Past Event | SoNA Beyond and Crystal Bridges present: I Paint What I See
Friday, June 30, 2023
Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Bentonville (Great Hall)
7:00pm Chamber Orchestra Concert
6:00pm Champagne Reception with Felipe Tristán, Paul Haas, and Jen Padgett
The Symphony of Northwest Arkansas (SoNA) creates a concert experience inspired by Crystal Bridges' visual art exhibition, Diego Rivera’s America.
General admission tickets are $30; Student and low-income tickets are $15; VIP tickets are $75 and include premium seating and a special champagne reception and curator talk before the concert.
In response to Diego Rivera’s controversial work Man at the Crossroads, which depicted his perception of the world through a confrontation of dichotomies, Rivera famously exclaimed, “I paint what I see.”
The Symphony of Northwest Arkansas and Crystal Bridges collaborate to bring together the visionary voices of musical curator and conductor Felipe Tristán, a SoNA chamber orchestra, Music Director Paul Haas, and Crystal Bridges curator Jen Padgett. The collaboration will focus on the exhibition’s key themes, using the arts to highlight the profound beauty of the working class and everyday life, especially as it relates to Mexico’s mestizo and Indigenous roots.
Inspired by the Diego Rivera’s America exhibition, this special collaboration creates a musical program that sonically brings the artwork to life and deepens cultural connections across artforms, identities, and geographies. Evoking themes from Rivera’s quintessential nationalist style, this program features six Mexican composers representing a contrasting variety of themes, styles, and schools found in Mexican classical music, including music from Carlos Chávez, Silvestre Revueltas, Alejandro Basulto, and Gabriela Ortiz.
This musical performance is part of the symphony’s SoNA Beyond concert series, which explores new avenues for accessibility and focuses on music's ability to provide insight and inspiration in unexpected ways. SoNA Beyond moves out of the symphonic mainstage and out into the community, partnering with powerful artistic forces like Crystal Bridges to highlight music’s versatile ability to move beyond traditional boundaries.
SoNA is thrilled to announce that members of the Carlos Chávez family will be present and will join in remarks at the concert. They have generously shared with us these rare archival photos of featured composer Carlos Chávez.
SoNA’s appearance at Crystal Bridges is supported by Greenwood Gearhart Investments and the Walmart Foundation.
Watch this conversation with Jana Ángulo of the Chávez Family, Felipe Tristán, and Jen Padgett.
Award-winning Mexican conductor Felipe Tristán is known for bringing lively musical prowess to the podium. He has worked with orchestras around the world and currently serves as conductor with the Brooklyn Symphony Orchestra, Teatro Grattacielo, Manhattan School of Music Precollege, in New York. He also serves as Creative Partnerships Manager with the GRAMMY®️ award-winning Afro Latin Jazz Alliance, where he brings together Afro Latin culture and classical arts through innovative projects.
Felipe is committed to promoting an inclusive performing arts industry and has collaborated with artists and producers from the NY Philharmonic, Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Met Opera, and Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra, among others, to create engaging programs for diverse audiences. Recently, he produced an album with members of the Met Orchestra and flutist Krzysztof Kaczka with works by Schubert, to be released in 2023 under the label Hänssler Classic. Also, he guest conducted in a CD recording with the Janáček Philharmonic Orchestra with works by Reinecke and Penderecki. Visit felipetristan.com for more about Felipe.
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