On Saturday, May 7, 2022 NMPAS at 8 pm presents an Evening of Song with the young tenor, Gregory Gallagher, and pianist Kayla Liechty. Their program includes French and Italian art song, Richard Strauss lieder, and a song cycle, “Dear Theo,” in lush romantic style by renowned American composer Ben Moore.

The timing couldn’t be more perfect: The Albuquerque Museum has a great exhibit running concurrently, Beyond Van Gogh, and Greg performs “Dear Theo,” based on letters exchanged between Vincent Van Gogh and his brother Theo.

Concerning “Dear Theo,” composer Ben Moore writes:
Dear Theo B. Moore (b. 1960)

I.The Red Vineyard
II. I Found a Woman
III. Little One
IV. The Man I Have to Paint
V. When I’m at Work
VI. Already Broken
VII. Souvenir

Dear Theo is a song cycle for tenor and piano composed by the well-regarded pianist, artist, and American composer, Ben Moore. Performances and recordings by famed Metropolitan Opera artists, including Nathan Gunn, Lawrence Brownlee, Susan Graham, Frederica von Stade, and Deborah Voigt, have brought increased awareness to Moore’s songs. The cycle consists of seven songs based on letters from the artist Vincent van Gogh to his brother Theo. The songs provide a window into the emotions and struggles of the artist’s short yet tragic life. “Ben Moore is a particularly eloquent exponent of the art song, noted for the broad and eclectic variety of his thematic applications and poetic sources.”1 His melodies are soaring and lyrical, creating immediate emotional impact for listeners. This lyricism is linked with affecting texts that are full of drama and powerful messages. Moore’s harmonic language is modern yet approachable. Even the dissonant harmonies have a purpose and overall aesthetic quality. Opera News in reviewing Dear Theo, wrote, “[The song cycle] displays composer Ben Moore’s aptitude for psychologically probing yet undeniably appealing storytelling.”2 The following are notes on the cycle from composer Ben Moore:

“Little appreciated during his lifetime, Vincent van Gogh is widely regarded as one of history’s greatest painters and a vital contributor to the development of modern art. His brother Theo ran a successful art gallery in Paris and provided unfailing financial support to Vincent throughout his career, allowing him to devote himself entirely to painting. Their lifelong friendship is recorded in the hundreds of letters they exchanged from August 1872 until July 1890 and is the source for most of what is known about the thoughts and beliefs of the artist.

This cycle for tenor voice and piano is a setting of selected passages from the letters which I have adapted from the original English translation (translated from their original French or Dutch) which express major emotional themes that run throughout the correspondence. In these seven songs I have tried particularly to emphasize the poignant fact that Vincent would never know the tremendous value and influence his art would eventually acquire, and how, for instance, in August of 1883 he could write that what he wanted was to leave ‘a souvenir’ to express the depth of his feeling. The words to the first song are based on letters from 1888. Other passages were based on or adapted from letters dated April ’88, July ’82, December ’81, August ’83 and August ’87. It should be noted that in certain cases I have modified the translations and repeated certain words or phrases, to allow for a more regular musical structure. In each case I strived to maintain the spirit and intention of van Gogh’s original words.

This piece holds a special meaning for me since, as a painter myself, I have been moved and inspired by van Gogh’s work since early childhood. I also believe that whether one is an artist, a musician, or an appreciator of art, one cannot help but feel a connection to this man who, through great financial and personal hardship, maintained a passion for his work and for life in general.”

Ben Moore, 2014

*The texts are based on or adapted from the first English translation of letters written by Vincent van Gogh to his brother Theo entitled The Letters of Vincent van Gogh (Constable, 1927). A majority of the letters in the collection were translated by Van Gogh’s sister-in-law, Johanna van Gogh-Bonger, who died in 1925.

Copyright 2012
All rights reserved
Ben Moore

1 “Dear Theo,” Delos Music, accessed March 10, 2016, https://delosmusic.com/recording/dear-theo/.
2 Steven Jude Tietjen, “Moore: Dear Theo; So Free Am I; Ode to a Nightingale,” Opera News, accessed March 10, 2016, http://www.operanews.com/Opera_News_Magazine/2014/8/Recordings/Dear_Theo.html.

Greg and Kayla are both amazing artists who are music faculty members at Eastern New Mexico University in Portales. They are yet another example of the talented musicians, performing and fine artists who make New Mexico their home.

Don’t miss this program! More info and tickets:
nmpas.org

 

 

Gregory Gallagher, tenor and Kayla Liechty, piano

Rachel Wixom, Executive Director, The Ralph T. Coe Center for the Arts

NMPAS Executive Director Linda Marianiello met Rachel Wixom at a Santa Fe Community Foundation meeting in 2012. They’ve been following each other’s progress with their respective organizations ever since, and have collaborated on several occasions. A few years ago, for example, The Ralph T. Coe Center for the Arts hosted a Native flute concert that was part of Santa Fe Flute Immersion. The two work together toward common goals and share the challenges they face in a mutually supportive way. Rachel is a valued member of the NMPAS Advisory Board.

The Story of The Coe Center

Rachel Wixom came to Santa Fe from New York City, where she had lived for more than twenty-five years. The reason she moved to New Mexico at the end of 2011 was to set up her uncle’s foundation. He passed away in 2010, and she was initially involved in settling his estate. In January 2012, she took up her position as Executive Director of The Coe Center for the Arts. Rachel purchased her Santa Fe home several months after that.

The Coe Center moved into its current space at 1590B Pacheco Street in early 2014. The artwork had been in storage, so they moved the collection into their space. She brought Bruce Bernstein onto the staff part-time as Chief Curator in early 2014, although he had been assisting her as far back as 2012.

About Ted Coe

Rachel’s uncle, Ralph T. Coe (“Ted”), grew up in a family of art collectors in Cleveland, Ohio. He wrote some wonderful stories about his art collecting, including the 2003 Metropolitan Museum of Art exhibition catalog, The Responsive Eye: Ralph T. Coe and the Collecting of American Indian Art. He collected for his entire life. Ted ended up at the Nelson-Atkins Museum in Kansas City, where first served as Curator and eventually became the Director. The Nelson-Atkins Museum wouldn’t be what it is today, had it not been for her uncle.

Ted’s interest in art was not limited to Native American art, which was reflected in his collecting of decorative arts, as well as African, Indonesian, Central American art and more. He learned a lot about humanity through global art. Ted considered his collection a living entity and a responsibility. He wanted to take care of it properly as he planned for the end of his life.

In 2003, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City exhibited a number of works in Ted’s collection in The Responsive Eye. This was a promised gift, and these works made their way into the museum’s permanent collection, creating the Met’s core collection of Native American Art. Ted is considered a benefactor of the museum.

Originally, the non-Native American parts of the collection, e.g., African, Oceanic, etc., were supposed to go to Oberlin College, his alma mater. Ultimately, however, he realized that their space was not sufficient for the size of his collection. All of the Native American pieces were to go to the Metropolitan in NY, but he feared that these pieces would end up in storage and be misunderstood.

So he established the Ralph T. Coe Foundation for the Arts here in Santa Fe. Her uncle had Alzheimer’s, but she was able to talk with him about his wishes for the collection and his ideas for the foundation. He asked Rachel to head up the organization and get it started on its path.

She was head of publications at the Whitney Museum in New York City at the time, but she said Yes to his request. They had to sell a few items in the collection in order to bring Rachel to Santa Fe. But she felt that Santa Fe was the right location to realize her Uncle Ted’s wishes.

Ted Coe wanted the collection to raise awareness and understanding, to inspire and to educate. The Coe Center is very artist oriented. They’ve had wonderful relationships with some of the artists represented in the collection and with others who are indirectly connected to it. Ted didn’t want the collection to be static. Rachel also notes that some objects can spark important dialogues – people are interested in diversity today, so what the Coe Center provides is hands-on insight into other cultures and ways of looking at the world.

The Coe could have become a grant-making organization, Rachel explained. And they may still do that in the future. But their current interest is focused on engaging with people and building relationships by partnering, which is also what inspired Ted. He didn’t care if those he interacted with were the Queen of England or an everyday person. If there was interest to learn, then he was interested in engaging. Similarly, The Coe is open to everyone free of charge.

Ted wasn’t too specific about programming for The Coe Center. They have taken to loaning out objects from the collection and doing walkthroughs. It’s a very personal experience to visit their site. Students, artists, or others might be working there when someone visits. “You never know what kind of experience you may have when you come to The Coe Center,” Rachel said. Visitors’ interests, rather than those of the staff, lead the tour.

Rachel’s Background

Rachel is dyslexic, which made learning a challenge. She attended Wells College in Upstate New York with the initial thought of going into science.

Her interest was piqued by Joseph Campbell’s work on a series, The Power of Myth, with Bill Moyers. “Follow your bliss”*** was something that deeply influenced her life from that point on. But she didn’t actually know what she wanted to do with her life until her Uncle Ted asked her to run his foundation many years later.

In college, Rachel found a niche in art history. Her mom had spent time in Europe after college. So Rachel went to Germany, learned the language, and was an au pair in Munich for two years.

Upon returning to the US, she connected with a wonderful art bookstore on Madison Avenue in New York City, Wittenborn Art Books. This led her to a German art publishing company, teNeus Verlag, which was family owned when she worked there. She rose through the ranks of the company. Her background in German language and culture was helpful in getting the position.

This was in the 1990s. Rachel was based in their New York office, but she spent quite a lot of time in the German office in Kempen, a suburb of Düsseldorf. Being there on business gave her the opportunity to spend time in various European countries. It was a fruitful time for her.

From there, she took a position at the Whitney Museum, where she became managing editor. After her first year, they hired her to become head of publications, and she stayed at the Whitney for about a decade.

When Rachel looks back at her life experiences and the positions she has held at various companies and institutions, she realizes that all of them helped her to arrive at where she is today with The Coe Center.

Programs at The Coe Center

Rachel has now been at The Coe Center for eight years. Once they moved into their current space, they wanted to serve the public. Her first program was about giving young people an experience through the art in the collection. She wanted to work with middle school students. With the assistance of the artist Teri Greeves, the Hands-On Curatorial Program was born and is now in its sixth year. Teri’s mother was Kiowa and her father, Italian. Her mother ran a trading post in Montana. Teri now lives in Santa Fe with her family.

When the program started, they had four students from a middle school, The Academy for Technology and Classics, which is out near the Institute of American Indian Arts. The goal was for the students to develop an art exhibition. They had to acquire the skills needed to produce the exhibit themselves. Teamwork, compromise, and other skills that they need in life were a few benefits of the program. One student loved it so much that he stayed in the program for four years. He is now a freshman in college and has a very bright future, as do other participants in the program.

After a few years, Rachel hired curator Bess Murphy, who moved the Hands-On Curatorial Program from middle school to high school. Bess has been working on the program for six years and has shaped it in meaningful ways.

In the process of creating programs, they changed the name to The Coe Center, rather than Foundation, which better describes what their programs are about and what The Coe Center represents—bringing together.

COVID-19 has changed how they structure the Hands-On Curatorial Program. There used to be an exhibit on site. With all of the issues around remote learning in school during the pandemic, it has been hard to involve the students in the same in-person way as when they could meet on site. So they moved to a student-created website exhibition, rather than an on-site exhibition.

Other past programs include A View from Here: Northwest Coast Native Arts from the Richard and Joan Chodosh collection, which also featured a special event around Indian Market. Another project was spearheaded by a board director, who was interested in a bracelet by the Oklahoma artist Julius Caesar. This became the exhibit, How it was Handed to Me: The Caesar Family Legacy. The object is made of German silver, which is not silver, and is an alloy of copper, nickel and zinc. “It’s a difficult material to work in,” Rachel said. This morphed into an experiential exhibition, an exploration based on the bracelet. More information about the exhibition and accompanying events can be found on The Coe website: https://www.coeartscenter.org/

Another project, FUNCTION, culminated in a special event that took place in their parking lot in August 2019. Youth Works catered for them. Everyone ate together. At the end of the dinner, they smashed the plates that had been created for the event by the artist in collaboration with the public. People were reticent to smash them. But the lesson people took from this is that the journey of creation is what matters, rather than the object itself. The artist took the shards and will repurpose them into something else.

IMPRINT involved printing on paper and the art of printmaking. Artists created prints which they put into a kiosk that then traveled around New Mexico and up to Colorado. The idea was to bring art to the public for free, by placing the it in front of stores and in other unexpected places. People could simply pick up a print from the kiosk. Removing the monetary element and understanding that art is art, whether its costs a lot, a little, or nothing, was the message they wanted to convey: Art is for everyone, and print is everywhere. The Coe Center partnered with The Santa Fe Reporter, which included original artist works in the Indian Market issue that were given away for free; they were swept up very quickly.

What Makes Art, Art

Taking the monetary element out of art and providing experiences that enrich people’s lives are part of The Coe Center’s ongoing mission. They wanted to take The Coe somewhere in “a wall-less way,” as Rachel expressed it. And thinking of the collection as something other than a “traditional museum” is working well for them. It gives people a means to process life, to understand what has happened in the past, and to understand our humanity.

The Coe Center is about taking the elitism out of art and bringing it down to earth. Rachel explained that, because of the collections they house, many large art institutions have had to cater to wealthy donors. This is understandable given the growing need to raise funds. However, this has created the perception among the general public that these institutions are not for them. But, historically, art has been part of people’s culture, cultural context and expression. Art brings people together around our shared humanity. The Coe Center chooses to bring it back to the public and to those communities that are represented within the collection.

The Impact of COVID-19

Rachel is trying to look at the pandemic as an opportunity in which The Coe Center has been able to reflect on its mission and work. “You want your core to be strong,” she said.

With this in mind, they’ve moved to a mostly online format and spruced up their e-newsletter. They are diving into the collection and sharing information about various artworks. They want to get the perspectives of the individuals and communities in which the artwork originated – why was the item made? How do those whose culture produced the artwork see and understand it?

The Coe’s Collection Spotlight enables them to connect with artists all over North America. They invite an artist to come to the collection, either virtually or in person. The artist then speaks about the material. Artists present in an authentic way – it can be earthy, human, and not super polished. The audience can participate and ask questions. Past videos of these events are found on the Coe’s website and YouTube channel. Collection Spotlight now takes place monthly, pending artist availability. Rachel mentioned that programs sometimes come together at the last minute. But these presentations are very exciting and compelling.

They have accepted some gifts since opening in 2012, Rachel explains. But just getting larger isn’t the main purpose of The Coe Center. They want people to explore the items in the collection, rather than to merely offer visitors a bunch of explanatory texts. Experience the art first and re-learn how to “see”; then, you can get more information about it, if you so choose.

Future Aspirations

The Coe is more than a job for Rachel. The collection will have a life of its own, and she will eventually step away. For now, however, The Coe Center is closely connected to her family and who Ted Coe was. A lot of what Ted collected did not involve large financial outlays. But on occasion, he borrowed money to acquire certain artworks and paid them off over time.

Staying where they are and looking for opportunities to use their space is foremost right now. The Coe owns its home, as well as the building in front of them, which could eventually be renovated. But this will be quite a few years in the future. The building in front is a 6,800 square foot warehouse. They want to possibly rent the space to help offset the expense of its care. In the meantime, they have opened it to other nonprofits for one-off projects – Chain Breakers is going to store bikes there, for example. An artist might use the space to make a film. They are still exploring the use of the space, particularly in the era of COVID-19.

Rachel added, “The thing about being small is that it lets you pivot more easily and quickly than larger organizations.”

Currently, Rachel wants The Coe Center to focus more on the collection and sharing it online while in person visits are limited. But this is a work in progress, she emphasizes.

***Editor’s note: For those not familiar with Joseph Campbell’s work, here is an excerpt from the Wiki article about him:

“One of Campbell’s most identifiable, most quoted and arguably most misunderstood sayings was his admonition to ‘follow your bliss.’ He derived this idea from the Upanishads.

[Campbell wrote:] “Now, I came to this idea of bliss because in Sanskrit, which is the great spiritual language of the world, there are three terms that represent the brink, the jumping-off place to the ocean of transcendence: Sat-Chit-Ananda. The word Sat means being. Chit means consciousness. Ananda means bliss or rapture.”

I thought, “I don’t know whether my consciousness is proper consciousness or not; I don’t know whether what I know of my being is my proper being or not; but I do know where my rapture is. So let me hang on to rapture, and that will bring me both my consciousness and my being.” I think it worked.

He saw this not merely as a mantra, but as a helpful guide to the individual along the hero journey that each of us walks through life:

If you follow your bliss, you put yourself on a kind of track that has been there all the while, waiting for you, and the life that you ought to be living is the one you are living. Wherever you are—if you are following your bliss, you are enjoying that refreshment, that life within you, all the time.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jacquelyn Helin Artist Profile
by Linda Marianiello

New Mexico Performing Arts Society is privileged to feature many talented, highly experienced and internationally recognized artists like Steinway Artist Jacquelyn Helin on our concert series.

Steinway Artist Jacquelyn Helin performs Bach’s Well-Tempered Clavier, Book I
Saturday, August 29, 2020 at 7 pm via Live Stream from the Immaculate Heart Chapel in Santa Fe. Of Bach, she writes:

“I really think of Bach as the touchstone of Western music. The understanding of tonality, the contrapuntal mastery, the stylistic range from buoyant to tragic – there is nothing like it. At the outset, Bach composed the WTC as an exploration of the new tuning system of Well-Temperament, which allowed composers to write in any of the 24 major and minor keys, without the performer needing to stop and return the instrument. This had huge implications for chromaticism and harmonic modulations within a piece. It opened up enormous expression of harmonic language.

I think people should listen to the emotional content of Bach, first and foremost. Of course, they can also listen his counterpoint – the fugues in WTC I range from one in 2-voices all the way up to a masterful 5-voice triple fugue. There are so many Baroque dances that Bach uses as the basis for the Preludes. It’s like a master class in the Western musical tradition.”

A Life in Music

Jacquelyn Helin grew up in Wilmette, Illinois, a North Shore suburb of Chicago. Her mother was a fine musician and had a masters degree in piano from Northwestern University. Her mom began to teach her piano at age 3.

Jacquelyn always loved playing piano. She was reading music before she could read words. As a toddler, her favorite toys were a toy keyboard and kiddie record player.

As a child, Jacquelyn performed constantly in recital and at church. Her mom was also a church musician. Everyone assumed that Jacquelyn would be a musician, too.

I asked her about her own daughter and son. She responded that her two kids are very musical, but have pursued other interests. However, they love music and grew up both making it and hearing lots of it.

Jacquelyn started college as a Philosophy major at North Park College, a small liberal arts school in Chicago. During that time, she continued to play piano seriously. She studied with a Juilliard graduate on the faculty at North Park. After completing her first year, however, Jacquelyn realized that she wanted to be a music major, which meant transferring elsewhere. Her family had moved to San Francisco when she was 12, and she loved the West. So Jacquelyn applied and was accepted to the University of Oregon in Eugene.

She also chose University of Oregon because Robert Trotter was Dean of the School of Music. Meeting him was a life-changing experience. Trotter had made such an impression on her that she felt this was where she needed to be. Victor Steinhardt was her piano teacher. Robert Trotter told her about Yale and, after she completed her bachelors in Eugene, suggested that she apply there for masters study.

At Yale, Jacquelyn studied piano with Donald Currier. She loved a lot of things about Yale, however Yale was not an easy place for women in 1974. There were five women in the Piano Department, all of whom came in at the same time. Two left almost immediately. Nevertheless, she had intended to get her masters at Yale.

But an old swimming injury made it necessary for her to have eardrum replacement surgery. After her operation, which took place in California, she was studying piano with Adolph Baller, who had played with Yehudi Menuhin in Europe. She was learning so much from him that she decided not to return to Yale. He suggested that she apply to Stanford, where he was on the faculty. She got her masters at Stanford and loved it there.

Jacquelyn then decided to pursue a DMA at University of Texas at Austin, because that is where John Perry taught piano. She had heard several of his students, whose playing she really liked. Jacquelyn went to meet him and spent three years on campus, getting her doctorate.

John Perry was a brilliant pianist himself, as well as one of the finest teachers in the world. John was fun, incredibly articulate, and opened many aspects of piano playing to her through his insights. They lived, ate & drank piano in those days. The pianists in his studio were family.

It turned out that Jacquelyn’s son William Helin-Glick went to University of Texas at Austin for college, too, a very happy association for them both.

During doctoral study, Jacquelyn participated in the Aspen Music Festival for three years and, after that, was invited back as an artist. She had met a lot of people from New York. With her new connections, she thought that she could make it in New York as a performer. Of the Festival, she said, “Aspen was so fantastic – to be surrounded by that excellence, living and breathing this musical experience.”

Jacquelyn was certain that she didn’t want to stay in academia. Although she was offered a university teaching job, she turned it down and moved to New York instead.
She spent 11 years in New York City. Initially, she played a lot of chamber music and taught privately. She was also a teaching artist at the 92nd Street Y and at Lincoln Center Institute. For performances at Aspen, she met the American composer Joan Tower, and they became friends. Tower wrote her Piano Concerto for Jacquelyn, who premiered it with the Hudson Valley Philharmonic.

She also met Aaron Copland and Virgil Thomson in New York. Virgil Thomson became a friend, and they remained close until his death in 1989. Jacquelyn recorded his music on the Musical Heritage and New World labels. He was very good about telling her how he wanted his pieces to be played: If it wasn’t in the score, then the performer was not to “add it in.”

She knew Aaron Copland quite well, too. For years she played his Piano Sonata, and performed his Sextet multiple times. Copland wrote her a lovely note about her performance of the Sextet, which meant a lot to her.

Jacquelyn notes that Aaron Copland and Virgil Thompson helped to define American music in a new and beneficial way. Their compositional style is unmistakably American. And when they were young, they worked very hard to get their music heard and performed.

Jacquelyn’s performing credits from this period include London’s Wigmore Hall (1982). Lots of solo concerts and concerto dates came her way. In 1984, she won the Artists International Competition, which provided her with a Carnegie Hall Recital Debut.

Her life eventually consisted of touring, rather than being in one place. She performed up and down the East Coast, in Chicago and in the Midwest. She met her husband Robert Glick in Washington, DC, when he was working at the Folger Library. He subsequently moved to New York to be with her.

Jacquelyn and Robert relocated to Santa Fe when their first child, a daughter, was 9 months old. Robert had been hired by the Santa Fe Opera as Director of Development. Jacquelyn still remembers buying her daughter’s first pair of shoes before they got on the plane. Back then, they thought of their time in Santa Fe as their “Southwest Adventure.” They will soon begin their 3rd decade in Santa Fe and love it here!

When they arrived in Santa Fe, Jacquelyn continued touring. She was on the WESTAF roster and performed extensively throughout the Western states; she also continued to play quite a few concerts back east.

Even when their second child was born, she continued to tour with “both kids and an au pair.” This lasted until their daughter was ready for 1st grade. At a certain point, the balance had to shift and so, Jacquelyn began to teach more and travel less; she concentrated on performing closer to home. Now that both kids are grown up and no longer in college, she is teaching less and playing more.

Their children are currently living in hot spots. Her daughter lives in Oakland, CA and her son is based in Houston, TX. They are in their 20s and working from home. For kids their age, COVID-19 has been very hard. Careers are stalled, and everything is in a holding pattern.

In July 2020, William had a piece published in the Santa Fe Reporter. It’s a cover story about taking part in a Black Lives Matter protest in Houston and being arrested. What Jacquelyn loves about young people today is that they are very involved in social issues, even during the pandemic. She has felt the most optimistic about the major issues of the day by watching young people take them on.

Jacquelyn Helin became a Steinway Artist while still living in New York. She was originally a Bösendorfer Artist. But she still owns a Hamburg Steinway, which she bought in 1976 for $12,000. It came through the port of Oakland, and she was surprised when she had to pay an additional port tax of $1,000! (Today that piano would cost about $170,000 – she’s always been grateful she bought the piano when she did!) Jacquelyn switched from Bösendorfer to Steinway, partly because of her own instrument, and partly because so many stages in the US have Steinway pianos. There are definite advantages to being a Steinway Artist, and she loves their instruments.

When asked about her favorite repertoire for piano, she responded, “You would need multiple lifetimes to scratch the surface of the solo piano repertoire.” Yet different music speaks to an artist at different points in their life, and sometimes opportunity dictates the choice of repertoire. As a student, for example, she played a lot of contemporary music. Her DMA dissertation was on the piano music of Stefan Wolpe. On the other hand, her Master’s thesis was on several piano sonatas by Franz Joseph Haydn.

At this point in time, she is principally drawn to works for their emotional content. She wants to tackle the pieces that really speak to her. In New York, she worked with lots of living composers and enjoys the process of premiering a new work.

She likes a wide variety of music – for her courses at the Renesan Institute for Lifelong Learning, she picks one composer and focuses on his or her life. This year she chose Beethoven in celebration of the 250th anniversary of his birth. She loves talking about the composer and playing that his/her music for people. Jacquelyn’s Renesan courses draw large audiences, and for good reason!

Regarding the music of Johann Sebastian Bach, Jacquelyn has always loved his music. The Well-Tempered Clavier project came up quite naturally, as a byproduct of her interest in the work. She had learned a lot of it prior to coming up with the idea of performing all of Book I. And she plans to perform all of Book II in the near future!

On Teaching

Regarding the Suzuki method, it can be a challenge for students who started with Suzuki to transition into reading music with facility.

On the topic of reading music, dyslexia is also a big issue. Over the years, Jacquelyn’s students have run the gamut from reading music very fluently to major difficulties in reading a score. She has worked with quite a few students between the ages of 8 and 13, and notes some kind of cognitive development that occurs at age 13 and helps to get them over the hump.

Starting in mid-March 2020, all of her teaching has been on Zoom. On July 1, she opened up her studio for adult students who felt they just couldn’t “do tech.” It’s a whole different teaching style with social distancing and masks, however.

The upside of COVID is that she’s had more time for her own practicing. Jacquelyn has memorized all of Book I of Bach’s Well-Tempered Clavier, though she doesn’t plan to perform it by memory at her NMPAS recital on August 29th.

Other benefits of COVID-19 include time to think, reflect, and slow down. We have no idea how the pandemic will affect life in the long term. But “when we can once again gather for concerts, this will be so important for people in community,” she said.

Listen to Jacquelyn Helin performing Johann Sebastian Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No. 5 (movement 3) with David Felberg, violin and Linda Marianiello, flute at the 2018 New Mexico Bach Society concert:

Mezzo soprano Jacqueline Zander-Wall was born in Highland Park, Illinois and was only a few months old when she, her mother and sister moved to Albuquerque. After the move to New Mexico, Jacque spent summers in Chicago with her Dad.

Jacque started singing with her sister, who played guitar and sang the lead, while Jacque sang the harmony. They performed quite a bit at church, for weddings and other special occasions, and at gatherings on their patio at home in the evening.

She began to study voice in high school with Elizabeth Bayne. Now in her 80’s, Elizabeth still sings beautifully, and they have remained close friends ever since. Her high school choir director, Lynn Loomis, was also a huge inspiration. Lynn’s wife, Louise, is also a beloved educator in Albuquerque.

At age 17, Jacqueline went to University of California Santa Barbara, where she initially intended to major in journalism. But fate had something else in mind: In her first semester at UCSB, she was cast in Stephen Storace’s opera, Comedy of Errors. Other opportunities in the Drama Department followed. She did summer stock in Santa Rosa and, surrounded by so many professional actors, caught the bug!

Through Syracuse University, Jacque also studied for a semester at the London Academy of Dramatic Arts. She took in as much theatre as possible, attending 36 productions within three, short months. Then, she returned to UCSB to finish her first bachelors degree in Liberal Studies, which included acting, English, and Communication Studies.

After earning her BA, Jacque went to Circle in the Square in New York, and to Light Opera Works in Chicago. She saved money for a few years, so that she could go back to school to study with Elizabeth Manion at UCSB. This time, she earned a second BA and a masters in Music.

Jacque then went to Hamburg, Germany on a Rotary Scholarship to study Brahms and Bach. She didn’t think she would ever become fluent in German without living in the country for a number of years. She stayed in Germany for 7 years, during which time she sang a number of roles with the Hamburg Konzertante Oper. She also built relationships with the most important churches in Hamburg and sang her first Christmas Oratorio the winter she arrived in Germany. More opportunities to sing major works by Bach followed.

While studying at the Hochschule für Musik in Hamburg, Jacque also formed a duo with a guitarist, Frank Pschichholz. The duo had many opportunities to perform in Hamburg, including the Hamburg Opera, and also toured throughout Germany. They performed at the Britten-Pears School in England and worked with Dietrich Fisher-Dieskau in Berlin. Highlights of their study with Fisher-Dieskau and his wife, Julia Varady, included an invitation to perform in Stuttgart for one of his final concerts prior to his retirement from singing.

Her time in Germany was followed by an invitation to study with Phyllis Curtin at Boston University’s Opera Institute, which she accepted. Phyllis sent Jacque to the Skaneateles Festival in Upstate New York. During this period, Jacque also received a fellowship to study with Bill Sharp at the Aspen Music Festival, where she had the opportunity to sing more vocal chamber music, an area in which she excels and has extensive experience to this day.

After completing study, Jacque remained in the greater Boston area, where she was on the faculty of Phillips Exeter Academy in NH, and Phillips Andover in MA. She also sang with the Boston Lyric Opera, with whom she toured in several roles. Other professional opportunities included Chicago Opera Theater and the 2002 Monteverdi Festival at Brooklyn Academy of Music.

Jacque and her husband, Kent Wall, had met in high school in Albuquerque. Years later, while she was singing Monteverdi in Chicago, Kent proposed and they got married. They had a baby daughter, Annelise, and ultimately decided to move back to Albuquerque.

As Jacque continued to perform opera roles with Opera Southwest, in Arizona and Duluth, MN, her mom traveled with her and her baby daughter. She sang the role of Carmen in Bizet’s opera of the same name, as well as the Page in the Richard Strauss’s opera Salome. Additional roles with Opera Southwest include Meg Page, Zerlina, and Maddelena, among others.

We spoke about healthy vocal technique, which enables a mezzo soprano like Jacque to continue to sing into “her golden years.” She still has dreams of future opportunities to learn new material and to sing for the Santa Fe Opera.

The Vocal Artistry Art Song Festival that Jacque founded a decade ago in Albuquerque is still going strong. VAASF has awarded prizes to singers and collaborative pianists totaling more than $10,000. Each year, VAASF focuses on a particular language: 2020 is Spanish, and 2021 will be English. NMPAS Artistic Director Franz Vote took part in the 2019 Festival, where he judged the Music Education Division and taught a workshop on German diction. (Needless to say, 2019 was the year for German-language art song!)

The 2020 VAASF had to be moved from Spring to Fall 2020, due to COVID-19. They are hopeful that, with social distancing, they’ll be able to hold this year’s Festival in early September. Singers and collaborative pianists will be filmed in live performance and presented with their awards before the judges, and the films will then be shared with the public through their many venues.

Jacque mentioned that she is still teaching throughout the COVID-19 emergency, but on Zoom. Virtual lessons provide an interesting contrast to in-person instruction. Yet she wouldn’t want to teach this way long term. The silver lining to this time of self-quarantine has been that she’s been forced to slow down. Jacque especially loves having more time with her daughter, Annelise, who is 18 and will start college as a theater major at Southern Methodist University in the fall.

Jacqueline Zander-Wall has been performing with the New Mexico Bach Society and for NMPAS Season Finale Opera concerts since 2016.

Photo: NMPAS 2019 Zarzuela in The Plaza Ballroom (Las Vegas, NM). Jacque is second from the left, standing next to soprano Jennifer Perez. Also pictured are tenor André García-Nuthmann and baritone Carlos Archuleta. The event will hopefully be reprised – back by popular demand! – in September 2020.

 

 

 

 

Esther Moses Bergh, Lyric Soprano
with Linda Marianiello, Executive Director, NMPAS

*Photo: Dress rehearsal with the 2019 New Mexico Music Commission Platinum Awards. Esther is to the left of artistic director Franz Vote, who is seated at the piano. Other NMPAS vocalists are Jennifer Perez, Tjett Gerdom, and Tim Willson, with flutist Linda Marianiello. Lensic Performing Arts Center, August 2019.

Esther sent her interview responses to me, and I think they are just perfect. That’s why I am posting them in her own words, particularly since she’s at home with her family during COVID-19, which made it hard for us to do a phone or Skype interview. Everyone at her home is doing homework online, meeting virtually, and Esther is teaching her students in the ABQ Public Schools remotely, too.

– When did you start singing?

My start in singing was with my family in church and then performing a duet as nervous adolescents with my cellist friend, Carlos L. Encinias, now a broadway actor/teacher/director/choreographer. As we did our best to sing an English version of Schubert’s Heidenröslein, we realized in that moment we were addicted!

– When did you realize that you wanted to study voice?

While performing in high school productions and ensembles under Barbara Lioce, I started studying

with voice teacher, Sandra Neel. I had studied violin in elementary public school with Mrs. Mignot, and then enjoyed orchestra in middle and high school under Ms. Rafferty and Art Sheinberg, adding grandparent-funded private lessons with Kathie Jarrett. As a child, I took private piano lessons with a client of my dad’s, Barbara Carpenter, who worked on trade, and then later with Darlene Harris. Along with piano, my solo and orchestral experiences on violin definitely enhanced my ability to learn a vocal score and follow a director, once my attention turned to singing.

– What did you learn in college and what have you learned about the profession since graduation?

I studied with great teachers like Dr. Robert C. Smith, Leslie Umphrey, and Dr. Ellen McCullough-Brabson at the University of New Mexico, and also at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music (CCM) with Barbara Honn and Sandra Bernhard. My undergrad was in Voice and also Music Education, so I learned a lot as a performer, as well as completing a teaching degree.

– Share a bit about your career to date.

After graduate school I worked mainly with the Portland Opera in their Education and Outreach tours, preview concerts and as a member of the Portland Opera Chorus for over a decade. When I moved back to New Mexico, I began working with the New Mexico Performing Arts Society as well as Music Theatre SW, Opera Southwest, and as a freelancer.

– What are your hopes for the future of your singing career?

I hope to continue singing as much as possible in concerts and operas, in addition to my work as a public school choral teacher. When I am not teaching and performing, I am enjoying my growing children and sunny afternoons tending bees with my dad, Dr. Moses, who continues to help many New Mexicans in his naturopathic business. As second generation New Mexicans, we enjoy a life of health – full of music, faith and family.

– Share a bit about some of the opera scenes you’ve participated in with NMPAS: Aida, Rosenkavalier Trio, etc. What about your experiences with the music of
J. S. Bach through the NM Bach Society?

At NMPAS, I have enjoyed singing Bach and Mozart, including as soloist in the Mozart Requiem and Bach oratorios and cantatas. I’ve also been privileged to debut new and modern works by Aaron Alter, Daniel Crafts, and the late John Donald Robb. In the NMPAS opera concerts, I had the opportunity to sing some weightier repertoire in scenes from Verdi’s Aida, Wagner’s Die Meistersinger and R. Strauss’ Der Rosenkavalier.

– Finally, if your work is currently on hold, how is this affecting your life? How can fans of our NMPAS artists help you through this health crisis?

Yes, I’ve been impacted by the pandemic and lost the opportunity to perform in four different performances as a result – some of which can’t be rescheduled. We all eagerly anticipate the day when we can gather to resume live performances.