Music from Angel Fire
Encyclopedia
Music from Angel Fire, is the first chamber music
festival
in New Mexico designed to serve the artistic needs of rural northern New Mexico communities. This touring summer chamber music festival currently produces 15 outstanding concerts in Angel Fire, Taos
, Raton
, and Las Vegas, NM.
The Festival's mission is to bring to these communities the highest standard of artistic excellence in the classical chamber music
repertoire presented by world class artists with emerging and established careers. Music from Angel Fire concerts are broadcast by American Public Media
, Performance Today
, throughout the United States
.
The Artistic Director Ida Kavafian
, renowned international violin
ist, has set programs of varied repertoire from the Baroque to the Contemporary. The Festival also produces two professional family/youth concerts for the young people of Taos
and Colfax
counties.
, each year, Music from Angel Fire engages an American
composer
to write a new composition and to be in residence for the world premiere of the commissioned work. For the festival's 25th Anniversary 2008 Season, the renowned composer Joan Tower
was commissioned to write a string quartet
to be performed by the Miami String Quartet
.
of Philadelphia for Music From Angel Fire's Young Artist Program. These young musicians reside in Angel Fire during the Festival season and study and publicly perform alongside the Festival's professional musicians, thereby gaining invaluable concert experience. The Program is designed for education and performance and broadens the Festival's education outreach concerts, Music in Our Schools.
Chamber music
Chamber music is a form of classical music, written for a small group of instruments which traditionally could be accommodated in a palace chamber. Most broadly, it includes any art music that is performed by a small number of performers with one performer to a part...
festival
Festival
A festival or gala is an event, usually and ordinarily staged by a local community, which centers on and celebrates some unique aspect of that community and the Festival....
in New Mexico designed to serve the artistic needs of rural northern New Mexico communities. This touring summer chamber music festival currently produces 15 outstanding concerts in Angel Fire, Taos
Taos, New Mexico
Taos is a town in Taos County in the north-central region of New Mexico, incorporated in 1934. As of the 2000 census, its population was 4,700. Other nearby communities include Ranchos de Taos, Cañon, Taos Canyon, Ranchitos, and El Prado. The town is close to Taos Pueblo, the Native American...
, Raton
Raton, New Mexico
Raton is a city in Colfax County, New Mexico, United States. The population was 7,282 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Colfax County. The city is located just south of Raton Pass.-Name:...
, and Las Vegas, NM.
The Festival's mission is to bring to these communities the highest standard of artistic excellence in the classical chamber music
Chamber music
Chamber music is a form of classical music, written for a small group of instruments which traditionally could be accommodated in a palace chamber. Most broadly, it includes any art music that is performed by a small number of performers with one performer to a part...
repertoire presented by world class artists with emerging and established careers. Music from Angel Fire concerts are broadcast by American Public Media
American Public Media
American Public Media is the second largest producer of public radio programs in the United States of America after NPR. Its non-profit parent, American Public Media Group, also owns and operates radio stations in Minnesota, California, and Florida. Its station brands are Minnesota Public Radio,...
, Performance Today
Performance Today
Performance Today is a Peabody Award-winning classical music radio show, currently hosted by Fred Child. It is the most listened-to daily classical music radio program in the United States, with 1.2 million listeners on 237 stations...
, throughout the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
The Artistic Director Ida Kavafian
Ida Kavafian
Ida Kavafian is a classical violinist and violist.Kavafian was born in Turkey to Armenian parents. She moved with her family to America in 1956, and began studying violin in Detroit at age six...
, renowned international violin
Violin
The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
ist, has set programs of varied repertoire from the Baroque to the Contemporary. The Festival also produces two professional family/youth concerts for the young people of Taos
Taos County, New Mexico
-2010:Whereas according to the 2010 U.S. Census Bureau:*68.7% White*0.4% Black*6.2% Native American*0.7% Asian*0.0% Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander*3.9% Two or more races*20.1% Other races*55.8% Hispanic or Latino -2000:...
and Colfax
Colfax County, New Mexico
-2010:Whereas according to the 2010 U.S. Census Bureau:*83.8% White*0.5% Black*1.5% Native American*0.4% Asian*0.1% Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander*3.6% Two or more races*10.1% Other races*47.2% Hispanic or Latino -2000:...
counties.
Bruce E. Howden, Jr. American Composers Project
In continuing its commitment to contemporary classical musicContemporary classical music
Contemporary classical music can be understood as belonging to the period that started in the mid-1970s with the retreat of modernism. However, the term may also be employed in a broader sense to refer to all post-1945 modern musical forms.-Categorization:...
, each year, Music from Angel Fire engages an American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
to write a new composition and to be in residence for the world premiere of the commissioned work. For the festival's 25th Anniversary 2008 Season, the renowned composer Joan Tower
Joan Tower
Joan Tower is a Grammy-winning contemporary American composer, concert pianist and conductor. Lauded by the New Yorker as "one of the most successful woman composers of all time", her bold and energetic compositions have been performed in concert halls around the world...
was commissioned to write a string quartet
String quartet
A string quartet is a musical ensemble of four string players – usually two violin players, a violist and a cellist – or a piece written to be performed by such a group...
to be performed by the Miami String Quartet
Miami String Quartet
The Miami String Quartet is an American string quartet. The group was founded in 1988 at The New World School of the Arts by John de Lancie in Miami, Florida, and is now Quartet in Residence at Kent State University in Kent, Ohio, where all four members serve as faculty members in the School of...
.
Music in Our Schools
Music from Angel Fire also maintains an active music outreach program for the communities of Red River, Taos, Raton, Angel Fire, Eagle Nest, Mora, Questa, Cimarron, Peňasco and Las Vegas. The program is the first such program in New Mexico designed to serve the rural part of the State and through this, a broad segment of the diverse population is reached. Musicians from the Young Artist Program perform 30 classroom concerts in rural area schools together with associated lectures and discussion.MFAF's Young Artist Program
Each season, the MFAF has in residence 10 to 12 selected student-musicians from the Curtis Institute of MusicCurtis Institute of Music
The Curtis Institute of Music is a conservatory in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, that offers courses of study leading to a performance Diploma, Bachelor of Music, Master of Music in Opera, and Professional Studies Certificate in Opera. According to statistics compiled by U.S...
of Philadelphia for Music From Angel Fire's Young Artist Program. These young musicians reside in Angel Fire during the Festival season and study and publicly perform alongside the Festival's professional musicians, thereby gaining invaluable concert experience. The Program is designed for education and performance and broadens the Festival's education outreach concerts, Music in Our Schools.