Bah, humbug
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Nov. 24—Not every event this time of year has to have a holiday ring to it, and it doesn't mean you're a Grinch if you seek those out. You'll find an array of concerts, exhibits, and events that have nary a jingle bell involved.
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ONGOING
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Antonio Granjero + Entreflamenco
7:30 p.m., El Flamenco Cabaret, $25 and up (ongoing event; check for dates and times)
The Spanish restaurant's holiday season featuring Antonio Granjero + Entreflamenco begins with a series of weekend performances, followed by nightly presentations from mid-
Tickets and venues
TICKETS
AMP Concerts ampconcerts.org No phone sales
Chatter, chatterabq.org
El Flamenco Cabaret,
505-209-1302, entreflamenco.com
El Farol Flamenco Dinner Show,
505-983-9912, elfarolsantafe.com
Family Theatre of Santa Fe,
Gardenia Jungle Entertainment,
gardeniajungleentertainment.com
Lensic Presents
505-988-1234, lensic.org
New Mexico Actors Lab,
505-395-6576, nmactorslab.com
New Mexico Gay Men's Chorus nmgmc.org or from the Lensic
New Mexico Performing Arts Society 505-474-4513, nmpas.org
Performance Santa Fe 505-984-8759, performancesantafe.org
Popejoy Presents 505-925-5858, popejoypresents.com
Santa Fe Desert Chorale
505-988-2282, desertchorale.org
Santa Fe Playhouse 505-988-4262,
Santa Fe Pro Musica
505-988-4640, sfpromusica.org
Santa Fe Symphony 505-983-1414,
Santa Fe Women's Ensemble
505-303-8648, sfwe.org
Taos Chamber Music Group 575-770-1167, taoschambermusicgroup.org
VENUES
Center for Contemporary Arts,
1050 Old Pecos Trail
Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi, 131 Cathedral Place
Cristo Rey Catholic Church 1120 Canyon Rd.
El Flamenco Cabaret,
135 W. Palace Avenue
El Farol, 808 Canyon Road
First Presbyterian Church,
208 Grant Avenue
Harwood Museum of Art 238 Ledoux St., Taos
Immaculate Heart of Mary Chapel,
50 Mount Carmel Road
Hiland Theater 4800 Central Ave. SE, Albuquerque
Immanuel Presbyterian Church 114 Carlisle SE, Albuquerque
Lensic Performing Arts Center
211 W. San Francisco Street
St. Bede's Episcopal Church 550 W. San Mateo Road
New Mexico Actors Lab Theater,
1213 Parkway Drive
Scottish Rite Masonic Center,
463 Paseo de Peralta
St. Francis Auditorium,
107 W. Palace Avenue
Teatro Paraguas, 3205 Calle Marie
Tumbleroot Brewery and Distillery, 2791 Agua Fria Street
Wise Fool New Mexico, 1131-B Siler Road
December through the end of the year. The restaurant brings in touted performers from Spain throughout the year; it currently features Cadiz singer/guitarist Juan José Alba. The presentation is co-directed by Granjero and Estefania Ramirez.
Flamenco dinner show
8 p.m., El Farol, $110 (ongoing event; check for dates and times)
The show, featuring a rotating cast of performers from the Albuquerque-based National Institute of Flamenco, includes a three-course meal that begins at 6:30 p.m.
JQA
7:30 p.m., New Mexico Actors Lab, $15-$35 (ongoing event; check for dates and times)
JQA focuses on a series of conversations between John Quincy Adams, the sixth president of the United States, and various historical figures, including Abraham Lincoln, James Madison, and Frederick Douglass. Five actors portray three characters each; all of them play John Quincy Adams at various points in his life. The actors are Scott Harrison, Kent Kirkpatrick, Danielle Reddick, Alexander Lane, and Robert Benedetti, who also directs. (See "A Vote to Cast," November 10, Pasatiempo.)
Shadow and Light
Vladem Contemporary, $7-$12
Shadow and Light pays homage to one of New Mexico's major draws for artists: its distinctive natural light. The exhibition fills two galleries at the Vladem, which opened in September (see September 22 issue, Pasatiempo). It focuses on art from the mid-20th century through today, highlighting Southwestern and Western artists. Numerous creators are represented, and Cochiti artist Virgil Ortiz's ongoing Indigenous futurism project Revolt 1680/2180 is featured.
Out West: Gay and Lesbian Artists in the Southwest 1900-1969
New Mexico Museum of Art, $7-$12
Out West focuses on Southwestern U.S. gay and lesbian artists from the early 20th century through the 1969 Stonewall Riots. Places such as Northern New Mexico were viewed as more welcoming to queer artists. Among the featured artists are Cady Wells, Marsden Hartley, Russel Cheney, and Agnes Sims.
Solidarity Now! 1968 Poor People's Campaign
New Mexico History Museum, $7-$12
The Smithsonian Institution traveling show focuses on the factors surrounding the 1968 Poor People's Campaign, a six-week, multi-ethnic, live-in demonstration at a location dubbed Resurrection City in Washington, D.C. It is based on a National Museum of African American History and Culture exhibition and includes a section dedicated to the New Mexico delegation that traveled to the nation's capital, led by land grant activist Reies López Tijerina. (See "Poverty Under Protest," October 20, Pasatiempo.)
Miguel Trujillo and the Pursuit of Native Voting Rights
New Mexico History Museum, $7-$12
The exhibition honors the 75th anniversary of the court case Trujillo vs. Garley, which granted Indigenous New Mexicans the right to vote in U.S. elections. The story is told through an interactive voting booth. Also featured are excerpts from the latest season of Encounter Culture, the official podcast of the Department of Cultural Affairs.
Ghhúunayúkata/To Keep Them Warm: The Alaska Native Parka
Museum of International Folk Art, $7-$12
The exhibition explores the art behind the parka, which was created to help Indigenous people in what's now Alaska survive the brutal elements. It includes 20 parkas representing six Alaska Native communities: Yup'ik, Iñupiaq, Unangan, Dena'ina, Koyukon, and St. Lawrence Island Yupik. They're accompanied by Indigenous drawings, photographic portraits, and traditional dolls.
Horizons: Weaving Between the Lines with Diné Textiles
Museum of Indian Arts & Culture, $7-$12
The exhibition is aimed at exploring the connections between weaving and photography as modes of engagement with a place. It also emphases the land-based and relational practices of Diné weaving.
California Stars: Huivaniūs Pütsiv
Wheelwright Museum, $10
In the Chemehuevi language, Huivaniūs Pütsiv means "stars with us/around us." The exhibition honors First Californian artists. Featured are Jean LaMarr (Pit River/Paiute), Judith Lowry (Hammawi Band Pit River/Mountain Maidu/Washoe/Scottish/Irish/Australian), L. Frank Manriquez (Tongva/Ajachmem), Jacob Meders, (Mechoopda Indian Tribe of Chico Rancheria/Maidu), Jamie Okuma (Luiseño/Shoshone-Bannock), Cara Romero (Chemehuevi Indian Tribe), Liz Wallace (Navajo/Washoe/Maidu), Rick Bartow (Mad River band of the Wiyot Tribe), Frank Day (Maidu/Konkaw), Harry Fonseca (Nisenan/Maidu/Native Hawaiian/Portuguese), Frank LaPena (Nomtipom Wintu), James Luna (Luiseño/Puyukitchum/Ipai/Mexican), Fritz Scholder (Luiseño), and Billy War Soldier Soza (Soboba Band of Indians).
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SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 25
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Antonio Vivaldi & György Ligeti cello concertos
Chatter
10:30 a.m., Center for Contemporary Arts, $17 in advance with discounts available, $20 at the door if not sold out
Antonio Vivaldi's Concerto for Two Cellos is immediately unique thanks to its opening — the cellos playing alone, imitating each other in rapid-fire music — and, as described by musicologist Michael Talbot, "its frenetic finale, see-sawing in rhythm and tonality alike, which keeps one on the edge of one's seat." Mariel Roberts and Felix Fan are the soloists; they also perform Roberts' Lightning Field for two cellos. György Ligeti's 1966 Cello Concerto also begins iconoclastically, with the soloist playing a single pitch alone for two minutes, starting from the quietest possible volume, and continues in what has been called an "anti-concerto" vein emphasizing mood and harmony over virtuoso solo playing.
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SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 26
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Wayne Lee/David Meischen poetry reading
5 p.m., Teatro Paraguas, donations welcome
Teatro Paraguas' ongoing Poetry at Paraguas series traces its lineage to the bilingual theater company's creation in 2004. Founder Crawford MacCallum told his son Argos he wanted to mount a reading featuring late Chilean poet Pablo Neruda's works, setting the wheels in motion for a performance space that would end up featuring numerous art forms. Argos, now the theater's artistic director, frequently hosts poets in the space. Featured poet Wayne Lee's Dining on Salt: Four Seasons of Septets is due to be published in 2025 by Cornerstone Press, while fellow featured poet David Meischen's Nopalito, Texas: Stories is set to be published by the University of New Mexico Press in spring 2024.
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THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 30
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Wars of the Roses
Upstart Crows
6:30 p.m. Thursday, Crows' Nest, $10-$20 (ongoing event; check for dates and times)
By definition, the Wars of the Roses were a series of battles fought over control of the British crown between 1455 and 1487. In the hands of Upstart Crows of Santa Fe, a Shakespeare troupe for ages 10 to 18, they're a series of condensed scenes from King Henry VI, which the master playwright wrote in three parts. Productions feature either exclusively young Crows or a mix of troupe members and adults. Upstart Crows founder Caryl Farkas directs.
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DECEMBER 2
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Louis Spohr & Louise Farrenc
Chatter
10:30 a.m., Center for Contemporary Arts, $17 in advance with discounts available, $20 at the door if not sold out
Louis Spohr was a German composer-conductor-violin virtuoso whose music was highly popular as well as highly esteemed during the early and mid-19th century. After almost two centuries of neglect, it is slowly being rediscovered; his Six Songs for Soprano, Clarinet, and Piano from 1837 will be performed by soprano Ingela Onstad, clarinetist James Shields, and pianist Luke Gullickson. Louise Farrenc is a French composer and piano virtuoso from the same era whose work is also receiving new appreciation. Cellist James Holland joins Shields and Gullickson for her Trio for Clarinet, Cello, and Piano, Op. 44. (During her lifetime Farrenc fought for and eventually received pay equal to that of male composers for her work.)
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DECEMBER 3
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Oro "Goldie" Benson/Zach Hively poetry reading
5 p.m., Teatro Paraguas, donations welcome
Teatro Paraguas' Poetry at Paraguas series continues with readings by Oro "Goldie" Benson, who has lived on the Chama River for more than 45 years, and Abiquiú-area resident Zach Hively. Benson's most recent book, Because of the Sands of Time, was published in October 2022 by Abiquiu Press. Hively's most recent output, Owl Poems, was published in December 2022 by Casa Urraca Press.
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DECEMBER 6
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Margaret Randall: A Birthday Retrospective
6 p.m., Collected Works Bookstore & Coffeehouse
Feminist poet, writer, and activist Margaret Randall has written more than 150 books during a life spent in New York City, Spain, Mexico, Cuba, Nicaragua, and Albuquerque, which has been her home base since she was 10. She'll celebrate her 86th birthday at Collected Works, where eight friends will read from her works. They are V.B. Price, Greg Smith, state Poet Laureate Lauren Camp, Billie Parker, Zach Hively, Sylvia Dorado, former state Poet Laureate Michelle Otero, and Yesi Llerenas Daniel.
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DECEMBER 9
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Peter Lieberson & Franz Schubert
Chatter
10:30 a.m., Center for Contemporary Arts, $17 in advance with discounts available, $20 at the door if not sold out
The German Romantic-era song tradition's marriage of poetry and music is at the heart of this program featuring soprano Ingela Onstad, flutist Jesse Tatum, and pianist Judith Gordon. Texts by the seminal poet Rainer Maria Rilke form the basis for Peter Lieberson's Rilke Songs, which premiered here in 2001, and for Alban Berg's "Traumgekrönt" ("Crowned with Dreams"). Franz Schubert's Introduction and Variations on "Trockne Blumen" (Withered Flowers; from his Die Schöne Mullerin) begins somberly but ends seven variations and 20 minutes later with technique-testing coloratura flights for the flutist.
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DECEMBER 16
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W.A. Mozart & Thomas Adés
Chatter
10:30 a.m., Center for Contemporary Arts, $17 in advance with discounts available, $20 at the door if not sold out
The clarinets are one of the most promiscuous instrument families in music — one chart of their ranges includes 21 different but closely related instruments. Mozart lovers may recognize one of the more unusual — the basset clarinet — which was featured in his Clarinet Quintet of 1789 and his Clarinet Concerto of 1791. It's similar to, but longer than, the standard B♭ clarinet, so it has additional lower notes. James Shields plays the basset clarinet in Thomas Adés' Alchymia, a clarinet quintet from 2021, and the B♭ clarinet in a new arrangement of Mozart's String Quintet No. 2 for clarinet and string quartet.
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DECEMBER 21
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Macy Gray
Lensic 360
8 p.m., Lensic Performing Arts Center, $45-$70
Help Macy Gray keep her world from crumbling. The celebrated soul singer with five Grammy nominations — and one win for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance in 2000 for her single "I Try" — will hit the Lensic for one night only. Gray's most recent album, Ruby, was released in 2018, and she sang the National Anthem at the 2022 NBA All-Star Game.
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DECEMBER 29
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Seth Meyers
Lensic Presents
7:30 p.m., Lensic Performing Arts Center, $65-$125
Just this once, Seth Meyers isn't asking you to stay up past your bedtime. You may know him as the longtime host of Saturday Night Live's Weekend Update, or perhaps he provides your late-night guffaws as the host of NBC's Late Night With Seth Meyers. But his Lensic standup set will be delightfully early, and you'll have time to stroll through the Plaza afterward.
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DECEMBER 30
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J.S. Bach: Goldberg Variations
Chatter
10:30 a.m., Center for Contemporary Arts, $17 in advance with discounts available, $20 at the door if not sold out
Johann Gottlieb Goldberg may or may not have premiered Bach's structurally magnificent keyboard work in 1741, but one thing is certain — the nickname by which we know them is catchier than the original title, Aria with Diverse Variations for a Harpsichord with Two Manuals, Composed for Music Lovers to Refresh their Spirits. Pianist Judith Gordon may be the perfect spirit-lifting match for the piece. In reviewing her New York debut, critic Bernard Holland wrote, "She already has the powers to cheer up one apprehensive listener who has heard the Liszt Sonata and the Chopin Preludes a few times too many." She's a doubly appropriate choice, since the piece was requested by the insomniac Count Kaiserling, Goldberg's employer, who reportedly asked for something "of such a smooth and somewhat lively character that he might be a little cheered up by them in his sleepless nights."
