Musicians from both sides of the border will present a festive concert on Saturday night with music by Haydn, Bruch, Saint-Saens, and from two beloved musicals, Phantom of the Opera and West Side Story. Jorge Martinez-Rios will conduct the New Horizons Symphony Orchestra, the NMSU Philharmonic, and visiting students from the Morelia Conservatory from Mexico in the concert, with two soloists joining them, El Paso cellist James Carney, and NMSU viola student Laynee Stokes.
In this interview with KRWG’s Leora Zeitlin, Martinez-Rios said he likes to bring students and professionals together both through the collaboration he has developed with his alma mater, the Morelia Conservatory, and by combining the New Horizons, Las Cruces’ community orchestra, with the NMSU Philharmonic, a student orchestra, both of which he conducts.
His student, Laynee Stokes, a sophomore at NMSU will play the Romance for Viola and Orchestra by Max Bruch. She said she is drawn to slower, more Romantic music. “And this [piece], I relate to it, I connect to it,” she said. “And the melodies are so beautiful as they pass throughout the orchestra and the soloist.”
James Carney, principal cellist for the El Paso Symphony Orchestra, will perform the first movement of the Cello Concerto No. 1 by Camille Saint-Saens.
“People will enjoy [the concert,]” Martinez-Rios said noting that some of the classical and Broadway music fits the Halloween and Dia de los Muertos theme. Furthermore, “having a Romance and having a virtuoso concerto in the same program with a young performer and a seasoned performer from the region is really great. That’s something that makes me proud of what we do here.”
Musical clips embedded in the interview:
1.) The Creation: Overture (Representation of Chaos), by Joseph Haydn. Performed by Tafelmusik, conducted by Bruno Weil (Sony, cd #57965);
2.) Romance for Viola & Orchestra, by Max Bruch. Yuri iBashmet, viola, with London Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Neeme Jarvi (RCA, cd #63292);
3.) The Phantom of the Opera (opening), by Andrew Lloyd Webber. Performed by the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra, conducted by Erich Kunzel (Telarc, cd #80405);
4.) Cello Concerto No. 1: I. Allegro non troppo, by Camille Saint-Saens. Steven Isserlis, cello, with the London Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Michael Tilson Thomas (RCA, cd #61678).
This story was updated on November 2nd, 2024 to correct the spelling of Morelia.
