President’s Chamber Music Series Opens With String Quartet 

Violist Willy Sucre kicked off the inaugural season of the Western New Mexico University President’s Chamber Music Series last fall and returns to campus with a string quartet this Tuesday, September 26, at 7:00 p.m. in Light Hall Theater. A pre-performance reception will take place on the Light Hall Patio at 6:30 p.m. Originally from Bolivia, Sucre studied at the Conservatorio Nacional de Musica in La Paz, at Colby College Chamber Music Institute in Maine, Mannes School of Music in New York, and the Peabody Conservatory in Maryland. With experience as a conductor, a symphony violist, and an orchestra director, Sucre’s passion is chamber music ensembles. He spends his summers in South America searching for new chamber music pieces by modern composers and encouraging composers both here and in South America to write new pieces. Sucre has performed and recorded music throughout South, Central, and North America. He is now a member of the New Mexico Philharmonic and the driving...

Chamber Music Series to feature Latin string quartet

An international Latin string quartet will be the featured performing artists in the upcoming President’s Chamber Music Series concert on Tuesday, March 21 in Light Hall Theater. The concert is the fourth and final Chamber Music event for the spring semester, concluding a series of concerts featuring acclaimed musicians from throughout the country. La Catrina String Quartet is a recognized as the new vanguard for contemporary American string quartet repertoire. The group is comprised of four performers originating from throughout Latin America including Mexico, Venezuela and Chile. Hailed by Yo-Yo Ma as “wonderful ambassadors for Latin American music,” the group’s mission is to cultivate new works by living U.S. composers and the programming of existing Latin American works that are rarely performed. The concert begins at 7:00 p.m. and admission is $15 per person. Tickets can be purchased and picked up in Hunter Hall. The President’s Chamber Music Series is...

Third Chamber Music Series Event Features Acclaimed Pianist

The ongoing President’s Chamber Music Series event continues to bring acclaimed musicians to Light Hall Theater and will feature pianist Awadagin Pratt on Tuesday, January 17 at 7:00 p.m. on the Western New Mexico University campus. The event is $15 per person and will include a piano quintet playing Beethoven’s Piano Concerto #4 Op. 58 in G Major and Brahms’ Piano Quintet in F minor Op. 34. The performance will be the inaugural event for the university’s new Steinway Model B piano housed in Light Hall. Pratt has played recitals throughout the country including performances at the Lincoln Center, Kennedy Center, the White House, and Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles. His orchestral performances include appearances with the New York Philharmonic and the Minnesota Orchestra. Internationally, Pratt has toured Japan four times and performed in Germany, Italy, Switzerland, Poland, Israel, Colombia and South Africa. Pratt is currently Professor of Piano and...

Second Chamber Music Series event features acclaimed violinist

Acclaimed violinist Krzysztof Zimowski will perform for the second President’s Chamber Music Series event on Tuesday, November 29. The performance begins at 7:00 p.m. in Light Hall Theater with doors opening at 6:30 p.m. A Meet the Artists reception will follow the performance in Light Hall patio. Zimowski was born in Poland and began his musical studies at the age of six. He has performed as a Concertmaster of the Symphony Orchestra of Weikersheim and Bayreuth in Germany. In 1976, Zimowski began performing with The World Youth Orchestra in Brussels and in Paris. There he began playing in chamber music ensembles and taking master classes with the world-renowned violin soloist Henryk Szeryng. In 1981, Zimowski joined the Mexico City Philharmonic Orchestra where he gained acclaim for his soloist performance during a concert dedicated to the Mexico City earthquake victims. In 1986, he moved to the United States forming the Helios String Quartet, an ensemble-in-residence at...

Inaugural Chamber Music Series Event To Feature Violist

Western New Mexico University is establishing a new cultural event tradition called The President’s Chamber Music Series with an inaugural event on Tuesday, September 20 in Light Hall at 7:00 p.m with an artist Meet and Greet immediately following the performance. The first event will feature acclaimed violist Willy Sucre and Friends, his string quartet. Sucre is a member of the New Mexico Philharmonic and is the driving force behind the Willy Sucre and Friends concert series. Born in La Paz, Bolivia, Sucre studied at the Conservatorio Nacional de Musica in La Paz; Colby College Chamber Music Institute in Waterville, Maine; Mannes School of Music in New York; and the Peabody Conservatory in Baltimore, Maryland. Sucre has been the conductor and music director of the Albuquerque Philharmonic Orchestra, and assistant conductor and principal violist of the Canada Symphony Orchestra in Montreal. His experience also includes extensive chamber music concerts, lectures, school...

WNMU Cultural Affairs Announces Fall Season Lineup

The Western New Mexico University Cultural Affairs fall 2019 season is packed with events from live entertainment to exhibit openings and lectures. WNMU Cultural Affairs will be continuing the President’s Chamber Music Series and the Edwina & Charles Milner Women in the Arts Lecture Series, and it will offer an evening of caroling and activities called Christmas Under the Stars for the first time. “We continue to cast a wider and wider net to seek out unique cultural offerings to present to the university community and the community at large. We are excited about the breadth of this season with acts hailing from the Louisiana Bayou to the Hebie Province in China and all points all along the way,” WNMU Special Assistant to the President for Cultural Affairs Faye McCalmont said. Admission prices range from free to $20. A 2019-20 season pass allows entry to all ticketed shows for $170 — a $30 savings. The WNMU Cultural Affairs fall 2019 season schedule: —...

WNMU Cultural Affairs Announces Spring Season Lineup

The Western New Mexico University Cultural Affairs spring 2019 season is packed with a dozen events from concerts to art exhibit openings and lectures, concluding with the three-day Fiesta Latina! in June. WNMU Cultural Affairs will be continuing its President’s Chamber Music Series and the Edwina Milner Women in the Arts Lecture Series this spring. “It’s going to be an exciting spring semester, kicking off with the incredible women’s mariachi group from New York City, Flor de Toloache, in Light Hall. Music from Ireland, a Hamilton Revue, chamber music and a symphony round out the offerings,” said Faye McCalmont, WNMU’s Special Assistant to the President for Cultural Affairs. Admission prices range from free to $15. The WNMU Cultural Affairs spring 2019 season schedule: — January 17, 4:30 p.m.: Chad Colby Solo Painting Exhibition Opening — January 23, 7 p.m.: 2017 Latin Music Grammy Winner Flor de Toloache Live at WNMU — January 29, 7 p.m.: President’s...

Cultural Affairs Fall Season Lineup Includes Concerts, Shows, Artist Talks and Films

The Western New Mexico University Cultural Affairs fall season kicks off with a concert by Americana trio Red Molly on Thursday, September 13, 2018. The fall season is packed with seven concerts, two artist lectures and exhibits, a documentary film, and one exotic visual performance. WNMU Cultural Affairs will be continuing its President’s Chamber Music Series and the Edwina Milner Women in the Arts lecture series this fall through this spring. From throwback bands like Hotel California — A Salute to the Eagles and folksy vocalists like Red Molly to high-energy performances like SIRO A — Techno Circus, the WNMU Cultural Affairs fall lineup appeals to families and to university students. “We are very excited about this season’s offerings and eager to welcome the community onto WNMU’s beautiful campus to experience arts and culture. We scheduled a mix of high-quality performances and visual arts to provide something for everyone,” said Faye McCalmont, WNMU’s...

QTango to Illustrate the History of Tango

The President's Chamber Music Series continues with an Argentine-inspired Willy Sucre and Friends concert next week. The Albuquerque-based QTango ensemble will be featured in a concert on the Western New Mexico University campus (1000 W. College Ave.) on Tuesday, Jan. 30, 2018. Beginning at 7 p.m., the audience in Light Hall Theater will explore the history of tango from French composer Bizet to Argentine composer Piazzolla. The program features music from the parlors of wealthy patrons of classically trained musicians in Vienna and from the bars, streets and tenements of Buenos Aires, a melting pot of cultures on the Río de la Plata. "I love music that reaches into your soul," said Faye McCalmont, Special Assistant to the President for Cultural Affairs at Western New Mexico University, who organizes the series. Anchored by violist Willy Sucre, this group includes violinist Olga Tikhovidova, pianist Natalia Tikhovidova, and double bassist Jeremy Sment, and third...

West Shore Piano Trio To Perform at WNMU on Nov. 14

The West Shore Piano Trio continues the second annual President’s Chamber Music Series at Light Hall Theater on Nov. 14 at 7 p.m. Founded on the Western Shore of the Chesapeake Bay in 2008 and based in the Washington D.C. metropolitan area, the West Shore Piano Trio has been praised for “fluid” and “sultry” playing. Made up of Jay DeWire (piano), Heather Haughn (violin) and Diana Flesner (cello), the trio has performed all across the nation at places like the Smithsonian American Art Museum and the Chautauqua Institution. The group plays with colorful passion and also provides insight to the works on the program through commentary and interaction with their audiences. Because they believe that “education and live performance enhance each other,” the trio provides biographical details about the composer, frames the work in the context of its time, and highlights the piece’s thematic and compositional elements—all in jargon-free language accessible to...