A peak at our 13th season!
Summer is in full swing and like many of you, New Mexico Performing Arts Society is on a break, but administrators are hard at work behind the scenes preparing for the start of the 2024-2025 season.
My name is Leah Romero and I am NMPAS’s media outreach coordinator. I am based in Las Cruces and this will be the first season I’ll be able to travel to the society’s performances up north. I’m super excited!
Last season ended in June with Music of Spain: The Art of Zarzuela performed in Albuquerque and Santa Fe. Both nights ended with standing ovations for the costumes, lighting, drama and magnificent performances of the Spanish artform.
“The one thing I’m disappointed in this season is that we would have liked to see attendance bounce back from COVID-19 more quickly. We were just starting to see attendance rebuild at the very end of the year so we’re hopeful that that momentum will continue into next season,” said Linda Marianiello, NMPAS executive director.
We are trying something new leading up to the next season: over the next few weeks we will share with you interviews with the society’s administrators and performers. The idea is for you to get to know us a little bit better as we get closer to the start of the 13th season.
It is still about two months away, but audiences can expect something different for the opening concert. We will kick off the season on Sept. 6 and Sept. 8 with J.S. Bach’s St. John Passion. The performance is a rescheduling of the 2024 annual New Mexico Bach Society concerts due to illness in the ensemble.
The St. John Passion is one of two written by Bach that have survived, and the production will be the largest NMPAS has presented since before the COVID-19 pandemic.
“NMPAS works really hard to avoid having to cancel events and if we do have to cancel something for illness, we work extra hard to reschedule it as soon as possible. This is especially the case with the St. John, which is such a huge piece, and such a big project for NMPAS,” Marianiello said. “We’re doing St. John Passion a little later than we originally intended but it’s really, really exciting to be doing a work of this depth and scope. It demands a great deal of the performer so you have to have the right people to be able to sing, especially the solo roles.”
Tickets for these performances are already available for purchase on our website: nmpas.org/tickets.
The fall half of the upcoming season will continue with Handel’s Messiah in early November. The project will be a major collaboration between NMPAS, Taos Community Chorus, Las Vegas Community Choir and the choirs at New Mexico Highlands University. NMPAS is providing the soloists and orchestra for Messiah.
And then performers will jump right into the Winter Solstice concerts the week of Thanksgiving. A weighty few months, no?
We will all take a much deserved winter break before returning in 2025 with several chamber performances, opera concerts and the annual 2025 New Mexico Bach Society concerts. Next year’s Bach Society concert will be the rescheduled Cantata Series II performance from spring 2024, featuring Bach’s Cantata BWV 21. NMPAS is also commissioning a new work by composer Aaron Alter to premiere at the 2025 New Mexico Bach Society performances in Santa Fe and Albuquerque.
“We’ve done a number of world premieres of his music and our audiences like it. It’s very approachable and kind of eclectic in style. It’s got a pop element to it. He uses rock and jazz elements in his classical compositions and people dig it,” Marianiello said.
The progression is a little bit different than previous years, but we are all excited to present these programs for you!
One change audiences can expect this coming year is a change in venue. Our Santa Fe performances will not take place at the Immaculate Heart of Mary Retreat Center as it undergoes renovations. We will keep you posted on the new venue when we get that detail nailed down.
“We really need people to come out to our concerts. We work really hard and our concerts are wonderful. The people who go to them are just so thrilled to be there,” Marianiello said. “Take a chance, get a ticket and come.”
We are also making some changes behind the scenes that you might notice going forward. Marianiello and artistic director, Franz Vote, moved to a part-time schedule this month. Their change in schedule will continue going forward, brought on by complications with long COVID.
Others in the office will be stepping in to pick up some of the administrative duties, including Daniel Schwab (administrative assistant), David Ponder (bookkeeper), Shannon Whitehead (webmaster), Pete Monro (videographer) and Leah Romero (media outreach consultant).
September is right around the corner, so think about purchasing your tickets early! Our website will be kept up-to-date with upcoming ticket sales.
And keep an eye on your inbox for the next interviews with Artistic Director Franz Vote and performers preparing for St. John Passion.