians, By Bob Kelly, No schools for gypsy songs, By Dick Avery, Classical guitar recital, A concert organ for San Miguel, By Harold Weicker, Son Mexican fusion, By Isaac Toporek

Chamber festival scores with audiences and musicians
By Bob Kelly August 22, 2008 San Miguel de Allende

The thirtieth annual summer chamber music festival expanded its efforts to each out to the community this year and the community responded with enthusiasm and appreciation.

A festival goal to participate in the broader conversation about “what is chamber music” also was reached.

Those are among the assessments by festival board members, who have begun evaluating the 18-day-event that ended August 17 as they start the planning process for the thirty-first festival next year.

The festival presented a record 30 musical events, half of them free, by 42 international musicians from the US, Mexico and Europe and by 21 advanced young musicians attending the student program.

“The free concerts were enthusiastically received by overflow audiences and the enthusiasm of the Synergy Brass Quintet in the callejoneada August 10 was matched by the enthusiasm of the hundreds who watched and followed behind on their happy musical walk from the Jardín to Parque Juarez,” said Camilla Sands, festival manager.

“There was an enthusiastic audience response this year to all of the groups and an appreciation frequently expressed for the very presence of the festival in San Miguel’s cultural life,” said Barbara Porter, festival board president.

“Our audiences had an opportunity to experience all aspects of modern chamber music,” Porter said, “from the solid, classical approaches of the Ying String Quartet and the Miami String Quartet, the impeccable clarity of the Poulenc Trio, the adventurousness of the Ahn Trio, the out-of-the-chamber exuberance of Synergy Brass and the largest representation in memory of excellent Mexican musicians: the astounding Arveiros Vocal Quartet, Quinteto Alientos and the Cuarteto Carlos Chavez.”

Ticket sales and overall income were up slightly compared to last year, even though tourism and tourism spending has been down, said Juan Villasenor, board treasurer. Costs also were up, he said, due largely to increases in transportation and lodging expenses.

A priority of the board this fall will be on fundraising so that next year’s festival can continue its community outreach and the diversity of international artists, Porter said.

“Every group of musicians has expressed their wonder and appreciation for San Miguel de Allende—the charm of the town and the warmth and excitement of the audience,” she added.

“Each group made clear their eagerness to return again next year—a decision that will be taken up early this fall by the festival board.”

The student program was a particular success this year, said Richard Trumbull, vice president of the board. “The La Catrina Quartet, our quartet in residence, established a sense of structure and organization to the instruction which represented a significant step in the program’s maturity. Without fail, each of the visiting groups, from Ying to Synergy, expressed surprise and admiration for the level of talent of the students and most particularly, the level of motivation and work ethic in evidence.

“Blake Espy, the new second violinist of La Catrina, reviewed the list of our visiting groups, the master classes and the other parts of the student’s schedule that we have been working on since February. He shook his head and said, ‘This is unbelievable. You just can’t get this in the States, this kind of learning opportunity. And it would cost six or seven thousand dollars for a summer camp—what is it you charge again?’ ‘Two thousand pesos,’” I told him, “‘and free room and breakfast.’”

“Who puts the students up?”

“Friends and supporters of the festival,” I told him, “anybody who is interested in making that kind of contribution to us.”

Trumbull also gave a sense of what the festival means to a broad cross-section:

“Patrons and sponsors were invited to a home of one of our supporters—a large home in the Ojo de Agua area with a pool, green grass, open bar, Brazilian music coming from a singer and her back up. A sampling of our sponsors, season ticket holders, participating hotels and restaurants, hosts of musicians and students were invited. Members of the Ying Quartet, playing their twelfth festival, were talking with members of their audience, drinking wine and taking snacks from the table. The moon was new. The lights from the town were down below. David Ying, the cellist, walked by a group of us and said, ‘this is just about perfect, isn’t it? This is where to be. It seems even better than the last time.’”

For their part, the students could not have been more appreciative, Trumbull said, “The families who graciously volunteer their homes for students to stay seemed to have nothing but wonderful reports about their students. And this year, the idea of students playing out in the community really took hold and many times during the week, tourists and residents alike were surprised and delighted by the presence of chamber music coming from restaurants and patios around town, as well as the new mall.”

Bob Kelly was a reporter for his hometown newspaper and the editor of a weekly, both in Parkersburg, WV. His last newspaper job was with the Chicago Sun-Times.

No schools for gypsy songs
By Dick Avery

Concert
Javier “Gitano” Estrada
Gypsy guitar and voice
Fri, Aug 29, 7pm
Sala Quetzal
Biblioteca Pública
Reloj 50A
100 pesos

Javier Estrada sees his music as an expression of the emotions that affect him as he experiences events moving through life’s path. The gypsy flamenco music is tied to and woven into his personal experience. “I was concerned with the lives of people and how to put music to the different people I met in the journey of my life,” he says.

This approach still didn’t satisfy his desire for improvement, so it was back to studying the basics of chord construction, scales and music fundamentals. In this way, “I find a way to be free with the music and the timing.” All without a maestro, all on his own. “In gypsy music, there are no copies; you play who you are... there are no schools for the songs of the gypsies. You learn from listening and from being there.”

Classical guitar recital

Concert
Classical Guitar
Severo Barrera
Mon, Aug 25, 7:30pm
Sala Quetzal
Biblioteca Pública
Reloj 50 A
150 pesos, limited seating

In this recital, Severo Barrera plays masterpieces by composers from the baroque and romantic periods in classical and Spanish classical styles.

He focuses on Bach, Tárrega, Regondi, Rodrigo, Scarlatti and other composers, creating a magic atmosphere, exploring the rich sonorities of the instrument. He also performs his own compositions. Barrera attended the Mexico City and Madrid conservatories of music, studied flamenco and jazz styles, and completed his training by studying composition and arrangements. He start playing the guitar at 13, plays different styles of music with other musicians, and has performed recitals in Mexico, the US, Europe and South America.

Music aficionados have wished for some time for a truly good concert organ in San Miguel. A quality instrument would expand our resources for more great music. It could be the basis for founding (or rejuvenating) a San Miguel Chorus, along with providing an instrument for recitals and concerts.

Although concert organs often are housed in churches, they serve as instruments for the whole community. St. Paul’s Church Board has agreed to install a concert organ in the church as part of their ongoing commitment to be a positive resource for all of San Miguel’s residents and visitors.

The premier digital organ builder is the Allen Company in Pennsylvania. We have the opportunity to acquire one of their slightly used concert instruments from the top of their line, the Allen Renaissance R-350, built in 2002. It features 3 manuals, 71 voices, playback, MIDI, 16 memory levels and 7 alternate tunings. It is in excellent physical and technical condition, with 8 cabinet speakers and 2 quad amplifiers, 485 watts each. The R-350 is found in many concert halls, auditoriums and churches worldwide. An Allen representative in Guadalajara can handle the small amount of occasional maintenance needed.

Originally costing about US$100,000, the instrument can be purchased for half that amount ($52,000) from the estate of a deceased organist. Two weeks ago, fundraising started with initial donations of over $17,000. The response has been excellent, but an additional $43,000 is needed to cover the instrument, installation and shipping to Mexico. We hope that you would be willing to be part of this important initiative. The instrument will be called “The Memorial Organ” and a “Book of Memories” will acknowledge donors. If a donor wishes to remain anonymous, or wants to remember a loved one, their wishes will be respected. Though housed at St. Paul’s as its venue, this organ will truly be available to the community.

For a tax-exempt donation, checks should be made out to “St. Paul’s Church” and sent to St. Paul’s Church, Apdo 640, San Miguel de Allende, GTO 37700 Mexico, or dropped off at the church at Cardo 6 (telephone: 152-0387). Contributions from the US can be mailed to St. Paul’s Church, PMB 141A, 220 N. Zapata Highway #11A, Laredo, TX 78043.

St. Paul’s is an established tax-exempt organization in the US and Mexico. On the memo line of the check, write “Organ Fund” to ensure that your gift will be designated for and limited to the purchase and installation of The Memorial Organ.

If you have any questions, call Harold Weicker at 152-6249 or Dean Underwood at 152-5497.

Son Mexican fusion
By Isaac Toporek

Concert
Zazhil
Wed, Aug 27, 9pm
El Viejo Topo Café-Teatro
Stirling Dickinson 28
Cover: 175 pesos
Reserve: 154-8701

From its beginnings in 1983, Zazhil has pioneered the sound of “Son Mexican fusion.” Son is a traditional form of Mexican music that displays a great variety of genres and rhythms. Zazhil was the first group in the country to adapt son to contemporary concepts and arrangements through fusion and recreation.

One of the forerunners of world music in Mexico, Zazhil merges its rich musical heritage with diverse styles such as the blues, jazz and rock. Their lively arrangements intertwine traditional instruments with the nontraditional.

The music of Zazhil demonstrates the diversity and relevance of Mexican music for the world of the twenty-first century. Their music attracts younger generations while honoring the traditions of Mexican music.

Through the years, Zazhil has toured Mexico sponsored by various governmental cultural projects and has performed in the US, Germany, Belgium, Holland, Portugal, Martinique, Nicaragua and Costa Rica.

Zazhil also accompanies renowned Mexican singers such as Oscar Chávez, Pancho Madrigal, Gabino Palomares and Amparo Ochoa (for nine years, until her death).

Celebrating 25 years of Mexican music fusion, Zazhil embarks on a world tour in 2008, with their newest recording, Sones de Nueva Luna, and songs especially written by singer-composers David Haro and Rafael Mendoza.