Friday, April 12, 2024
7:30 PM
San Diego New Music and the Athenaeum Music & Arts Library partner with the Radical Ensamble [sic] to present a unique transborder production of original theatrical musical works. Vocalists Mariana Flores, Isabella Panagiotou, Israel Rodriguez, and Miguel Zazueta will perform original music by Kyle Adam Blair and Jonny Stallings.
Transborder Scenes is the result of the creative interactions between the ideas and aesthetic values of musicians of both sides of the Tijuana–San Diego international border. In this concert we will present two contrasting staged musical works: First, will be a visceral and introspective work for solo voice based on the poem La canción desesperada by Pablo Neruda. In this piece, brought to life by Kyle Adam Blair’s original music, the tenor Miguel Zazueta will give an intimate and emotional performance evoking the battle between the denial of lost love and the imminence of departure.
Second, the experimental chamber opera Opera Café Mundo, with music by Jonny Stallings, will present three miniature sketches of visceral encounters inspired by life in the coffee shops of Baja California. During this performance, the audience will experience the alternation of ensemble vocal pieces and cumbia-style electronic music. The performers and co-creators of this piece are Radical Ensamble [sic], a vocal ensemble with members of both sides of Tijuana–San Diego border dedicated to the research and performance of pieces that reflect the complex and diverse nature of this region's identity.
About San Diego New Music:
San Diego New Music is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the public performance of notated music of the highest integrity and artistic caliber from the 20th and 21st centuries. We seek to advance the art form by promoting music composed with conceptual rigor, passionate energy and singular artistic vision. SDNM enriches the artistic culture of San Diego through the presentation of an annual concert series and the soundON Festival of Modern Music, and through fostering its resident performing ensemble, NOISE.
In 1994, the only place in San Diego where you could hear an entire concert of 20th-century music was on a college campus. San Diego New Music pitched the idea of a concert series devoted to modern music and 20th-century classics at the Athenaeum. The concerts of modern music perfectly complement the exhibitions of modern art held in the Athenaeum’s galleries. In 1996, San Diego New Music presented its first season. The series was called "Noise at the Library," and the ensemble would later adopt the name, as well.
San Diego New Music and the Athenaeum have been happily co-presenting concerts of new music ever since.
For more information on the organization go to www.sandiegonewmusic.com.
The concert will be in person at the Athenaeum Art Center. There are no physical tickets for this event. Doors open at 7:00 p.m. Seating is first-come; first-served. This event will be presented in compliance with State of California and County of San Diego health regulations as applicable at the time of each concert.