Michael Christie And New West Symphony Present A Tour Of Mexico

New West Symphony (NWS), with Grammy-winning conductor Michael Christie as Artistic and Music Director, continues its 2020-21 groundbreaking and reimagined season of "Global Sounds, Local Cultures" with A Tour of Mexico.

This festival, running May 20-23, culminates with a feature symphony concert presentation, spotlighting virtuosic guitarist Jiji Kim and harpist Maria Casale, with works by Arturo Marquez, Fernando Arroyo Lascurain, Silvestre Revueltas, Manuel Ponce, Gabriela Ortiz, Jose Enrique Gonzalez-Medina and the traditional Mexican folk song, El Son de la Negra. A Tour of Mexico is presented in partnership with the Museum of Ventura County.

Along with the symphony concert, Season and Concert Passport holders can enjoy access to companion cultural festival programs for further immersion into the music, the artistry, and the culture that inspired the concert, curated by Michael Christie. These events will take place on Thursday, May 20 at 6pm PT - a Pre-Concert Talk from UCLA Senior Lecturer, David Ravetch, who explores the music presented in the A Tour of Mexico concert in an informative, audience-friendly format; Friday, May 21 at 7pm PT - Culture Insights, an exploration of Southern California's heritage, including demonstrations of traditional instruments and performance, and discussions about history, arts and music; and Saturday, May 22 at 7pm PT - Meet the Artists, a longstanding New West Symphony tradition which brings audiences closer to the guest artists and offers an opportunity to learn about artistic and creative process.

Of this festival's programming, Michael Christie says, "Joy is the word that performers and composers alike cite when they speak of the spirit of Mexico's colorful musical tapestry. The music we are performing for our Tour of Mexico highlights the profound influences of indigenous, European and pan-American musical traditions on Mexico's past, present and future musical creations. Viewers will come away from New West presentations with an appreciation for the tremendous cultural legacy of the region that was and is Mexico. I am enchanted and enriched by the nuances of this Tour of Mexico as well as our other 'Global Sounds, Local Cultures' presentations."

NWS CEO Natalia Staneva adds, "The largest named ancestry in California is Mexican, and California is home to the largest population of Mexican Americans in the country. We are proud to celebrate this beautifully rich and diverse culture and bring to our audience the talents of incredible musicians who will make this wonderful music come to life. Our thanks go not only to the musicians but to the Museum of Ventura County for their partnership in making this festival possible."

Christie will be available to answer questions in the live chat during each program. In addition to each initial live-streamed event, all programs (except the pre-concert talk) will be available on-demand to passport holders shortly after the initial broadcast ends.

A Tour of Mexico is the sixth in a series of festivals being held October 2020 through June 2021, designed to spotlight the vivid cultural influences that have shaped classical music and Southern California itself. Each festival tradition has strong connections to symphonic music of the past and present.

For more information, visit www.newwestsymphony.org or connect on Facebook and Instagram.

To post a comment, you must register and login.