UTRGV Patron of the Arts brings its new online concert series that everyone can enjoy in the comfort of their homes. The concerts will be featured during a Facebook live broadcast on the Patron of the Arts at UTRGV Facebook page.
“This is a new series that we started on a response to the social distancing,” said Dahlia Guerra, assistant vice president for Public Art.
Patron of the Arts had canceled all events that were going to take place during the spring semester in the UTRGV Performing Arts Complex on the Edinburg campus and at the Texas Southmost College Performing Arts Center in Brownsville.
Guerra said the Patron of the Arts wants to continue offering the community wonderful concerts for two reasons.
“As a source of comfort during these difficult times, and then also to continue to showcase our outstanding talent that we have with our faculty and with our students,” she said.
Kurt Martinez, School of Music director and guitar professor, said the concerts now being online is a way to keep the series going and to give people an outlet to be inspired by great music.
Asked about what the public can expect, he replied, “The same tradition of great music that Patron of the Arts always offers. We’re gonna be putting out there the highest quality concerts, music that you wouldn’t maybe necessarily have [the] opportunity regularly to hear.”
Martinez added music will help the university community persevere through the pandemic crisis.
The first concert will be “Duo Aldebaran” a flute/guitar duo at 6 p.m. Wednesday. It will feature UTRGV School of Music professors Krista Jobson and Héctor Rodriguez, who have performed all over the world together.
The second concert of the week will be 6 p.m. Friday. It is a sampling of UTRGV Mariachi Aztlán’s performances at the Houston Grand Opera in 2010 and 2012, and the Lyric Opera of Chicago in 2013 and 2015.
“It’s a throwback,” Guerra said. “We want to just share this memory of a time that we played with two different opera companies.”
The sampling are excerpts from the premiere performances of two original mariachi operas, “Cruzar la Cara de la Luna,” and “El Pasado Nunca Se Termina,” both composed by Jose “Pepe” Martinez with libretto by Leonard Foglia. Those were taped live during a television broadcast of Chicago Tonight! in Chicago, in 2012, according to an email sent by Guerra.
Martin Cantu, La Joya High School mariachi director and former UTRGV Mariachi Aztlán violinist, treasures the memory of performing with the Houston Grand Opera and the Lyric Opera of Chicago.
“It was one of the best experiences I’ve had since I was able to work with professional singers from … some of the most prestigious opera houses like the Lyric Opera of Chicago and the Houston Grand Opera,” Cantu said. “Working with these individuals knowing that … they have been singing all over the world, made me … appreciate music even more.”
He said these performances being showcased is a good opportunity for the community in the Rio Grande Valley to see a glimpse of what the Mariachi Aztlán did in collaboration with the operas years ago and to resonate with the culture.
The online concert series will run from April through May. This gives an opportunity for UTRGV faculty to submit entries for music ensembles and for students to perform their senior recitals.
Guerra said that a schedule for the series is still in progress. Patron of the Arts will try to have two concerts per week, Wednesday and Friday. Depending on the available concerts, the days are subject to change.
“We’ll have a variety of different concerts,” she said. “There may be new material … or maybe historical material that we want to showcase that maybe happened several years ago … and many of these performances may be premiere performances.”
Guerra added there is something for everyone as there will be classical music, different instruments and ensembles.
“People are seeking comfort and ways to spend some of these long hours,” she said. “ There’s nothing like music to bring comfort to the soul and just as a form of relaxation.”
Guerra hopes that the concert series will continue to give the community and students joy and relief during this pandemic crisis.
To view the UTRGV Patron of the Arts online concert series, click here.
