 When Raven Chacon debuts Tiguex (Score for the City of Albuquerque) on September 27, 2025, echoes of John Donald Robb and the Robb Musical Trust will be heard in the ambitious composition that will be 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 will be live-streamed on KUNM and scores of UNM music students and faculty will be among the participants. Details and locations. Chacon (spiderwebinthesky.com) will be receiving the 2025 Robb Award during the Trust’s annual ¡Música del Corazón! celebration of New Mexico music on November16 at Keller Hall. Learn more about the UNM CSWR Robb Musical Archives. Below a video clip of the UNM Mariachi performing in Raven 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. 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. 2024 Robb Award9/2/2025 Michael Mauldin Composer and Music Educator Born in Texas in 1947, Michael Mauldin moved to New Mexico in 1971 for "the light, the space and the timelessness." That year he met JD Robb, with whom he worked to develop the New Mexico Composers Guild. He completed a Master’s Degree in composition at UNM, opened a music school, raised a family and wrote music. In 1980 he won the “Composer of the Year” award of the Music Teachers National Association for “Voices from Chaco: Concertino for Piano and Woodwind Quintet.” In 1985 "Fajada Butte: An Epiphany," commissioned by the New Mexico Symphony Orchestra, was performed at Kennedy Center by the National Repertory Orchestra for the 20th anniversary of the National Endowment for the Arts. Mauldin first visited New Mexico in the late 1950's when his father brought his family to church retreats at Ghost Ranch. While exploring red arroyos one day, he encountered artist Georgia O’Keefe painting a landscape. He remembered her distinctive appearance but learned only later who she was. He determined that he wanted to live in a place like that--a place that "surrounds you with colorful space--and creates new space inside you." His catalogue contains over 90 works, from chamber, orchestral and choral music, to works for harp, organ, guitar and piano. His music is “accessible, yet distinctive and memorable.” It often portrays the power and magic of the rugged beauty and ancient cultures of his adopted state of New Mexico. "Prayer of Mesas," for the University of New Mexico Chorus and Orchestra, was commissioned by UNM and the City of Albuquerque to celebrate the university's centennial in 1988. Michael served for four years as the national chair of the Student Composition Contest of the Music Teachers National Association. He served for seven years as Musical Director of the Albuquerque Boy Choir (of which his sons are alumni), which grew to three choirs, 85 boys between ages 7 and 17, who toured, recorded and completed a rigorous musicianship program. Mauldin guest-conducted student and community orchestras, and he conducted the New Mexico Symphony Orchestra in recording sessions to prepare five of his orchestral pieces for the compact-disc album, "Enchanted Land." As a public speaker, clinician, composer and performer, he actively promoted private and public arts-education throughout the country. He has also been an advocate for the rights of children, holding that discipline is more than repression, and that society is repaid when children and young people are treated with respect and allowed to participate in choices regarding their own minds, bodies and spirits. Critical Acclaim:
Learn more about Michael: Video: Michael Mauldin's "Prayer of Mesas" for large orchestra and chorus (1989) performed by the Kyiv Philharmonic and Chorus. Text: "Father the Sun, Our Mother the Earth, Bless this place where the powers move-- the great powers that move between earth and sky! May the people that move upon us know from whence they came. Let the space of the land open their minds, that they may let the earth heal. May they let the earth heal, that they may live among us, and know from whence they came." Images: Dissolve photos of San Juan Mesa, Jemez Mountains, New Mexico. 2024-2025 Graduate Assistantship8/11/2025 Julia Camargo Julia Souto De Camargo {Brazil} is a mezzo-soprano and a Master of Music graduate from the University of New Mexico’s Music department, focusing on Voice Performance. She is interested in ethnomusicology studies and developing research about musical manifestations from her country, during her bachelor’s degree in music education at the University of São Paulo. Passionate about education, archivism, and music in its diversity, she currently holds the John Donald Robb Graduate Music Assistantship. Through this program, she works with the UNM Libraries' Center for Southwest Research and Special Collections, focusing on the Robb Archives, serves on the production team for the Trust's public programming, and provides clerical support of the Trust's day-to-day operations. Performance Example Here is Julia Camargo and collaborative pianist James Harder performing an excerpt of Mario de Andrade, Viola Quebrada arranged by Heitor Villa Lobos, from the Vocal Artistry Art Song Festival at the University of New Mexico, November 2023. 2023 Robb Award Honoree10/3/2024 John Truitt Music Educator, Composer, Flamenco Guitarist and Woodwind Specialist John Truitt has been a career music educator in Albuquerque New Mexico for more than 50 years. In his career he has taught at all levels, from pre-K to the graduate level, and in recent years has mentored both formally and informally many of the music teachers in New Mexico. He has taught for The Albuquerque Public Schools, The National Institute of Flamenco and The University of New Mexico, but is most associated with the nationally prominent guitar program at Albuquerque Academy which he started in the 1970's and directed for 22 years. In the early 1970’s he studied baroque and renaissance performance practice with Frans Brueggen, Floyd Williams, Frank Bowen and Susan Patrick at UNM, and with colleagues started the early music ensemble Musica Antigua de Albuquerque. He has studied with flamenco guitarists Eric Patterson, Julio de los Reyes, David Serva and Pedro Cortes, and has accompanied and worked with Eva and Joaquin Encinias, La Tati, Maria Benitez, Chuscales, Lili del Castillo, Luis Campos, El Pelete and Daniel Ward. He is a past chair of the Guitar Education Council of The National Association for Music Education, a former member of the Pre-College Education Board of the Guitar Foundation of America, and as a member of the board of NMMEA, spearheaded the inclusion of guitar ensemble in the New Mexico All-State Music Festival, the first state in the country to do so. In 2019 he directed the New Mexico All State Guitar Ensemble in a premier performance of his piece “En El Torreon” for guitar orchestra. In 2014, his composition “Fin de Fiesta” for trumpet and guitar quartet (see video below) was selected by the International Trumpet Guild as a significant new work for the trumpet and performed at that organization’s international convention that year. He has written for concert band, jazz band, orchestra and chorus as well as guitar literature for both solo and ensemble. His works have been played by such artists as Mickey Jones, Jeremy Mayne, Genevieve Leitner, Ben Silva, Sarah Herbert, Adam Larison, Lynn McGrath, Elliot Simpson, Matthew Rohde, The Rio Grande Quartet, The Texas Guitar Quartet and The Triptych Guitar Trio. He is currently completing a set of musical impressions of works by artist Helen Hardin to be performed in the Spring of 2024. Mr. Truitt is a judge, clinician and director for festivals and competitions around the country, as well as being a freelance jazz woodwind player and flamenco accompanist. John Truitt is married to his wife of 48 years, Holly Truitt, with whom he has two children, airline pilot Lee Truitt, and historian Jacquelyn Truitt. He and Holly have three grandchildren, Grant, Grady, and Gibson. John will receive the Robb Award during the Robb Trust's annual Música del Corazón celebration featuring live performances by Lara Mananares, Jordan Wax, Felix Peralta, Rob Martinez, the UNM Mariachi Ensemble and others Sunday 19 November 2023 3pm at the National Hispanic Cultural Center's Albuquerque Journal Theatre. The event is free and the public is cordially invited. Below is a 2018 performance of John Truitt's composition "Fin de Fiesta; Evocacion; Bulerias" performed by the Texas Guitar Quartet with guest violinist Jennifer Choi. 2021-2024 Graduate Assistant7/10/2024 Christopher Orphal is a 2024 Master of Music (MM) graduate from the University of New Mexico’s Music department, focusing on Music Theory and Composition. He is an active composer of new music, whose compositions for a variety of instrumental combinations often include explorations of new or novel tonal colors and harmonies through extended instrumental techniques and microtones. His pieces often attempt to connect with both historical and contemporary styles, and through this synthesis aim at creating a unique yet accessible musical voice. Christopher held the John Donald Robb Graduate Music Assistantship from 2021 to 2024. Through this program, he worked with the UNM Libraries' Center for Southwest Research and Special Collection’s music archives, focusing on composers of the South-West. Performance Example Here is Dan Lippel performing Christopher's work "Siaynoq" for solo guitar, in 36 equal divisions of the octave. The composition received its premiere in 2021. 2023 Underwriting Recipient5/28/2024UNM Symphony Orchestra  Wednesday 25 September 7:30pm WORLD PREMIERE ...Contempla, alma, y considera double concerto for oboe and viola by Sérgio Azevedo (b. 1968) Kevin Vigneau, oboe Kimberly Fredenburgh, viola Sebastián Serrano-Ayala, conductor UNM Symphony Orchestra Other works on the program:
Popejoy Hall $15 adults, $10 seniors, $5 UNM students general admission purchase tickets All pieces on the program are tied by the utilization of folk and popular materials from the regions of Iberia to Nuevo México. The University of New Mexico Symphony Orchestra commissioned Dr. Sérgio Azevedo, a leading contemporary Português composer, to write a concerto for oboe, viola, and orchestra. The concerto utilizes materials from the collected folk and indigenous music found in the John Donald Robb Archives at the University Libraries Center for Southwest Research and Special Collections. The work will have a programmatic element related to the story of an Iberian immigrant's journey to Nuevo México.  Dr. Serrano-Ayala photo by Jota Pardo Dr. Sebastián Serrano-Ayala is the newly-appointed Visiting Professor of Orchestral Studies at UNM. An advocate for the music of our time, Colombian-born conductor Sebastián Serrano-Ayala blends inclusive collaboration, and effortless conducting with fresh and timely interpretations. Sebastián is actively involved with symphonic music and educational programs in the United States and an avid adjudicator. He has also served as Assistant Conductor with the Skagit Symphony and the Saratoga Orchestra, and has held Conducting Fellowships at the the Cabrillo Festival, the National Orchestral Institute, Symphony Tacoma, Allentown Symphony Orchestra and the Mostly Modern Festival in NY, where he premiered works with the American Modern Ensemble. Below is an example of Sérgio Azevedo's compositional oeuvre: "O vento sopra onde quer..." (The wind blows where it wants) Concerto para Orquestra de Sopros (2020) performed by BSP, directed by Francisco Ferreira, 30 October 2021. Dr. Azevedo served as "BSP Composer in Residence" in 2020. 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. |
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