Santa Fe Music – It’s Not Just Opera!
Santa Fe has a vibrant musical scene, and not just during the summer season, when we welcome the Santa Fe Opera and the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival. We are fortunate that our small town is rich in talented musicians all year-round.
The Santa Fe Symphony and Chorus is one of our local treasures, and not just because they bring us the Messiah every holiday season! The Symphony, under the baton of Stephen Smith, offers the orchestral repertoire, and a range of soloists, to music lovers throughout the year. This Sunday, January 20 at 4:00 pm, a concert entitled Winter Brilliance features pianist Spencer Myer in a performance of Rachmaninov’s riveting Piano Concerto No. 2. Also on the bill are works by Nielsen and Tchaikovsky, sure to delight away from the cold and crisp afternoon in the warmth of the Lensic.
The weekend that just passed brought us the wonders of Jules Massenet’s comic opera, Cinderella, performed in the historic Scottish Rite Center, the former Masonic Temple of Santa Fe, thanks to the Santa Fe Concert Association. What a delightful adventure that was, and with three free performances at the Scottish Rite, and performances in the Santa Fe Public Schools for over 1200 3rd and 4th graders, once could say the Concert Association paid their New Year’s dues. But no, they are back again on January 24, when famed pianist Louis Lortie performs a concert of opera music at 7:30 pm in the St. Francis Auditorium. Their educational mission closes out the month of January at 7:30 pm on the 29th at the United Church of Christ as Executive Director Joseph Illick takes his audience inside the compelling story of Richard Wagner’s life in music.
Not to be outdone, Santa Fe’s beloved baroque ensemble, Santa Fe Pro Musica, celebrates a Winter Classic Weekend at the Lensic. On Friday, January 25 at 7:30 pm, Friday, Jan Lisiecki performs Frederic Chopin’s Etudes, Op. 10 & 25. The Classic Weekend continues on Saturday, January 26 at 6:00 pm and Sunday, January 27 at 3:00 pm, when the ensemble performs Beethoven’s Overture to The Creatures of Prometheus, and the Haydn Symphony No. 101 in D Major, “Clock” Hob. I:101. and Mr. Lisiecki performs Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 4 in G Major, Op. 58. With the crisp, clean sounds of a seasoned ensemble, Santa Fe Pro Musica does itself proud.
For those whose musical tastes run to the more contemporary, Heath Concerts welcomes the one and only Matisyahu, the talented Hassidic Reggae singer, once a novelty but now a highly respected and inventive musician with a deeply spiritual outlook. This will be his first Santa Fe appearance, and this don’t-miss-it experience is a sure bet to sell out the Lensic, on January 31 at 7:30 pm.
Take time to enjoy some memorable music in Santa Fe!