2025-2026 Composers' Symposium8/12/2026The annual Robb Symposium Series aligns with The University of New Mexico's academic year, with events taking place during the fall and spring semesters. All events are free admission all ages family-friendly community events, unless otherwise noted. Visit this page regularly for new event listings.  New Music Piano Recital Emanuele Arciuli Tuesday 21 October 2025 7:30pm 4 World Premieres 2 Robb Trust Commissions Free Admission a family-friendly community event Composers Lucas Stafford, Carlos Santiago Medina, Emilio Méndez Rizo, Jonah Elrod*, Jessi Harvey*, Kyle Gann, Louis W. Ballard Keller Hall at Center for the Arts (CFA) University of New Mexico College of Fine Arts MSC04 2570 1 University of New Mexico Albuquerque, NM 87131-0001 Directions *Jessi Harvey and Jonah Elrod are recipients of the 2026 Robb Commission.  Artist Talk Daniel Ward Friday 6 December 2025 11am Free Admission a family-friendly community event Center for the Arts (CFA) Room 1111 University of New Mexico College of Fine Arts MSC04 2570 1 University of New Mexico Albuquerque, NM 87131-0001 Directions  Artist Talk Christopher Trapani Friday 6 February 2026 11am Free Admission a family-friendly community event Center for the Arts (CFA) Room 1111 University of New Mexico College of Fine Arts MSC04 2570 1 University of New Mexico Albuquerque, NM 87131-0001 Directions  Artist Residency Trio Magnoliana 6-8 April 2026 featuring: Mann-Wen Lo, violin Eunghee Cho, cello Andrew Staupe, piano Monday 6 April 2026 Closed rehearsals with composers Tuesday 7 April 2026 Closed rehearsals with composers Wednesday 8 April 2026 3:30-5:00pm Violin Masterclass CFA Rm 2100 Cello Masterclass Keller Hall 7:30pm Annual Robb Concert Featured Composers
Center for the Arts (CFA) University of New Mexico College of Fine Arts MSC04 2570 1 University of New Mexico Albuquerque, NM 87131-0001 Directions  Artist Residency the [Switch~ Ensemble] 4-6 May 2026 Monday 4 May 2026 Rehearsals with composers Tuesday 5 May 2026 Rehearsals with composers Wednesday 6 May 2026 4:00-5:00pm Masterclasses
7:30-9:00pm Concert Free Admission Keller Hall at Center for the Arts (CFA) 203 Cornell Dr, Albuquerque, NM 87106 Directions 54th Annual John Donald Robb Composers' Symposium Series 2025-2026 Season Finale the [Switch~ Ensemble] Wed 6 May 2026 7:30-9:00pm 6 World Premieres 7 New Mexico-based Composers 1 Visiting Composer-in-Residence UNM Keller Hall free admission 203 Cornell Dr, Albuquerque, NM 87106 Directions  poster by Emilio Méndez Rizo Program All composers are in attendance at tonight's performance. Roberto De León-Ortiz (b. 1994) The rest is unrest 2026 * Nicholas Daniel López (b. 1985) Variations on a Lebanese Lullaby 2024; rev. 2026 * Emilio Méndez Rizo (b. 1998) Always Beginning 2026 * Peter Gilbert & Karola Obermüller in die Zeit vergangen (eine Malina-Suite) 2026 * intermission Jason Thorpe Buchanan (b. 1986) soliloquios del viento 2016; rev. 2017 Carlos Santiago Medina (b. 2003) Homage to Lugosi and Bartók 2026 * Kelly Feng // 冯重瑞 (b. 2002) Glitch Refuses 2026 * * world premiere Program Notes The rest is unrest for mixed ensemble Roberto De León-Ortiz (b. 1994) world premiere The music centers on a constant state of instability, where overlapping and interweaving lines move between stillness and varying degrees of motion, rarely settling together. Clear pitch is gradually pushed toward noise as part of a continuous shift. This constant sense of unrest drives the music forward. Throughout, pitch material expands and contracts, stretching outward and folding back into itself. Moments of precise alignment only emerge as brief coloristic events rather than structural pivots. Variations on a Lebanese Lullaby (2024 rev. 2026) Nicholas Daniel López (b. 1985) world premiere Originally composed in the fall of 2024 amid escalating violence in Lebanon, this trio for piano, flute, and cello is a response to the mobile-device bombings whose signals and aftershocks permeate the score’s sonic field. At its core is a dialogue between Lebanese singer Fairuz’s “Yalla Tnam Reema” and Lebanon’s terrifying ambient soundscape of the time—tender lyric fragments suspended in horror. I updated the score’s gestures to reify the violence and ballistic concatenation that has returned to the Levant recently. The work’s first iteration was premiered May 2025 at Paul Hall in New York City. Always Beginning Emilio Méndez Rizo (b. 1998) world premiere I. Prim II. Aloof III. Gemas en la Casa de los Espejos IV. Ritual Atónito V. This River Shouldn't Be Here VI. ... y las ninfas se perdieron in die Zeit vergangen (eine Malina-Suite) Peter Gilbert & Karola Obermüller world premiere Ingeborg Bachmann’s landmark feminist novel Malina has occupied our last four years as we composed a 90-minute opera recently premiered in Germany of which this piece is a kind of echoing memory.
soliloquios del viento (2016; rev. 2017) Jason Thorpe Buchanan (b. 1986) soliloquios del viento was commissioned by Royaumont Académie Voix Nouvelles, written in August of 2016 and premiered by the Talea Ensemble & EXAUDI on September 9, 2016, conducted by James Baker. This fifteen-minute work is a meditation on eight poems of Pablo Neruda, reflecting love, distance, and despair. Six singers are set against eight instrumentalists whose fragile and often voiceless sonorities gently color and obscure the murmuring of the text and pointillistic vocal material. The Spanish text is predominantly unintelligible, with the content of Neruda's words instead conjured by the composite texture. He writes of two lovers, their romance characterized by abrasion – a rendezvous between two scorched, ascetic souls, who consume and destroy one another, entangled yet divided by both sublime transfiguration and inexorable chaos. The revised versions for sextet/septet and electronics was completed in 2017 for Ensemble Interface’s premiere at the 2017 VIPA Festival in Spain and the Hong Kong New Music Ensemble’s premiere at the 2019 TICF Academy and Festival in Thailand, respectively, redistributing vocal parts to the electronics and ensemble, alongside instrumental samples and other sources. Neruda’s texts evoke not only the conflict between darkness and light in both persons, but through this lens, the experience of being confronted with the subjectivity of another’s consciousness. That otherness is manifest in lurid, destructive passions, revealing mutual incoherence, frailty, and sophism beyond endurance. Each poem seems to present discrete, parallel scenarios, some in which each person is awoken by their confrontation rather than destroyed – in others suffering to the point of intolerable anguish and desolation. Eroticism and sunderance run throughout Neruda’s powerful imagery, his lover depicted as an enemy with whom he pleads for voice – who has disgraced their love. For the poet, love is the sole means with which two people may “weather” one another. A source of both euphoria and utter devastation, there is a vastness that is evoked in his texts, an attempt to span immeasurable time and distance. Each braves the other, an intimacy and corrosive embrace that both breaks and absolves each person. Homage to Lugosi and Bartók Carlos Santiago Medina (b. 2003) world premiere Two Hungarian people have become heavy influences in my music and art. Bela Lugosi, the actor who played Count Dracula in the 1931 movie adaptation of Bram Stoker's novel Dracula, and Bela Bartók, the composer famous for his spiky aesthetic and musicological research. My homage is simply a love letter to both artists, and to the creations they have left behind for me to enjoy. Performers the [Switch~ Ensemble] is
Artistic Statement  A new music ensemble for the 21st Century, the [Switch~ Ensemble] is dedicated to the creation of new works for chamber ensemble: we bring bold new acoustic, electroacoustic, and multimedia projects to life. At the core of each performance is our commitment to the total integration of technology and live musicians. We strive for compelling artistry achieved through the seamless creation, production, and execution of new music, and believe that working directly with composers—in a medium where the score is a point of departure rather than a finish line—allows for new and thrilling musical possibilities. [Switch~] contributes to the future of the genre by strongly advocating for and commissioning the music of a new generation of emerging young composers. We have enjoyed fruitful collaborations with both emerging and established composers, with commissions and premieres of works by composers including Anna-Louise Walton, Alican Çamci, Igor Santos, Katherine Young, Stefano Gervasoni, Stefan Prins, Wojtek Blecharz, Anthony Vine, Rand Steiger, Philippe Leroux, Timothy McCormack, Tonia Ko, James Bean, Matt Sargent, Marianthi Papalexandri-Alexandri, Esaias Järnegard, Sivan Eldar, Julio Zúñiga, Zeynep Toraman, Alexander Schubert, Adrien Trybucki, Elvira Garifzyanova, Santiago Diez-Fischer, Lisa Streich, Anthony Pateras, and many others. Recent engagements include performances and residencies at Cornell, Bard College, University of Chicago, Ithaca College, Buffalo State, UC Berkeley, the VIPA Festival (Spain), Eastman School of Music, and Avaloch Farms Music Institute, as well as concerts at the Image/Sound Festival, San Francisco Center for New Music, MATA Interval Series, NYCEMF, Vanguard New Music Series at Kent State University, the Queens New Music Festival, the CD release of Christopher Chandler’s Smoke and Mirrors on the SEAMUS label, and more. 2019-20 season highlights include a workshop and performance at UC San Diego for a new commission by Katharina Rosenberger; the premiere of her work at the DiMenna Center in New York City; a return engagement at Eastman Audio Research Studio; and residencies with Harvard Group for New Music, Miami’s Frost School of Music, and the SPLICE Institute. Here's the [Switch~ Ensemble] performing the world premiere of Hard columns you within (2022) by Victoria Cheah, Chatham, New York, November 18, 2022. Laura Cocks-flutes, Madison Greenstone-clarinets, Lauren Cauley-violin, T.J. Borden-cello, Megan Arns-percussion, Jason Thorpe Buchanan-electronics, Audio and Video mixed and edited by Jason Thorpe Buchanan. Composers  Roberto De León-Ortiz (b. 1994) is a Mexican composer and pianist currently pursuing a Master’s degree in Composition and Collaborative Piano at the University of New Mexico, under the guidance of Dr. José-Luis Hurtado and Pamela Viktoria Pyle. His works have been premiered and recorded by performers such as the JACK Quartet, Laura Cocks, Ángel Flores, Ben Roidl-Ward, TRAMAS collective, Siqueiros Trio, Francisco Alcocer, and the University of Guanajuato Symphony Orchestra. He was a recipient of the 2020 PECDA grant (Artistic Creation and Development Funding Program, awarded by the government of Mexico), for which he composed a largescale work for piano and percussion, which he premiered as pianist. Here is Roberto's composition "Bounce" selected piece of Sonit's Call for Scores 2020 for solo double bass, performed by Francisco Alcocer, produced by Enrique Mendoza, Jonathan Figueroa, and Axel Retif, May 2022. Visit Roberto's Soundcloud channel to hear more of his music.  Nicholas Daniel López (b.1985) is an emerging composer whose work lies at the intersection of culture and history. Drawing on his Hispanic heritage—alongside classical and cinematic traditions—he creates emotionally resonant works driven by a sense of inevitability and storytelling. López earned his Bachelor of Music in Composition as a Presidential Scholar from the USC Thornton School of Music and holds Certificates in Composition from The Juilliard School Extension Division and in Harmony & Counterpoint from the European American Musical Alliance at the Schola Cantorum in Paris. A laureate of the Young Composer’s Competition in Barcelona for his setting of Federico García Lorca’s Romance de la pena negra, López continues to explore vivid, culturally informed sound worlds. He recently returned home to pursue dual Master of Music degrees in Theory & Composition and Musicology at UNM, integrating interdisciplinary research and studies in opera to explore the stories of his homeland. Here's a performance of López's composition Grey Glass Panes performed by Cello Fourum: Marc Moskovitz, Peng Li, David Meyer, and Nathaniel Yaffe, Dec 2014.  Emilio Méndez Rizo (b. 1998) was born in Simi Valley, California. He moved to Mexico City, where he was raised, shortly after birth. He began his musical studies in 2006, playing piano and electric guitar. During his teenage years he delved into electronic music, taking a self-teaching approach, which, through an unexpected turn of events, by connecting an appeal for complex timbre and form, lead him to take on the world of academic concert music. Shortly after beginning his undergraduate studies at the Escuela Superior de Música (ESM, INBAL, Mexico City) in 2018, he was selected, alongside fellow colleagues, to present a mixed-media work as part of the 25th anniversary celebrations of the Centro Nacional de las Artes (CENART). Following this performance, he was commissioned to compose a fanfare; however, the project was ultimately cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite this setback, the artistic relationships formed during the event led to several commissions from ensemble members, including a drum set concerto for the conductor’s graduation recital and a string quartet. Driven by a deep commitment to collaboration and guided by a humane artistic vision, he has taken part in several interdisciplinary projects. Notably, he contributed to the award-winning independent film collective Desvaríos, composing for the short film Puertas (2022). “Emi” has always looked for maximizing the emotional effects of music, whether it’s by mellow textures or blasted tones. Blending compositional techniques of total specificity with aleatoric processes and uncanny timbres through electronics, using his background in mathematics, he thrives in simplifying complex ideas into intuitive notation with a powerful emotional load. Here is Realidades Entrelazadas 1 (Entangled Realities 1) Composition & Live Electronics by Emilio Méndez Rizo, Conducted by Adrián Gutiérrez de Llano, performed by Kandinsky Chamber Orchestra, Premiered 26 January 2020, Teatro nacional de las Artes, México.  Peter Gilbert Robb Composers' Symposium Series Director is a Professor of Music at the University of New Mexico. He has commissions and accolades from the Barlow Foundation, New Music USA, the Aaron Copland House, ZKM (Institut für Akustik und Musik), the Russolo Foundation, the Look & Listen Festival, the Third Practice Festival, and IMEB Bourges. He writes: “My music usually aspires to create a sonic architecture that helps us lose our sense of time completely and allows us to partake in a kind of more direct aural experience in search of passageways to transcendence.” Gilbert’s music can be heard on numerous labels including New Focus Recordings and at petergilbert.net. Here is Peter Gilbert's Soon as the Sun Forsook the Eastern Main performed by Emanuele Arciuli, piano from the album Burned into the Orange released by New Focus Recordings and available on Bandcamp.  Karola Obermüller Robb Composers' Symposium Series Co-Artistic Director Karola's composing, described by the New York Times as "hyperkinetic music”, is constantly in search of the unknown. After obtaining composition degrees in Nuremberg, Saarbrücken, and the University Mozarteum Salzburg, her sense of rhythm and form was forever changed by studying Carnatic and Hindustani classical music in Chennai and Delhi, India. A Ph.D. at Harvard University brought her to the US where she taught at the University of New Mexico before joining the Department of Music at UC San Diego. She also lives and works part of the year in Europe and has been a visiting artist at ZKM, Deutsche Akademie Rom, Centro Tedesco di studi Veneziani, Akademie Schloss Solitude, Eisler House (International Hanns Eisler Scholarship), and IRCAM. Her music, often political, always dramatic, includes operas for Staatstheater Nürnberg, Theater Bielefeld, Theater Bonn, Theater Heidelberg, Theater Aachen, and Stuttgart’s Musik der Jahrhunderte. The emotional juxtapositions of story suspended in a tableau architecture that one finds in her operas can be heard in her concert works as well. These include commissions from the Ernst von Siemens Music Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, the Fromm Music Foundation, New Music USA, Bayerischer Rundfunk, Saarländischer Rundfunk, and numerous renowned soloists and ensembles. Her music can be heard on CD (WERGO, New Focus Recordings, Brilliant Classics, NEOS) and online at karolaobermueller.net. Here is Karola Obermüller's Dehnung (2020) for daegeum, koto, gayageum, two violins, viola violoncello, double bass, and percussion performed by AsianArt Ensemble 15 May 2023, Konzerthaus Berlin. All rights reserved.  Jason Thorpe Buchanan (b.1986) is a tri-continentally active composer, intermedia artist, and technologist. His works explore multiplicity, causality, behavior, and the integration of live performance with technology. In 2025, he was appointed Professor für Komposition mit digitalen Medien at the Hochschule für Musik Würzburg, Germany, and leads the graduate program in Komposition mit neuen Medien as director of the Zentrum für Intermediale Komposition (formerly Studio für experimentelle elektronische Musik). He has been recognized internationally through fellowships and commissions from the Fulbright Foundation (to HfMT Hamburg, 2010-11), the American-Scandinavian Foundation, EMPAC (2025), Royaumont (France, 2016 & 2017), TIME SPANS (NYC), the Mizzou International Composers Festival (MICF, 2013), the International Horn Society, Eklekto Percussion (Switzerland), Tetractys New Music (Austin), Tzlil Meudcan, the Earle Brown Music Foundation, two ASCAP Morton Gould Awards (2014 & 2015), Ernst von Siemens Musikstiftung, as winner of Iron Composer (2014), the Howard Hanson Orchestral Prize (2014) and more, including selection as Artist-in-Residence at USF Verftet (Norway), the Embassy of Foreign Artists (Switzerland), the Brush Creek Foundation (Wyoming), nomination for the 2015 Gaudeamus Prize, as a 2024 Aaron Copland Bogliasco Fellow (Italy), and as a 2026 SWR EXPERIMENTALSTUDIO Fellow (Germany). Learn more about Jason. Here's soliloquios del viento (2016; rev. 2017) by Jason Thorpe Buchanan, version for sextet and electronics, performed by the TACETi Ensemble at the TRANSIT Festival in Leuven, Belgium October 2019.  Carlos Santiago Medina (b. 2003) or Santi, as he likes to be called, is a guitarist and composer born and raised in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He currently studies at the University of New Mexico, working towards a bachelor's in music theory and composition. Alongside his college studies, Santi participates in the Albuquerque Composer Collective. A student organization that advocates for DIY (do it yourself) music projects, events, and collaborations. Inspired by his metal phase in his teenage years, Santi fell in love with the post-tonal works of Leo Brouwer, Béla Bartók, and Arnold Schoenberg. Though his musical aesthetic reflects his punk and serialist influences, Santi would describe his style as “New Mexican”. Here's a performance of Santi's work, Dos Poemas Del Paramo. His sister wrote the poems/lyrics which he set to music. The performers are New York City based loadbang, a mixed ensemble for voice, clarinet, trumpet, and trombone. Visit Santi's YouTube channel to hear more of his artistry.  Kelly Feng // 冯重瑞 (b. 2002) (she/her/hers) is a composer and interdisciplinary artist whose works are a blend of electronic music, electroacoustic music, traditional concert music, and intermedia installations. She makes her own instruments and much of her works root in decolonial, feminist, and anti-authoritarian perspectives. Her artistic practice prioritizes community, human connection, DIY culture, and non-conformity towards systems of power. Outside of creating and composing, Kelly is also an enthusiastic performer and she enjoys collaborating with fellow musicians and artists on noise and art shows. Recipient of the 2024 Erickson Prize and the 2023 Dr. Milton H. Saier, Sr. Memorial Award, Kelly holds a Bachelor of Arts in Music and a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from the University of California, San Diego, where she graduated summa cum laude. She is currently working on her Master’s degree in Theory and Composition from the University of New Mexico. Her teachers include Peter Gilbert, Stewart Copeland, Karola Obermueller, Rand Steiger, Chinary Ung, Lei Liang, and Marcos Balter. Kelly was born in Shenzhen, China, and was raised between Shenzhen and San Jose, California. Currently based in Albuquerque, New Mexico, she loves spending her weekends with dogs and cats at her local animal shelter. In an alternative universe, she would probably pursue a pet grooming / pet training career. Here is a performance of How Much of Me by Kelly Feng // 冯重瑞 performed by Jesse Tatum, at the Robb Electronica concert, Tuesday 4 February 2025, UNM ARTSLab. Recording and Video Editing by Kelly Feng. Special thanks to Peter Gilbert, Valery Estabrook, Sarah Bennett Davidson, and Stewart Copeland. 53rd Annual Robb Concert3/3/2026
The Robb Concert is part of the Robb Symposium Series. Composers John Donald Robb, Kelly Feng/冯重瑞, Jonathan Golove, Carlos Santiago Medina, Lucas Stafford, Natasha Stojanovska Performers Maxine Thévenot organ, Jeffrey Brooks clarinet, Jonathan Golove cello, Natasha Stojanovska piano, Mark Weber poet The public was cordially invited to a free reception in the cathedral's fellowship hall following the concert. This page is not optimized for mobile devices. Use a computer, laptop, or tablet for optimal viewing. Program  Overture and Fugue, WWO58 (1946) John Donald Robb (1892-1989) Maxine Thévenot organ Five Stages of Grief (2025) World Premiere Lucas Stafford (b. 2004) Jonathan Golove cello Wedding Music for Clarinet and Organ John Donald Robb Jeffrey Brooks clarinet Maxine Thévenot organ Poems for Cello (2025) World Premiere Carlos Santiago Medina (b. 2003) Jonathan Golove cello Hidden Messages, Voices from Behind a Screen (2025) World Premiere Kelly Feng/冯重瑞 (b. 2002) Jonathan Golove cello Sonata for Cello and Piano, Op. 75 John Donald Robb Jonathan Golove cello Natasha Stojanovska piano The Passing (2023) Dedicated to Dr. Dobroski Natasha Stojanovska (b. 1987) Natasha Stojanovska piano I do this, I do that #40 Mark Weber (b. 1953) words, Jonathan Golove (b. 1966) music Mark Weber poet Jonathan Golove cello Introduction and Toccata for Goodsell Slocum, Op. 30 (1956) John Donald Robb Maxine Thévenot organ Kreisler’s Coat (2011) Jonathan Golove Jonathan Golove cello Natasha Stojanovska piano Featured Performers  Dr. Maxine Thévenot photo: Brooke Bailey Portraits Maxine Thévenot is an award-winning Canadian-American musician known for her skillful musical organ playing, inventive concert programming, and passionate, informed conducting. She combines a profound commitment to her liturgical work as a cathedral musician with concertizing, guest conducting, solo organ recitals, and collaborating with other musicians while striving for representation and access to music of all genres. Dr. Thévenot is the Director of Cathedral Music and organist at the Episcopal Cathedral of St. John, Albuquerque, where she oversees an internationally renowned choral program and is the Artistic Director of the Friends of Cathedral Music community outreach series. She is also the Founding and Artistic Director of Polyphony: Voices of New Mexico, now celebrating its 19th season, and a Professor of Organ at the University of New Mexico. Dr. Thévenot’s solo recital career has taken her throughout Europe and Great Britain, in every major city across Canada, and 44 of the 50 United States. Recognized for her excellence as a recording artist, Dr. Maxine Thévenot has released 17 well-received CDs on Raven CD. She is a published composer with Paraclete Press and her music has been performed in Western Europe and North America. In the 2024-2025 season, Maxine will make music in churches in Little Rock, Nashville, New York City, Philadelphia, Victoria, British Columbia, and closer to home in Albuquerque, New Mexico. A native of Saskatchewan, Canada, Dr. Maxine Thévenot received her bachelor’s degree in Music Education from the University of Saskatchewan (with Distinction), and her Master of Music and Doctor of Musical Arts degrees from the Manhattan School of Music. She was twice awarded the Bronson Ragan Award at Manhattan School for ‘outstanding ability in organ performance’. Maxine is an Associate of the Royal Canadian College of Organists and the Royal Conservatory of Music, Toronto. She was made an Honorary Fellow of the National College of Music, London, UK, in 2006 for her “services to music.” Here is Maxine Thévenot performing Praeludium in D, BuxWV 139 by Dietrich Buxtehude and Pièce d'Orgue, BWV 572 by J.S. Bach on the Reuter organ at the Episcopal Cathedral of St. John, Albuquerque, NM.  Dr. Jonathan Golove Jonathan Golove, cellist-composer, is a dedicated performer of both new and traditional works, as well as of improvised music. He has performed throughout the United States and Europe at venues including Weill Recital Hall (Carnegie Hall), Zipper Concert Hall in Los Angeles, and London’s Southbank Centre. He has been featured as cello soloist with the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, Slee Sinfonietta, and New York Virtuoso Singers. One of only a handful of performers on the theremin cello, Golove has appeared as soloist with the Asko/Schoenberg Ensemble, London Sinfonietta, and International Contemporary Ensemble, and he is a member of the 1. Deutsche Stromorchester. He is also active as an electric cellist, particularly in the field of creative improvised music. He has performed and recorded with jazz groups including the Michael Vlatkovich Tryyo and Quartet, Ubudis Quartet, and Vinny Golia’s Large Ensemble, and made appearances at the Vancouver Jazz Festival, the Eddie Moore Jazz Festival (Oakland), and the International Meeting of Jazz and New Music (Monterrey, Mexico). He has recorded for the Albany, Centaur, FMR, pfMENTUM, and Nine Winds labels, and his performances and interviews have been heard in broadcasts by numerous National Public Radio stations, as well as on Radio Nuevo León, West German Radio, CBC, and Radio France. His summer appearances include numerous festivals devoted to new works, including the Holland Festival (Amsterdam), Festival d’Automne (Paris), Lincoln Center Festival, June in Buffalo, and the Festival del Centro Histórico (Mexico City). Mr. Golove’s original compositions have been performed at venues including the Kennedy Center, Washington D.C., Venice Biennale, Festival of Aix-en-Provence, Lincoln Center Chamber Music Society II, and the Kitchen, and he has received awards and grants for his work from organizations including ASCAP, the Yvar Mikhashoff Trust for New Music, and Meet the Composer. He is an Associate Professor in UB’s Department of Music, and in 2023 he assumed the post of Artistic Director of UB’s Robert and Carol Morris Center for 21st Century Music and June in Buffalo festival. Here is Jonathan Golove and Amy Williams performing Kreisler's Coat for cello and piano (2011) by Jonathan Golove (b.1966) and Kinderszenen, Op.15 (Scenes from Childhood) by Robert Schumann (1810-1856) at A Musical Feast Burchfield Penny Art Center October 14, 2016.  Dr. Jeffrey Brooks Jeffrey Brooks, in addition to being an active performer, is the Assistant Professor of Clarinet at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque and the owner of ClarinetMonsteR.com. Before moving to Albuquerque in 2019, Jeff was an Artist Affiliate at Emory University and the adjunct Professor of Clarinet at Morehouse College in Atlanta. He served as sabbatical replacement at Florida State University and Ohio University and held teaching positions as adjunct clarinet instructor at Central Washington University and Walla Walla University. As a concerto soloist, Jeff, has been heard on numerous occasions. He has presented scores of solo recitals, and has performed with the Seattle Symphony, Seattle Opera, Atlanta Symphony, Charleston Symphony, the Savannah Philharmonic, and many more symphonic organizations. In January 2018, he was a guest clinician at the annual Georgia Music Educators Association’s conference in Athens, GA. Jeff has recorded for the Naxos and New World Record labels, independently released two jazz CD’s available on itunes.com, and recorded on multiple film soundtracks, video games, and commercials. In addition, he recently developed “Monsters of Clarinet”, a classical and jazz crossover pops program for jazz quartet and symphony orchestra that is currently being marketed nationally. His teachers have included Dr. Frank Kowlasky, Dr. Deborah Bish, Eddie Daniels, Laura DeLuca, Chip Phillips, and Joseph Brooks and he holds a MM and a DM from Florida State University. Check out ClarinetMonsterR.com for details on Jeff’s clarinet repair and sales business, recordings, performance calendar, and soon to come Clarinet Monster Academy. Here is Jeff Brooks performing Black Dog by Scott McAllister with the UNM Wind Symphony 19 September 2019, Albuquerque, NM.  Dr. Natasha Stojanovska Natasha Stojanovska, Macedonian pianist and composer, has earned recognition as a dynamic and innovative artist, seamlessly bridging Eastern European musical heritage with contemporary classical traditions. Her critically acclaimed debut album, Uncommon Voices (Navona Records), showcases music by Eastern European women composers and has been celebrated for its artistry and cultural significance. As a Featured Artist and guest curator for Classical Music Indy, Ms. Stojanovska remains a dedicated advocate for underrepresented voices. Her upcoming album, Uncommon Voices, Part II: American Women Composers, supported by a prestigious grant from the Musicians Club of Women in Chicago, continues her mission to highlight diverse perspectives in classical music. Recent career highlights include performances at the Princeton Festival, Ear Taxi Music Festival, Dame Myra Hess Memorial Concerts, and Henry Fogel's esteemed music series. A graduate of Northwestern University, Ms. Stojanovska holds a Doctor of Musical Arts in Piano Performance and Music Theory, where she studied under James Giles and earned Program Honors. Her earlier training includes an Artist Diploma and Master of Music in Piano Performance from Indiana University, where she studied with Alexander Toradze and Ketevan Badridze, and a Bachelor of Music from Lynn Conservatory of Music under Roberta Rust. An active soloist and chamber musician, Dr. Stojanovska has performed extensively across Europe, the United States, South Korea, and Haiti, gracing prestigious stages such as the Gilmore Piano Festival. Her collaborations with luminaries including Renée Fleming, Patricia Barber, Rachel Barton Pine, Molly Barth, Shulamit Ran, Carmen-Helena Téllez, and Nathan Gunn underscore her versatility and artistic excellence. In addition to her performance career, she contributes as a composition and piano consultant, integrating her profound knowledge of creativity and performance. Currently, Dr. Stojanovska serves as part-time faculty in Music Theory and Collaborative Pianist at the University of New Mexico, as well as Piano Professor at New Mexico School for the Arts. She balances an active teaching schedule with her vibrant solo career and co-directs the piano duo, The Stojanovska Sisters, with her sister Marina. This duo, three-time First Prize winners of the Macedonian National Competition, has delighted audiences across Europe and the United States for over 25 years. Beyond her performance endeavors, Dr. Stojanovska is a dedicated cultural ambassador and community leader. She has introduced world-class international musicians to Santa Fe, NM, organizing performances at premier venues including the Scottish Rite Masonic Center, Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi, First Presbyterian Church of Santa Fe, New Mexico School for the Arts, and SITE Santa Fe Museum. Additionally, she leads a thriving private studio, providing instruction in piano, music theory, composition, and vocal coaching. Through her artistry, pedagogy, and community engagement, Natasha Stojanovska remains a passionate advocate for classical music culture and intercultural understanding. Here is Natasha performing Schubert's Moments Musicaux "Andantino" live in 2019.  Mark Weber Mark Weber, poet ---- I was shaped by my hometown, Los Angeles. Born 1953, raised in Cucamonga ---- Left SoCal 1986, lived in Redding CA (climbed Mt Lassen! camped at Whiskeytown Lake), Cleveland Ohio (close to all that water, my wife Janet in med school), Salt Lake City (close to the Red rock canyons), finally to Albuquerque 1991 which we love wholeheartedly ------ Poetry is, for me, mostly note taking ---- I have pretty much wrote poems my entire life and published in all the usual small press places, too many and too boring to list them all ---- Was LA correspondent for CODA jazz magazine for 18 years (member of the Pan Afrikan Peoples Arkestra, also), in Albuquerque was Thursday afternoon jazz host on KUNM for 24 years (presently I'm an "auxiliary host") ---- This past ten years I spend my days traipsing around the mountains of New Mexico ---- Since 1980 I self-publish a chapbook of poems annually for friends (small editions of 100-500) and the last 3 chaps have centered on my hikes in the Sandia Mountains ---- I'm a member of New Mexico Wilderness Society aka New Mexico Wild. I do this, I do that #40 stay home do nothing ---- woo ---- stay home do nothing do nothing stay home take it easy don't go to copy shop don't go to herb store don't go to the library don't go to the post office skip it all stay home do nothing -------------whew ---- eat pancakes bask in the late winter sun out on the patio maybe read Pablo Neruda maybe not stay home watch clouds do nothing Learn more about Mark at Jazz for mostly. Here's "Crossing the Mojave and into the Highlands of Arizona with Bill, Eva, and Carol on the Stereo" by Mark Weber. Performed by Bill Payne (clarinet), Eva Lindal (violin), Carol Liebowitz (piano), and Mark Weber (poet). Scholes Street Studio, Brooklyn, NY CD Release Concert (Line Art Records LA1001) May 8, 2015 Video by René Pierre Allain. Featured Composers  John Donald Robb John Donald Robb (1892-1989) led a rich and varied life as an attorney, composer, arts educator, and folk song collector and preservationist. He composed an impressive body of work including symphonies, concertos, sonatas, chamber and other instrumental music, choral works, songs, and arrangements of folk songs, two operas, including Little Jo, a musical comedy, Joy Comes to Deadhorse, and more than 65 electronic works. Robb’s orchestral works have been played by many major orchestras in the United States and abroad under noted conductors, such as Hans Lange, Maurice Bonney, Maurice Abravanel, Leonard Slatkin, Gilberto Orellano, Yoshimi Takeda, Guillermo Figueroa, James Richards and Franz Vote. Here is a 1988 performance of Robb's Symphony No. 1, Op. 16 by the Chamber Orchestra of Albuquerque, David Oberg Music Director and Conductor. This was the first performance of the complete Symphony. The Elegy (with cello obligato) was recorded circa 1979 by the Chamber Orchestra of Albuquerque and was released on Opus One label Number Fifty-one (Max Schubel, owner and founder). The Elegy was composed shortly after World War II and was dedicated to the soldiers, sailors, and airmen who gave their lives in that war.  Kelly Feng 冯重瑞 Kelly Feng/冯重瑞 is a composer who works with electronic music, electroacoustic music, traditional concert music, and intermedia art. Her music explores proximity and intimacy in the artist-to-audience relationship as a way to challenge and resist traditional power structures in the Western concert music tradition. She is also interested in how different mediums translate to one another, such as from sound to movement, to poetry, to interactive art displays. Recipient of the 2024 Erickson Prize and the 2023 Dr. Milton H. Saier, Sr. Memorial Award, Kelly holds a Bachelor of Arts in Music and a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from the University of California, San Diego, where she graduated summa cum laude. She is currently working on her Master’s degree in Theory and Composition from the University of New Mexico. Her teachers include Peter Gilbert, Karola Obermueller, Rand Steiger, Chinary Ung, Lei Liang, and Marcos Balter. Kelly was born in Shenzhen, China, and was raised between San Jose, California and her hometown. She is currently based in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Here is a performance of How Much of Me by Kelly Feng/冯重瑞 performed by Jesse Tatum, at the Robb Electronica concert, Tuesday 4 February 2025, UNM ARTSLab. Recording and Video Editing by Kelly Feng. Special thanks to Peter Gilbert, Valery Estabrook, Sarah Bennett Davidson, and Stewart Copeland.  Carlos Santiago Medina Carlos Santiago Medina, or Santi, is a guitarist and composer born and raised in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He currently studies at the University of New Mexico, working towards a bachelor's in music theory and composition. Alongside his college studies, Santi participates in the Albuquerque Composer Collective. A student organization that advocates for DIY (do it yourself) music projects, events, and collaborations. Inspired by his metal phase in his teenage years, Santi fell in love with the post-tonal works of Leo Brouwer, Béla Bartók, and Arnold Schoenberg. Though his musical aesthetic reflects his punk and serialist influences, Santi would describe his style as “New Mexican”. Here's a performance of Santi's work, Dos Poemas Del Paramo. His sister wrote the poems/lyrics which he set to music. The performers are New York City based loadbang, a mixed ensemble for voice, clarinet, trumpet, and trombone. Visit Santi's YouTube channel to hear more of his artistry.  Lucas Stafford Lucas Stafford is a pianist and composer pursuing a Bachelor’s Degree in Theory and Composition at the University of New Mexico. He focuses on a warm “New Romanticism” aesthetic, blending orchestral romanticism, a taste of modern minimalism, and hints of impressionism in order to create emotionally compelling melodies and deep harmonic stories. Lucas draws inspiration from composers such as Edvard Grieg, Antonín Dvořák, and Claude Debussy, among many others. He uses his position as the Vice President of the Albuquerque Composers Collective to work with the FDMA school at UNM to expand his horizons into the video game and film music industry, where he will focus his career.
Here is an audio recording of Subsequent Starfall, Lucas's entry for the Synthase 5-Day Composition Challenge. His piece is designed to mimic the twinkling of a field of stars. One of the requirements of the challenge was to utilize a series of repeating octaves on high C, in a drone-like fashion, so the piece always retains some kind of tone rooted in C, even as a suspension. Visit Lucas's SoundCloud channel at Stafford Scoring to hear more of his beautiful compositions.  we are ROBBtrust tiguex + robb award Raven Chacón August 2025 When Raven Chacon debuted Tiguex (Score for the City of Albuquerque) on September 27, 2025, echoes of John Donald Robb and the Robb Musical Trust were heard in the ambitious composition that was performed in 20 movements across the city from sunrise to sunset. Tiguex’s third movement, “The Greeters,” features three songs from Robb’s field recordings, and Trust Chair Robert Lucero’s UNM mariachi students perform in the tenth movement, “The Balladeers.” Chacon, who earned a BA in music from UNM, acknowledges decades of interest in Robb’s music and UNM archives and the Robb Trust Composers’ Symposium. The day-long composition was live-streamed on KUNM and scores of UNM music students and faculty were among the participants. Details and locations. Chacon (spiderwebinthesky.com) received the 2025 Robb Award during the Trust’s annual ¡Música del Corazón! celebration of New Mexico music on November 16 at Keller Hall. Learn more about the UNM CSWR Robb Musical Archives. Here's an interview with Raven and Robb Trust board member Nancy Harbert, recorded on the Keller Hall stage, October 2025. And here's a video clip of the UNM Mariachi performing in Chacon's Tiguex, recorded by their Director, Robert Lucero, Jr. Chacon shares, "The transcriptive work of John Donald Robb has been influential to my practice, and my understanding of the extended musical traditions of our home. Robb's own electronic music has also been a fascinating source for me, and the work of the Robb Trust, particularly the Composers' Symposiums, have been an important part of my life (I first attended in 1989 when John Cage was the guest)." Experience a groundbreaking sonic journey with Pulitzer Prize-winning composer, MacArthur fellow, and UNM Music Composition Alumnus Raven Chacon as he premieres Tiguex (Score for the City of Albuquerque) on September 27, 2025. This large-scale composition unfolds across the city in twenty overlapping movements, each performed in a location mapped by Chacon’s lithographic score done at Tamarind Institute. Inspired by the landscapes and histories of the central Rio Grande valley, Tiguex invites you to hear Albuquerque in a whole new way—from volcanoes to railroads, pueblos to Route 66. Don’t miss this one-day-only event that transforms the city into a living, breathing concert hall. The UNM John Donald Robb Musical Trust is a proud sponsor of Tiguex. Below are photos of several movements from Chacon's Tiguex by Robb Trust board member Nancy Harbert. Learn more about Raven Chacon.
2024-2025 Symposium Series9/9/2025 2024 Friday 30 August 11:00am John Link composer Location: CFA Room 1111 Program: composer talk Friday 6 September 11:00am Jeffrey Gavett composer, baritone Location: CFA Room 1111 Program: composer talk Friday 13 September 11:00am Agustín Castilla-Ávila composer, guitarist, author, artistic researcher Location: CFA Room 1111 Program: NEVERENDINGARTIST: A proposal for a transdisciplinary classification  Sérgio Azevedo Visiting Artist Residency Thursday 19 September 9:30am Sérgio Azevedo composer Location: CFA Room 2100 Program: lecture on Portuguese music Wednesday 25 September 7:30-9pm WORLD PREMIERE ...Contempla, alma, y considera double concerto for oboe and viola Sérgio Azevedo composer Kevin Vigneau oboe Kimberly Fredenburgh viola Sebastián Serrano-Ayala conductor UNM Symphony Orchestra Location: Popejoy Hall Tickets: $15 adult, $10 senior, $5 student general admission, purchase tickets Also on the program: Bolero Maurice Ravel, Capriccio español Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, Huapango José Pablo Moncayo The Robb Trust is a proud underwriter of the Azevedo double concerto commission.  Thursday 26 September 2pm Sérgio Azevedo composer, pianist Location: Keller Hall Program: Azevedo performs Azevedo, solo piano recital Friday 27 September 11:00am Sérgio Azevedo composer Location: CFA Room 1111 Program: artist talk and composition master class with UNM composition students line upon line artist residency Thursday 3 October 6:30pm line upon line percussion ensemble Location: CFA Room B120 Program: masterclass Friday 4 October 11:00am line upon line percussion ensemble Location: CFA Room 1111 Program: commissioning and collaboration talk  Friday 18 October 11:00am Jocelyn Hagen and Timothy C. Takach a cappella band Nation Location: CFA Room 1111 Program: composers talk Friday 1 November 10:30am Rachel Lee Priday violin Location: CFA Room 1106 Program: string masterclass & commissioning talk Friday 15 November 11:00am Thokozani Ndumiso Mhlambi musician, songwriter, cultural pioneer Location: CFA Room 1106 Program: composer talk Friday 22 November 10:30am Linda Antas composer, art technologist, flutist, educator Location: CFA Room 1106 Program: composer talk  2025 Peter Ko Contemporary Cello Residency Thursday 30 January 11:00am Peter Ko cello Location: tba Program: master class with UNM graduate string quartet Friday 31 January 11:00am Peter Ko cello Location: CFA 1111 Program: master class with UNM composition students As a performer, his training and projects have taken him across the USA, Mexico, Canada, and Europe, performing in festivals such as soundSCAPE, SICPP, Darmstädter Ferienkurse, the Green Box Arts Festival, and Neofonía Festival de Música Nueva Ensenada. Peter currently serves as principal cellist for the La Jolla Symphony and Chorus, and has worked with the Palimpsest and Renga ensembles, Yarn/Wire, Project [BLANK], and San Diego New Music. Peter has received his significant musical training from Charles Curtis, Vernon Regehr, Ron Leonard, Ashley Walters, and Mario Ramirez. He has also received coaching from many other notable artists, including Lynn Harrell, Felix Fan, Mark Fewer, Adrian Brendel, the Gryphon Trio, and the Danish String Quartet. He holds a MMus from Memorial University of Newfoundland, and a BA from University of California, San Diego. He is currently a DMA Candidate in Contemporary Music Performance at UC San Diego.  Tuesday 4 February 5:30pm Music for Flute & Live Electronics Jesse Tatum flute new works by Feng, Arellano, Falk, De León-Ortiz, Vaagen & electronic works of John Donald Robb UNM Arts Lab 131 Pine Street NE @Central & University Albuquerque, NM 87106 (505) 277-2253 Directions Jesse Tatum is a relentless musician, performing chamber music, orchestral music, operas, and solo works. They are Principal Flute of The Santa Fe Symphony, Santa Fe Pro Musica, Opera Southwest Orchestra, and a Principal Player at Chatter, where she has performed well over a decade of adventurous chamber music with the innovative Albuquerque based chamber ensemble. Additionally, Jesse has performed many seasons with The Santa Fe Opera and the New Mexico Philharmonic. Tatum is described as “reliably excellent” (Santa Fe New Mexican), “The principal flutist Jesse is just a rock star” (Ryan McAdams, conductor), “She is the music of the universe and cannot be contained” (Meow Wolf). Pasatiempo called her an “overachiever” in their profile of the flutist. Recognized for their authentic, fearless performances, Jesse was featured on KHFM’s 10 at 10 in 2024 with a program of solo works for flute. In 2022, Jesse performed as a concerto soloist with The Santa Fe Symphony, the New Mexico Philharmonic, Chatter, and Santa Fe Pro Musica. An enthusiast of the intersection of visual and musical performance art, they were a regularly featured performer from 2017-2020 at the trailblazing Meow Wolf in Santa Fe. In spring 2023, Tatum performed on a decommissioned rifle for Disarm Flute by Pedro Reyes at SITE Santa Fe. Jesse performed a show of contemporary works for solo flute as FluTeBot in conjunction with the 2018 exhibition Patrick Nagatani: Excavations: Buried Cars and Other Stories. Jesse was a prizewinner at the Myrna Brown Artist Competition. She has performed at the Currents International New Media Festival and appeared as a soloist with the Albuquerque Philharmonic. Jesse has collaborated with many composers and participated in numerous world, US, and New Mexico premieres of solo, chamber, orchestra and opera works. In 2019 Jesse co-created the Santa Fe Symphony’s Strata series and curated chamber concerts in collaboration with various organizations in Santa Fe. Tatum was a co-curator for Santa Fe Symphony’s “Music of the Multiverse,” a highly lauded collaboration with Meow Wolf in 2021. They have been a Featured Performer of Powell Flutes, profiled in Albuquerque The Magazine, appeared in Rolling Stone magazine, and served multiple times as a Newly Published Music judge for the National Flute Association. As a student, Jesse was a member of the Catania International Music Festival and the National Repertory Orchestra. Jesse studied at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and the University of New Mexico. They are also a Licensed Clinical Social Worker in private practice. Electronica concert video teaser below: Sunday 30 March 4:00pm
53rd Annual Robb Concert Maxine Thévenot organ Jonathan Golove cello Jeffrey Brooks clarinet Natasha Stojanovska piano Mark Weber poet Location: Episcopal Cathedral of St. John Program (order tba):
Details at robbtrust.org/robbconcert.html. Robb Symposium Series9/23/20242023-2024 Season 2023 Friday 15 September 11am Matthew Bertner, composer Location: CFA Room 1111 Program: Artist talk and composition master class with UNM composition students Friday 29 September 11am Rhonda Rider, cello Location: CFA Room 1111 Program: Read through and discussion of cello excerpts by UNM composition students Friday 27 October 11am Majel Connery, composer Location: CFA Room 1111 Program: Artist talk  Wolf Tones '23 poster by Hannah Trader Friday 27 October 7pm Wolf Tones '23 Concert #1 New Mexico Contemporary Ensemble * Location: UNM Arts Lab Program: tba Saturday 28 October 7pm Wolf Tones '23 Concert #2 Manny Rettinger and The Chuppers * Location: UNM Arts Lab Program: tba * An audio-visual analogue-hybrid installation by Micah Hood will also be featured. Friday 3 November 11am Leo Eguchi, cello Location: Keller Hall Program: Read through and discussion of UNM composition student works 2024  Friday 23 February 7:30pm loadbang Location: Keller Hall Composers: Doug Falk, Elias Lang, Carlos S. Medina, Axel Retif, Lucas Stafford, Heather Stebbins Program:
 Thursday 28 March 2:00pm Dana Wilson, composer Location: CFA Room B120 Thursday 28 March 7:30pm UNM Symphony Orchestra Tickets: $15 general admission, $10 seniors and UNM employees, $5 students Location: Popejoy Hall Director: Colonel Jim R. Keene Commander U.S. Army Field Band, UNM alum 1988 Program:
Friday 29 March 11:00am Reiko Füting, composer Location: CFA Room 1111  Friday 29 March 7:30pm Annual Robb Concert Composers: Juantio Becenti, Monica Demarco, Doug Falk, Reiko Füting, Tania León, Christopher Orphal, John Donald Robb Performers: Debra Ayers piano, Monica Demarco electronics, Kristin Ditlow piano, Sally Guenther cello, Daniel Lippel guitar, Jesse Tatum flute, Laura Tohe poet, Jacqueline Zander-Wall mezzo-soprano Program (performance order tba):
The public is cordially invited to a free reception in Keller Hall lobby following the concert.  Friday 12 April 11:00am Kurt Stallmann, composer Location: CFA Room 1111 Friday 26 April 11:00am Rodrigo Sigal, composer Location: CFA Room 1111 2023 ¡Música del Corazón!4/11/2024 ¡Música del Corazón! Tenth Anniversary Celebration John Donald Robb, Jr. Memorial Concert Sunday 19 November 2023 3pm show, 2:45pm preconcert roundtable National Hispanic Cultural Center Albuquerque Journal Theatre FREE family-friendly community event Commemorative Program View or download (PDF 36.4 MB 44 pages) the 2023 ¡Música del Corazón! commemorative program. View on Heyzine. Schedule 2:00pm ABQ Journal Theatre lobby
2:30pm ABQ Journal Theatre house opens ~ general seating 2:45pm ABQ Journal Theatre stage
I. Nuevoméxico
II. Jarocho
Intermission III. Robb Award for Excellence
IV. Mariachi
About Música del Corazón celebrates its tenth anniversary with our favorite performers in the Nuevoméxicano tradition with Nueva Luna, a conjunto featuring Lara Manzanares, Rob Martínez, and Felix "Gato" Peralta, with special guest Jordan Wax, the founder of Lone Piñón. Two emerging ensembles join us: A new mix of Jarocho musicians under the leadership of the renowned Laura Rebolloso, and UNM's Mariachi Lobo directed by Robert Lucero, Jr., with ethnomusicologist Adolfo Estrada. We have explored foundational genres of the romancero and cancionero, from Medieval ballads to Revolutionary corridos, Baroque and contemporary fandangos. We remember the music of our hybrid Indo-Hispano rituals and that of Sephardic, Moorish, and Christian spiritualities. We revel with the beloved musical "stepchildren" of New Mexico – Flamenco, Mariachi, Jarocho and Afro-Caribeño. It is so hard to sit still as we indulge ourselves, that we stand up for dance, the embodiment of music, in all its forms. We also honor musical families and the revivals facilitated by teachers and scholars. We have included groups of every size, from soloists to duos and tríos, to conjuntos and even coros. The annual Música del Corazón concert is a showcase of the living legacy of John Donald Robb. He carefully recorded and transcribed more than 3000 Hispano folk songs all over New Mexico, the Southwest, Mexico, and Spain. Like romantic and modernist composers before him, he looked to the songs of everyday folk to inspire and inform his own compositions and scholarship. He also provided a living record to us, the musicians, scholars, and teachers of the future. Over the past decade, we have marveled at the persistence and genius of traditional music as it recalls the past, adapts to the present, and shapes the future. Robb’s extensive field recordings are archived at UNM's Center for Southwest Research and Special Collections. Educational Outreach Each year ¡Música del Corazón! delivers several 'eduformaces' lasting approximately 30 to 90 minutes. 2023 ed/outreach events will feature artists performing in the free Sunday 19 November concert at the National Hispanic Cultural Center's Albuquerque Journal Theatre. Educational Outreach presentations typically incorporate Northern New Mexico and Southern Colorado Spanish cultural history, dance, and music, as well as folk traditions from Mexico. All 2023 educational outreach events are free admission and the public is cordially invited to attend: Wednesday 15 November 2023 2:30p La colectiva de Son Jarocho ~ Jarocho Longfellow Elementary Thursday 16 November 2023 12p Mariachi Lobo ~ Mariachi Barelas Senior Center Thursday 16 November 2023 7p Mariachi Lobo ~ Mariachi National Hispanic Cultural Center Bank of America Theatre Featuring:
Friday 17 November 2023 10a Felix "Gato" Peralta ~ Nuevoméxicano National Hispanic Cultural Center Bank of America Theatre Reserve seats: my.nmculture.org/27584/27586 Friday 17 November 2023 1p Felix "Gato" Peralta ~ Nuevoméxicano National Hispanic Cultural Center Bank of America Theatre Reserve seats: my.nmculture.org/27584/27587 ¡Música del Corazón! Committee National Hispanic Cultural Center
UNM John Donald Robb Musical Trust
Media Press Release Click here to read the ¡Música del Corazón! Tenth Anniversary Celebration press release (PDF) Here is the National Hispanic Cultural Center's ¡Música del Corazón! listing: nhccnm.org/event/musica-del-corazon Video Teaser Interview Laura Rebolloso sits down with the Robb Trust's Grad Assistant Chris Orphal to discuss the history and sounds of the son jarocho musical tradition. 2023 Projects9/12/2023The UNM John Donald Robb Musical Trust is actively involved in supporting the community by providing underwriting to organizations, ad hoc projects, educational outreach, programming, concerts, and events. Below is a list of the Trust's recent endeavors.  Adobe Saxophone Quartet Part of the Robb Trust's mission is to promote the compositions of John Donald Robb. To that end, the Trust commissioned the Adobe Saxophone Quartet to perform a new arrangement of Robb's String Quartet No. 2, created by the Trust's graduate assistant Chris Orphal. The arrangement received its world premiere in March 2023 at the Robb Concert, the headliner event of the annual John Donald Robb Composers' Symposium. The Adobe Quartet subsequently recorded the Robb String Quartet No. 2 arrangement in May of 2023. The Trust underwrote the studio recording, which involved hiring an artistic director to oversee the recording session, a recording engineer, the musicians, and an audio/visual editor to mix and edit the audio and create an official music video.  National Hispanic Cultural Center The Robb Trust underwrites annual community programming produced by the National Hispanic Cultural Center. Most recently was Día de Familia y Comunidad: Fiesta de Barelas March 22, 2023. Visitors had a chance to make paper architecture, maracas, and weavings, and learn from Barelas community organizations. Vicente Griego and Chuy Martinez who presented sing-along performances featuring music from the John Donald Robb Archives at the UNM Center of Southwest Research and Special Collections. The free community event was supported by Bank of Albuquerque and musical performances were sponsored by the Robb Trust.  PBS Learning Project Folk Music of New Mexico: The John Donald Robb Collection is an educational initiative produced by New Mexico PBS and the University of New Mexico John Donald Robb Musical Trust with support from the University of New Mexico Libraries' Center for Southwest Research and Special Collections, The Mr. and Mrs. Sanford N. McDonnell Foundation, The Brabson Library and Educational Foundation, and Albuquerque Public Schools. The collection contains video, audio, Spanish transcriptions, English translations, and sheet music for the traditional songs. Support materials include lesson plans (coming soon), student handouts, and video descriptions of the song forms. Supplemental reading material and a documentary film by NM PBS, The Musical Adventures of John Donald Robb in New Mexico, are also available. The Robb Trust provides underwriting and extensive, detailed content. Trust Board members Rosalia Pacheco and Nancy Harbert, and Honorary Board member Enrique Lamadrid, are working closely with NMPBS to bring this project to a completion.  Universidad de Nuevo México Mariachi The Trust pays salary and benefits for two adjunct faculty teaching with the UNM Mariachi Program. Currently, those faculty are Monica E. Trujillo and José Carrillo. UNM Music Department Audiotape Digitization Archival Project  Approximately 25 years ago the UNM Fine Arts Library discarded about 1,500 reel-to-reel audio tapes of events presented by the UNM Music Department. The library no longer had the technology to play these tapes. The tapes represent a historic treasure trove with recordings of faculty, student, and guest performances dating from the 1950s – 1990s.
They were given to the Music Department which placed them in the basement of Hokona Hall where they sat deteriorating and unavailable for decades. In the summer of 2022, the tapes were “rescued” and subsequently cleaned, labeled, and catalogued. They now reside back in the Music Department. The next goal of the project is to get the tapes digitized so the recordings are once again playable on modern equipment. The UNM Robb Trust and its Archives/Underwriting Committee initiated support for the process. Robb Symposium Series5/1/20232023 Events
Fri 10 February 11:00am-11:50am Composition Masterclass with Ellen Reid in cooperation with New Mexico Philharmonic Performers: UNM composition students Tickets: $0 Venue: UNM Center for the Arts, Room 1111 Program: TBA Fri 10 February 1:00pm-2:40pm Workshop with Jeffrey Brooks clarinet & Silviu Ciulei guitar Composers: UNM composition students Tickets: $0 Venue: UNM Center for the Arts, Room 1111 Program: TBA Sun 12 February 3:00pm UNM Faculty Spotlight Concert: Clarinet Meets Guitar Composers: John Donald Robb (1892-1989), Marc Mellits (b.1966), Adrian Andrei (b.1980), Redi Marku (b.1984), Olga Amelkina-Vera (b.1976), Astor Piazzolla (1921-1992) Performers: Jeffrey Brooks clarinet & Silviu Ciulei guitar Venue: UNM Keller Hall Tickets: $0 Program:
Fri 24 February 11:00am & 1:00pm Composition Masterclass with Sarah Hennies Performers: UNM composition students Tickets: $0 Venue: UNM Center for the Arts Room 1111 Topic: TBA Fri 3 March 11:00am & 1:00pm Artist Talk with Composer Levi Raleigh Brown Levi will present by Zoom Tickets: $0 Venue: UNM Center for the Arts Room 1111 Topics:
Sat 4 March 2:00pm Workshop with Percussionist Alan Zimmerman Tickets: $0 Venue: UNM Keller Hall Sat 4 March 7:30pm Concert with Percussionist Alan Zimmerman Composers: Rebecca Saunders, Kenneth Cornell, Raven Chacon Tickets: $0 Venue: UNM Keller Hall Program:
Tue 7 March 3:00pm Piano Masterclass with Emanuele Arciuli Performers: UNM Music students Tickets: $0 Venue: UNM Keller Hall Program: tba Tue 7 March 7:30pm Studio Recital Performers: New Music New Mexico and The UNM Composition students Tickets: $0 Venue: UNM Center for the Arts Room B120 Program: tba Wed 8 March 11:00am Lecture-Demonstration with Xavier Foley presented by Santa Fe Pro Musica Tickets: $0 Venue: UNM Center for the Arts Room 1111 Program: Xavier will demonstrate and give a lecture on good string writing. Wed 8 March 2:00pm Piano Masterclass with Emanuele Arciuli Performers: UNM Music students Tickets: $0 Venue: UNM Keller Hall Program: tba Thu 9 March 12:30pm Piano Masterclass with Emanuele Arciuli Performers: UNM Music students Tickets: $0 Venue: UNM Keller Hall Program: tba Fri 10 March 4:30pm Piano Masterclass with Emanuele Arciuli Performers: UNM Music students Tickets: $0 Venue: UNM Keller Hall Program: tba Wed 22 - Fri 24 & Mon 27 March 51st Annual John Donald Robb Composer's Symposium Tickets: $0 UNM Keller Hall unless otherwise indicated* Composers: Axel Retif, Beth Ratay, Cara Haxo, Carlos Arellano, Chris Orphal, Daniel Davis, Doug Falk, John Donald Robb, Jude Harb, Laura Cetilia, Levi Raleigh Brown, Mario Godoy, Niloufar Nourbakhsh, Paula Matthusen, Sky Macklay, Thomas Ropp. Performers: Splinter Reeds (Kyle Bruckmann oboe, Bill Kalinkos clarinet, Nicki Roman saxophone, Jeff Anderle bass clarinet, Dana Jessen bassoon), Moving Lines Ensemble (Charlotte Leung alto saxophone, Adrian Gomez cello, Levi Raleigh Brown percussion, John Barney spoken word), David Felberg and Ruxandra Marquardt violin; Laura Tait Chang viola; Amy Huzjak cello.
Fri 7 April 11:00am Artist Talk with Clara Byom and Joshua Carro Tickets: $0 Venue: UNM Center for the Arts Room 1111 Topics: tba Fri 14 April 11:00am Artist Talk with Beth Ratay Tickets: $0 Venue: UNM Center for the Arts Room 1111 Topics: Emotions and Math, the Music of Beth Ratay Sun 30 April 12:00pm Studio Recital Performers: New Music New Mexico and The UNM Composition students Tickets: $0 Venue: UNM Keller Hall Program: tba |
CATEGORIES
All
ARCHIVES
August 2026
|
RSS Feed