Program Notes: Dia de los Muertos

OCTOBER 30 DÍA DE LOS MUERTOS*

A MUSICAL CELEBRATION OF THE MEXICAN DAY OF THE DEAD

SUNDAY October 30, 2016 – 7:30pm SPECIAL CONCERT

Symphonic Mariachi Champaña Nevin Special Appearance by "The Queen of Ranchera Music," Aida Cuevas soprano Mónica Ábrego tenor Rafael Palomar

Mariachi Garibaldi from Southwestern College Ballet Folklórico Jalisciense de Mary Lopez Directed by Jeff Nevin Performance at The Jacobs Music Center’s Copley Symphony Hall

PROGRAM Selections to be announced from stage. *The San Diego Symphony Orchestra does not appear on this program.

ABOUT THE ARTISTS

DÍA DE LOS MUERTOS - OCTOBER 30

MARIACHI CHAMPAÑA NEVIN

M A R I ACH I CH A MPAÑA NEVIN Jeff Nevin, Ph.D., Artistic Director

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ARIACHI CHAMPAÑA NEVIN is internationally regarded as one of the leading proponents of “classical mariachi music” in the world.

Comprised of virtuoso mariachi and classical musicians, this unique ensemble fully

embraces the ideals of traditional Mexican music and European Classical music. Led by composer and trumpeter Jeff Nevin, they have delighted diverse audiences across the US, Mexico, and as far away as Russia, France and China for nearly two decades.

Jeff Nevin has created a large canon of original music scored for mariachi and symphony orchestra, including the world’s

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first Concerto for Mariachi and Orchestra (Pasión Mexicana), an enchanting classical song cycle for scored for mariachi and orchestra (Al aire libre, based on the poetry of Alberto Blanco), a magical Mexican Christmas celebration (La fiesta de la nochebuena) and numerous original arrangements of traditional mariachi songs. Together with Mariachi Champaña Nevin, and occasionally alone as soloist/conductor, Jeff Nevin has performed his music with the symphonies of San Diego, Colorado, Aguascalientes, Grant Park, Jalisco, Pasadena, San Bernardino, Baja California, Zacatecas, East Texas, Santa Rosa, Idaho Falls, La Jolla, Key West, the San Diego Chamber Orchestra, Orchestra Nova and the American Philharmonic in Sonoma County. And Mariachi Champaña Nevin has performed with many of Mexico’s finest singers, including Placido Domingo, Jorge Lopez-Yañez, Mónica Ábrego, José Luis Duval, Rafael Jorge Negrete, Florencia Tinoco and José Medina.

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ABOUT THE ARTISTS

DÍA DE LOS MUERTOS - OCTOBER 30 Mariachi Champaña Nevin recently released their fifth album, Nuestra Navidad, a groundbreaking two-CD set featuring beloved Mexican and American Christmas carols along with classical favorites including Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker Suite and Pachelbel’s Canon. And their annual “Día de Muertos” celebration has received wide acclaim, becoming a much-anticipated tradition in San Diego.

Visit VirtuosoMariachi.com to learn more. n

JEFF NEVIN, TRUMPET & ARTISTIC DIRECTOR

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E FF NEVI N, PH. D. , is a professional classical trumpet player, mariachi trumpeter and soloist, a conductor specializing in the interpretation of Mexican music, and an award-winning composer whose works have been performed by the San Diego Symphony and other orchestras of the western U.S. as well as Mariachi Vargas de Tecalitlán and Sol de México. Together with Mariachi Champaña Nevin, he has established a reputation for presenting the highest quality classical and mariachi music performed with the mariachi alone, soloing with symphony orchestras, and appearing with world-renowned singers including Placido Domingo, Aida Cuevas, Fernando de la Mora, Jorge Lopez-Yañez, José Luíz Duval, Mónica Ábrego, Florencia Tinoco, Rafael Jorge Negrete and others. In addition to numerous performances in the US and Mexico, he recently returned from performing tours in France (2010, 2012), China (2010), and Russia (2009, 2012), Brazil (2014), Canada (2015), India (2015) and P34 PE RFORMA NCES MAGA Z IN E

Germany and the Czech Republic (2016).

Dr. Nevin earned his Bachelor’s, Master’s and Ph.D. in Music Theory and Composition from the University of Illinois, Arizona State University and UC San Diego respectively. He is currently Professor of Music and Director of Mariachi Activities at Southwestern College in Chula Vista, CA, where he devised and is now offering the world’s first college degree in mariachi music. He is also the conductor of the Southwestern College Symphony Orchestra.

He was a Faculty Associate at Arizona State University in the 2012-13 school year. In 2011 the Mexican government presented him with the first “Award for Arts and Culture” for his work promoting Mexican music abroad. In 2008 he was named “California Multicultural Music Educator of the Year” and accepted the position of Director of Youth Music Programs for San Bernardino’s Sinfonía Mexicana.

In addition to countless television, radio and print interviews, Dr. Nevin has been featured in the documentary films In the Name of Mariachi Music, Viva el Mariachi and The History Channel en Español’s El Mariachi.

His first book, Virtuoso Mariachi (University Press of America, 2002), was called “a major milestone in the history of mariachi music” by the Tucson Citizen newspaper, and he has written a comprehensive set of method books, Mariachi Mastery (Neil A Kjos Music Company, 2006), that is used to teach mariachi music in classrooms across the United States and Mexico. He is a founding member of the Mariachi Scholarship Foundation and has served as its President since 2013. n

MA R I ACH I G A R I BA LD I FRO M S O U TH WE STE R N CO LLE G E

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A R I ACH I G A R I BA L D I is the performing ensemble from Southwestern College, the first school in the world to offer a college degree in mariachi music. Students study mariachi performance, music theory, instrumental and vocal technique, mariachi history, as well as general education requirements.

Former students have moved on to receive Bachelor's and Master’s degrees in Music, perform mariachi professionally, and they are beginning to fill the great need for mariachi teachers that exists across the US today.

Mariachi Garibaldi has performed countless engagements in and around San Diego including several national education conferences. They have been featured in both American and Mexican national news broadcasts, including a prominent role in the documentary In the Name of Mariachi Music which details the impact the U.S. is having on the history and future of mariachi. Mariachi Garibaldi’s concerts at Southwestern College consistently sell out.

They have traveled to perform for the famed “Encuentro de Mariachi” in Guadalajara nearly every year since 2002, and they have recently performed in Germany (2016), Canada (2015), Brazil (2014), Russia (2012 & 2009), France (2012 & 2010) and China (2010); they just returned from performing in India this year. Their newest CD, Un canto por el mundo, was inspired by their world travels and features music they performed on four continents. They also recorded a 2-CD set called Mariachis Garibaldi in 2009, and their version of “Hotel California” was featured on the release Mariachi Rock-O along with Mariachi Vargas, Sol de Mexico and others. n

MARIACHI GARIBALDI

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