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Simón Gollo, Associate Professor of Music and Director of the NMSU Philharmonic Orchestra, announces the establishment of The New Mexico Music Festival and Orchestral Academy, which will take place August 9-15, 2021.  The Festival and Academy will be an international musical event: beginning this summer, young musicians will gather each year in Las Cruces to share the stage with first-class musicians from top orchestras around the United States and beyond. Students will have the opportunity to interact with guest artists and clinicians in a variety of orchestral settings and programs. The Festival and Academy will feature educational experiences in the following areas: preparation of orchestral excerpts in a studio class setting, orchestral sectional preparation, rehearsals and performances. Maestro Gollo, founding Artistic Director, envisions The New Mexico Orchestra Festival and Academy becoming a premiere musical event featuring a unique educational and artistic experience for musicians in both New Mexico and the Southwest.

For this summer’s premiere Festival, New Mexico State University’s Music Department will host several world-renowned musicians and educators, to include members of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, Los Angeles Opera, Pittsburgh Symphony, Houston Symphony, and faculty from the University of North Texas, Louisiana State University and New Mexico State University, and will also include the Camerata del Sol Chamber Orchestra (regional chamber group).  A faculty concert featuring guest artists Lucinda Chiu (First Violin, LA Opera), David Cerutti (Viola, Met Orchestra), Liuh-Wen (Viola, Orchestra of St. Luke's), Adam Liu (Cello, Pittsburgh Symphony), Maki Kubota (Cello, Houston Symphony), Jeff Bradetich (double bass, UNT), Ana Maria Otamendi (piano, LSU), Ana Maria Quintero (Violin, Midland Orchestra), Jorge Espinoza (Cello), Jorge Martinez (Viola), and Simón Gollo (Violin).  The Festival will bring to campus young participants from the north of Mexico, Albuquerque, El Paso, and Las Cruces.

The New Mexico Music Festival and Orchestral Academy will present three concerts, including pre-concert lectures.  Each concert will take place in NMSU’s Atkinson Recital Hall:

• • August 13 at 7:30pm: The Festival will present a program featuring the masterwork “Verklärte Nacht” by Arnold Schoenberg performed by our guest artists.
  • August 14 at 7:30pm: The Doña Ana Arts Council will host the second concert where the Camerata del Sol Chamber Players will join the Festival guest artists performing Joseph Haydn's Quartet Op. 20/2 and “Metamorphosen” by Richard Strauss.
  • August 15th at 11:00am: The Festival will culminate in the premiere of the New Mexico Music Festival Orchestra with the participation of all students and guest artists under the direction of Maestro Simón Gollo, performing the Chamber Symphony (Kammersinfonie), Op. 110a by Shostakovich.

The New Mexico Music Festival and Orchestral Academy again features New Mexico State University as an important venue for music education and diversity, and Las Cruces as a city which fosters the development of international cultural events.

If you would like further information about these events, please contact Prof. Simón Gollo at sgollo@nmsu.edu