Enhance Santa Fe’s cultural landscape
Expand music education programs for our youth
Educate developing minds
Elevate student experiences
Enrich the lives of children and their families
the chamber project
Make new friends! Learn leadership skills! Build your confidence! Make music part of your daily life!
Chamber groups are small ensembles such as quartets, quintets, and trios. Since these groups are smaller than an orchestra, every student gets more one-on-one attention and players build confidence as they develop their skills. Part of the fun comes from the fact that each individual player takes on the responsibility of playing their part well since they are the only person playing that part. Each group meets for an hour each week with a professionally-trained coach. Every group has 8 weeks of rehearsal time with their coach to prepare for a performance on a concert scheduled at the end of the semester.
Your child can participate in our Chamber Music Ensembles whether or not you register for a larger ensemble. Each year we adjust which groups are offered to best serve our students. The groups listed here an example of what’s typically offered:
- Sierra String Quartet—Advanced String Quartets
- Red River String Quartet—Intermediate-Level String Quartets
- Ruidoso Chamber Orchestra—Beginning Chamber Ensemble for strings a/o winds
- Valencia Viola Choir—This is a special group made up entirely of violists,
playing at the Youth Philharmonic or Youth Symphony level.
- Cochiti Cello Choir—This special group is for cellists only.
Participants need to be able to perform at the Youth Philharmonic or Youth Symphony level.
Rehearsal sites and times vary according to the size of the group and preference of members.
¿Preguntas en español? Por favor comuniquese con la Directora de Mariachi directamente, a tlucero@santafesymphony.org.
Our Mariachi Program provides mariachi music education and mariachi performance opportunities for Santa Fe students in grades 3 to 12. These programs increase cultural awareness, give our youth diverse options for musical expression, and bring our community together. The programs are open to students in Santa Fe and all surrounding areas. Our mariachi program has three levels—beginner, intermediate, and advanced.
If you play an instrument but are new to mariachi music, we’d love to hear you play a piece that showcases your abilities before helping you decide which group level is your best fit. All classes are led by Tamarah Lucero and are held in the Community Room of The Santa Fe Symphony, located at 301 Griffin Street, in downtown Santa Fe at the Enterprise Bank & Trust building. The Symphony office entrance is on Catron Street.
The SFYSA Mariachi program has three levels (more information below):
Beginner—Pasitos Clase de Mariachi / Wednesdays and Thursdays at 4:30 PM
Intermediate—Mariachi Citlali / Thursdays at 5:30 PM
Advanced—Mariachi Estrella / Wednesdays at 5:30 PM
Beginner students: Register for Pasitos Clase de Mariachi. No audition needed!
Performers with some experience can Sign up for an audition spot. As many of our new students are new to Mariachi music, please plan to play a piece thatshowcases your ability. After we’ve heard you play, we can recommend which group would be your best fit.
We would like to thank the Northern Rio Grande National Heritage Area for its generous support of our Mariachi programming. The NRGNHA is a New Mexico non-profit organization that works closely with the National Park Service to sustain the communities, heritages, languages, cultures, traditions, and environment of Northern New Mexico through partnerships, education and interpretation.
Class descriptions
Pasitos Clase de Mariachi I—Beginner’s Level / Wednesdays and Thursdays, 4:30 to 5:15 PM
Pasitos Clase de Mariachi is a beginning guitar class for 3rd grade and up. Any student who has little to no previous experience playing music will learn the structure of the pieces, how to read music, and how to play as a group. Many of our students are “brand new beginners” on guitar.
Mariachi Citlali — Intermediate Level — Thursdays, 5:30-7 PM
Mariachi Citali is for students who have a bit more experience on their instruments, and who are ready to rehearse pieces to perform before the community. This group includes budding young musicians of all ages. Students who play violin, trumpet, guitar, vihuela, or guitarron are especially encouraged to audition for Mariachi Citlali.
Mariachi Estrella — Advanced Level — Wednesdays, 5:30-7:30 PM
Mariachi Estrella is our most advanced student mariachi. This group not only performs on our regular concert series,they play gigs throughout the community. Players also attend mariachi conferences and festivals each summer, and occasionally travel out of town on overnight trips.
For more information about our Mariachi Project, contact: Tamarah Lucero at tlucero@santafesymphony.org
Our orchestral musicians are equally committed to local music education efforts. Many of our players teach in area schools and many others offer private and group instruction through The Symphony’s award-winning mentoring program. In recent years, 120+ underserved youth in Santa Fe Public Schools participated in this unique effort, raising the overall level of music in our schools and throughout our community.