Carrizozo Music

Carrizozo Music is pleased to announce that pianist, Lara Downes, will perform in Carrizozo on Friday, May 11, at 6 PM at Trinity United Methodist Church.   The free performance of American Icons is a tribute to Leonard Bernstein and other composers of his era including George Gershwin and Billie Holiday.
Lara Downes is among the foremost American pianists of her generation, an iconoclast dedicated to expanding the resonance and relevance of American music for diverse audiences. A trailblazer on and off-stage, she follows a musical roadmap that seeks inspiration from the legacies of history, family, and collective memory. Downes’ playing has been called “ravishing” by Fanfare Magazine, "luscious, moody and dreamy” by The New York Times, and "addicting - Downes plays with an open, honest heart" by The Huffington Post.
Downes’ newest release and Sony Music debut album FOR LENNY is an intimate centennial tribute to Leonard Bernstein and his American legacy. The album was awarded the 2017 Classical Recording Foundation Award and debuted in the Billboard Top 20. Classical Candor writes, “Downes’ sensitive, nuanced playing brings out the best in everything… Her poignant artistry is first-rate, and she makes an exemplary communicator of all things Bernstein and all things American.”   Downes says “As time goes by, I realize that the evolution of a project is one of the most powerful things to experience in this work of mine. An idea develops and shifts as it is shaped by both internal and external forces. So it's been with FOR LENNY, which began as a tribute to the American vision of Leonard Bernstein, and has become a vehicle for me to further his vision - his belief that music has real power to heal, connect and strengthen us in times of crisis or tragedy.  LB acted on that vision, fiercely and boldly, throughout his life. He directed his music toward social justice, dedicated it towards shining light and giving hope.”
Born in San Francisco and raised in Europe, Downes’ interest in connecting music to a broad and inclusive breadth of human experience mines her mixed Jamaican and Russian background and peripatetic upbringing to find inspiration in unexpected places. She enjoys collaborating with myriad artists, including cellist Yo-Yo Ma, baritone Thomas Hampson, singer Rhiannon Giddens, jazz vocalist Theo Bleckmann, beatboxer Kevin "K.O." Olusola, writer Adam Gopnik, and former U.S. Poet Laureate Rita Dove. Her collaborations with leading composers span genres and generations to bring significant new contributions to the American repertoire.
A laureate of the 2016 Sphinx Medal of Excellence award, Downes is recognized as a leader in expanding the reach of the arts as a performer, an entrepreneur, and a cultural visionary. She is an Artist-in-Residence at the Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts - UC Davis, where she mentors young musicians as director of the National Young Artists Program. She serves on the advisory board of The Time In Children's Arts Initiative and is the founding director of the My Promise Project. Downes has performed on stages ranging from Carnegie Hall, John F. Kennedy Center, Lincoln Center, the U.S. Supreme Court, Queen Elizabeth Hall, and the Vienna Konzerthaus.
To reach Trinity United Methodist Church from route 54, turn West at 12th Street, between the 54 Emporium and Roy's Ice Cream Parlor.  Turn right onto D Ave and go two blocks to the church, 1000 D Ave, Carrizozo, NM.
For information about Carrizozo Music, Inc., the 2018 season schedule and concert updates please check www.carrizozomusic.org, email carrizozomusic@gmail.com or call Elaine at 575-648-2757.  Carrizozo Music, a 501c3, sponsors a series of classical concerts, summer Portico Concerts and an extensive school outreach program of concerts and workshops, with a commitment to providing free quality music to the students and residents of Lincoln County and the surrounding area.

Carrizozo Music, Inc. presents nationally-renown Portland Cello Project in a free concert at 6 PM on Monday, January 22 at the Carrizozo School Old Gym.  The cellists will play a wide variety of music by many different composers from many different points in history, which they will announce and explain from the stage. They will build a unique show for the audience drawing from their repertoire of over 1,000 pieces of music, which means you can expect a performance similar to the Oregon weather: it is likely that whatever is happening at one moment will be completely different just a few minutes later. 
In the fall of 2006 a group of 10 cellists got on stage at Portland’s Doug Fir Lounge to perform western classical music in an informal setting.  Many of the cellists that night thought it would only happen once.  But slowly that one-off event became a second, and a third, playing Portland's most popular clubs (Holocene, Mississippi Studios), and by 2009 the group had evolved into a nationally recognized performance and educational group with a revolving cast of cellists, releasing full-length albums, performing everywhere from punk rock clubs to, loading dock street parties, to exclusive private events, and symphony halls all over North America, spending more than a quarter of the year touring, and featuring a diverse repertoire of well over 1,000 pieces of music.
While the group changed and evolved in a hundred different ways over the last decade, the one consistent focus has always been building bridges between different musical communities through collaboration with myriad artists to educational and community outreach at schools and universities around the country.  Coming on the New Mexico tour will be all-star cellists Diane Chaplin, Kevin Jackson, Skip vonKuske, Collin Oldham and Lauren McShane.    The concert will be followed by a reception and opportunity to meet the musicians. 
A school outreach concert will take place at 3 PM, January 22, at the Carrizozo School Old Gym.  Both concerts are free and open to the public.
From 4-6 PM,   there will be a fundraising dinner to benefit the Culinary Arts Program and the Junior Class Prom Project.  The meal will include a choice of posole or vegetarian chili, corn bread, biscochitos, and tea, water or coffee.   Tickets are $8 in advance and $10 at the door.   Please call Carol Wilson at 575-799-8707 for tickets and information.  The meal will be served in the school cafeteria, across the courtyard from the Old Gym.  Take-out available.
For information about Carrizozo Music, the 2018 season schedule and concert updates please check www.carrizozomusic.org, email carrizozomusic@gmail.com or call Elaine at 575-648-2757.  Carrizozo Music sponsors a series of classical concerts, summer Portico Concerts and school outreach performances and workshops with a commitment to providing free quality music to the residents of Lincoln County and the surrounding area.
 
 Carrizozo School Old Gym is located at 800 D Ave, on the corner of D Avenue and 10th Street.  At the main courtyard, enter the door west of the gazebo.  There is handicapped parking in the lot off 10th Street by the west end of the gym.

On Friday, November 3, at 10:30 AM, The D’Amore Duo will play classical guitar and oboe duets in the Carrizozo Town Hall.   Founded in 1991 and based in Washington, D.C., the D’Amore Duo has toured internationally and domestically to enthusiastic reviews.  Their program features tangos, jazz and composers Bach and Handel.  Come early to grab a cup of coffee and a pastry. William Feasley was the first guitarist to receive Peabody Conservatory’s coveted Artist Diploma. Since making his debut in 1980 with the San Francisco Ballet performing Rodrigo’s Concierto de Aranjuez for Lou Christenson’s ballet, Don Juan, Feasley has maintained an active international touring schedule. A student of Andres Segovia, he has been a featured performer at international guitar festivals in Poland, the Czech Republic, Ecuador, Bolivia, Australian, Slovakia, and Peru. Feasley has also toured extensively for the US State Department. His playing has been described by the Washington Post as sounding “in the words of Segovia, like a ‘small orchestra’ in the variety of colors coaxed from a single guitar.” He has released six critically-acclaimed recordings for the Sonora and Center Earth Labels.
Emily Tsai began her musical studies on the violin at the age of four and started the oboe when she was 10 years old. She received her Bachelor of Music degree in oboe Performance from the Eastman School of Music with a Performer’s Certificate and the Chamber Music Award, and her Bachelor of Science degree in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology from the University of Rochester, graduating Magna Cum Laude. She received her Master of Music from the University of Maryland, where she was part of the Graduate Fellowship Quintet, SIREN.  She is currently Principal English Horn in the Peoria Symphony Orchestra and is a member of the internationally acclaimed woodwind quintet, WindSync. She resides in Washington, D.C., where she is an active freelance musician and on the faculty of the prestigious Holton-Arms School.
For information about Carrizozo Music, Inc.,  the 2017 season schedule and concert updates please check www.carrizozomusic.org, email carrizozomusic@gmail.com or call Elaine at 575-648-2757.  Carrizozo Music sponsors a series of classical concerts, summer Portico Concerts and school outreach performances and workshops with a commitment to providing free quality music to the residents of Lincoln County and the surrounding area.
The Carrizozo Town Hall is located at 409 9th Street (corner of 10th and E Ave).   

Our next Portico Concert is scheduled for Sunday August 20 at 5 PM and features the Northern New Mexico band, Lone Pinon, playing Chicano stringband style music with fiddle, accordion, guitarron, vocals and guitar.    The concert is free, but please support Carrizozo Music by purchasing a roast pork dinner (available from 4:00),  browse our silent auction and enjoy an evening of lively music and dancing on the lawn of the Carrizozo Woman’s Club.  Dinner tickets are $10 for advance sales or $12 at the door.  Call Fran Altieri at 575-973-0571 or Elaine Brannen at 575-648-2757  for ticket information.
 
To reach the Woman’s Club from Rt 54, turn West at 12th Street, between the 54 Emporium and Roy's Ice Cream Parlor. Turn right onto D Ave and go one block to the historic WPA building on 11th Street and D Avenue.