A Thousand Nights
The Santa Fe Symphony Orchestra & Chorus kicks off its exciting 39th Season on September 11 at the iconic Lensic Performing Arts Center with A Thousand Nights! Under the baton of multiple Grammy® Award-winning conductor JoAnn Falletta, this spectacular concert opens with the vibrant and energetic D’un matin de printemp by notable French composer, Lili Boulanger. Described by The New York Times as “vigorous and colorful,” violin virtuoso Nikki Chooi takes center stage with The Symphony for Ernest Chausson’s lush and evocative Poème for Violin and Orchestra and Maurice Ravel’s Tzigane for Violin and Orchestra. Complimenting this brilliant program is and one of the most popular works in orchestral repertoire, Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov’s everpopular Scheherazade based on the Middle Eastern folk tale “One Thousand and One Nights.”
William Reece Waag, Guest Conductor
William Reece Waag is in his sixth season as Conductor of the Santa Fe Youth Symphony. A passionate music educator, he also works as a guest clinician and mentor in music classrooms across Northern New Mexico. William’s recent guest conducting engagements include the Albuquerque Philharmonic, Seattle Rock Orchestra, The Santa Fe Symphony, El Paso Symphony Youth Orchestra, Albuquerque Youth Symphony, Reading Orchestra, and Honor Orchestras in New Mexico. William has held a variety of conducting and teaching positions ranging from elementary and secondary schools to colleges, public and private institutions in four states.
He has led wind ensembles, jazz bands, symphony orchestras, music education courses, music theory, special education and pre-school music. Above all these, William’s passion is for conducting youth symphonies. Previously with Kittitas Valley Youth Orchestra (Washington) and Anchorage Youth Philharmonic (Alaska), William is so pleased to be guiding the Santa Fe Youth Symphony to creative collaborations and expanding every aspect of the youth symphony experience.
William received an MM in Orchestral Conducting from Central Washington University, and a BM in Music Education from Boise State University. Originally from Boise, William loves exploring the mountains in all seasons with ski poles in one hand and espresso in the other. In his free time, he can be found traveling the New Mexico highways in his 1972 Volkswagen bus.
Guillermo Figueroa, Principal Conductor
One of the most versatile and respected musical artists of his generation—renowned as conductor, violinist, violist and concertmaster—Guillermo Figueroa is the Principal Conductor of The Santa Fe Symphony Orchestra & Chorus. He also serves as the Music Director of the Music in the Mountains Festival…