August 2010
Program Notes
Ruidoso Chamber Music Festival — The 6th annual event is July 30-31 at The Spencer Theater for the Performing Arts on Airport Hwy 220 in Alto, N.M. (about 12 miles north of downtown Ruidoso). Tickets: $49 per concert($25 for ages 18 and younger). Three-concert package: $125. Tickets available for order via the Spencer Theater, 1-888-818-7872 or spencertheater.com.
This year’s featured performance will be the 2009 Van Cliburn Piano Competition Gold Medalist Mariangela Vacatello at 8 p.m. Saturday, with a pre-concert talk at 7 p.m.
Friday’s concert features the multiple award-winning Jasper String Quartet at 8 p.m. Pre-concert talk at 7 p.m.
Saturday’s afternoon concert is 2 p.m. featuring 20-year-old violin virtuoso Ray Chen.
Other events:
• The “Fabulous Festival Fling” fund-raising gala is 6 p.m. Friday before the concert in the theater’s Crystal Lobby, featuring hors d’oeuvres and a cash bar. Tickets: $30.
• A free Youth Concert featuring Jasper String Quartet is 10 a.m. Saturday.
• A “Between concert” buffet dinner is 5 p.m. Saturday. Cost: $30.
EPSO Broadcasts — KTEP 88.5FM will broadcast the El Paso Symphony Orchestra’s 2009-2010 Classical Concert Series at 8 p.m. Tuesday evenings, through Aug. 10. Broadcasts include interviews with the guest soloists and conductor. Information: 532-3776. Concerts can also be heard online at ktep.org.
• Aug. 3 – February Program featuring Melissa Colgin-Abeln, flute and Grace Cloutier, harp.
• Aug. 10 – April Program featuring guest conductor Tito Muñoz and Diego Silva, tenor.
Encores and Overtures Gala — The El Paso Opera Guild’s 11th annual kickoff event “An Opera Masquerade” for El Paso Opera’s 17th season is 6 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 22, at Camino Real Hotel Grand Ballroom, 101 S. El Paso, featuring voices from UTEP and a surprise guest artist. Dinner, cocktails and silent auction also featured. Tickets: $125 ($1,250 per table); masks provided. Information/reservations: 581-5534 or epopera.org.
EPSO Anniversary Gala — The Grammy-nominated Eroica Trio performs for the El Paso Symphony Orchestra’s 80th anniversary celebration Saturday, Aug. 28, at the El Paso Museum of Art. Cocktails are 6:30 p.m. with dinner at 7:30 p.m. and the Eroica Trio at 8:30 p.m. Formal attire. RSVP by Aug. 21. Tickets: $125 ($250 couples; $1,250 table for 10). Information: 532-3776.
The Eroica Trio has won the prestigious Naumburg Award, resulting in a highly successful Lincoln Center debut and has since toured the United States, Europe, and Asia. The trio also has released eight critically lauded recordings with multiple nominations.
El Paso Chopin Music Festival — The 2010 fall series of piano concerts is sponsored by El Paso Community College and the El Paso Chopin Festival Society. This year’s concerts are 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 4, Oct. 2 and Oct. 23, at the Chamizal National Memorial, 800 S. San Marcial. Admission is free, but people are advised to arrive early because the concerts are almost always standing room only. Information: 584-1595 or chopinfest@sbcglobal.net. Web: elpaso-chopin.com.
• Sept. 4 — Claire Huangci, Winner of the 2010 U. S. Chopin Piano Competition.
• Oct. 2 — Agustin Anievas. Dubbed a “Lion of the Keyboard” by The New York Times, Anievas was selected by Angel Records to mark the centennial of Rachmaninoff’s birth by recording all of his concertos and preludes. His additional releases include recordings of Brahms, Chopin, Liszt, and Schubert. A graduate of the Julliard School, Anievas has performed in the leading halls of Europe and the United States.
• Oct. 23 — Lucy Scarbrough. Scarbrough has performed as a soloist with major orchestras, has taught at the Chicago Musical College, and is the founder and director of the El Paso Civic Orchestra and the El Paso Chopin Music Festival. Among her many awards are the Minnie Stevens Piper Statewide Award, the El Paso Women’s Hall of Fame, and the El Paso YWCA Reach Award for the Arts. She was invited to serve on the Selection Committee for the Chopin Foundation of the United States 2005 and upcoming 2010 Chopin Piano Competitions.
Opera season tickets — Tickets for El Paso Opera’s 17th season are now available. Information/subscriptions: 581-5534 or epopera.org.
The opera opens with its “Opera For All” performance, a tribute to 9/11 at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 11, at The Plaza Theatre. Tickets: $25.
The opera’s spring 2011 performance is Giacomo Puccini’s “Madama Butterfly” March 10 and 12, at The Plaza Theatre. Tickets: $20 to $90 ($18-$81 seniors and military).
New Desert Harmony Singers — The community mixed chorus, directed by Dave Kinkaid, auditions singers for its annual summer concert at 6:30 p.m. every Thursday, at St. Paul’s United Methodist Church, 225 W. Griggs in Las Cruces. Regular rehearsal begins at 7 p.m. Information: (575) 650-4417 or newdesertharmonysingers.blogspot.com.
New Horizons Symphony — The Orchestra is seeking new members for; all instruments welcome. Parts provided for non-traditional swing band instruments. Rehearsals are6 to 7:30 p.m. Thursdays, at NMSU’s Atkinson Recital Hall. Information: Shawn Robinson, (270) 320-8340 or robinsp@nmsu.edu, or Carol Rehder, (575) 575-522-4272.
New Horizons is a national organization that gives seniors a venue for fulfilling their dreams of becoming musicians.
Symphony auditions — The El Paso Symphony Orchestra will hold auditions 1 to 9 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 29, at UTEP’s Fox Fine Arts Recital Hall, for the 2010-2011 Season for Principal Harp and Principal Keyboard. Applications due by Aug. 13. Information: 532-3776.
Audition application and requirements available online at epso.org.
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