The concert season comes to a joyful conclusion as your Santa Fe Symphony & Chorus take centerstage for Beethoven’s magnificent Ninth Symphony. Dance to the rhythms of guitarist/composer Ernesto Cordero’s Mariandá and relish in the colorful harmonies of Ravel’s Mother Goose Suite. Don’t miss this final concert!
The Santa Fe Symphony & Chorus
Mary Wilson, soprano
Shirin Eskandani, mezzo-soprano
Rafael Davila, tenor
Adrian Smith, bass-baritone
Carmen Flóres-Mansi, choral director
Guillermo Figueroa, principal conductor
Ernesto Cordero
Mariandá para orquesta sinfónica
Ravel
Mother Goose Suite (Ma mère l’oye)
Beethoven
Symphony No. 9, “Choral”
Be sure to join us for a FREE preview talk one hour before the concerts.
Of Note
The New York Times hailed Ernesto Cordero’s compositions as a “healthy combination of skill, sensitive invention and sound musical effect.” Maestro Figueroa recorded Cordero’s violin concertos for the Naxos label.
Ravel originally wrote his Mother Goose Suite as a piano duet evoking themes from five children’s tales. Listen for the contrabassoon solos in “Beauty and The Beast!”
Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony is widely regarded as one of humanity’s greatest achievements. At the premiere, one violinist wrote, “Beethoven himself conducted, that is, he stood in front of a conductor’s stand and threw himself back and forth like a madman.“ By this time, the composer was completely deaf. The musicians actually followed the baton of a different conductor who shared the stage.
Mary Wilson, soprano
Soprano Mary Wilson is acknowledged as one of today's most exciting young artists. Cultivating a wide-ranging career singing chamber music, oratorio and operatic repertoire, her “bright soprano seems to know no terrors, wrapping itself seductively around every phrase.” (Dallas Morning News)
Shirin Eskandani, mezzo-soprano
Hailed by Opera Today for her “pleasing and pliant voice” Iranian-Canadian mezzo-soprano, Shirin Eskandani, recently made her Metropolitan Opera stage debut this season as Mercedes in Carmen. She is the recipient of several prestigious awards including first place at the Gerda Lissner Foundation Vocal Competition and fourth place at the Licia Albanese-Puccini Competition.
Rafael Davila, tenor
With an international career that expands for more than 20 years and 60 roles, tenor Rafael Davila's recent important engagements include Don Jose in Carmen with the Metropolitan Opera, Renato Des Grieux in Manon Lescaut at Barcelona’s Gran Teatre del Liceu and under Maestro Placido Domingo’s baton for Opera de Valencia, and the premiere of Jimmy Lopez’s opera Bel Canto with the Lyric Opera of Chicago where he created the role of General Alfredo.
Adrian Smith, bass-baritone
Hailed for his “big bronze voice” and commanding stage presence, baritone Adrian Smith has garnered acclaim for performances across the country. Of his Count Monterone in NC Opera’s Rigoletto, critics said "Adrian Smith's Monterone poured out imposing tone in his outrage against the Duke." Of a performance of La fanciulla del West, critics hailed “Adrian Smith’s well-voiced Larkens was memorably affecting.”