Días de los Vivos Celebrates a Collection of Latin American Music
Composer Gabriela Lena Frank joins SDSU as a guest artist for the Arts Alive Discovery Series
Días de los Vivos opens the Arts Alive SDSU Fall 2022 Discovery Series with an interdisciplinary panel discussion and a concert performed by the SDSU Symphony Orchestra and Wind Symphony.
Grammy Award-winning composer Gabriela Lena Frank will come to SDSU as a guest artist for Días de los Vivos.
Already in San Diego for a residency at the San Diego Opera and the world premiere of her new opera with Pulitzer Prize–winning librettist Nilo Cruz, El último sueño de Frida y Diego (The Last Dream of Frida and Diego), Frank will be working with SDSU students across the School of Music and Dance.
An acclaimed pianist and composer who received the 25th Heinz Award in the Arts and Humanities category in 220, Frank’s work is influenced by her own life as a mixed-race Latina and finds different ways that she can incorporate Latin American influences into classical constructs and break barriers in music.
As part of her time as a guest artist at SDSU, Frank will participate in an Arts Alive panel conversation that will explore and celebrate the history of Latin American women in art and music. The panel will take place at 12:00 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 26 in Peterson Gym 242. Pre-registration is requested.
Also included in the panel will be Dr. Gillian Sneed (School of Art + Design), Dr. Kristal Bivona (Center for Brazilian Studies), and it will be moderated by SDSU Wind Symphony Director Dr. Shannon Kitelinger.
“The interdisciplinary panel conversations invite the audience members to explore the creative process,” said Arzu Ozkal, Chair of Arts Alive SDSU. “It offers a sense of the wider movements in art, music, literature, and theater, etc. that influence and inspire creators.
A Concert of Latin American Music
Having a guest artist through the Discovery Series also allows for the SDSU School of Music and Dance students to have a chance to work with Frank as they prepare for their concert performance.
During her time at SDSU, Frank will meet with SDSU's student composers, as well as attending large ensemble rehearsals. Students working with her have also been invited to a rehearsal of her opera at the Civic Theatre.
At 4 p.m. on Sunday, October 30, the SDSU Wind Symphony and Symphony Orchestra will perform a repertoire inspired by Latin American poetry and pre-Columbian mythology.
The evening’s performance will include two works by Gabriela Lena Frank: Three Latin American Dances (re-orchestrated by Texu Kim) and Elegía Andina. Also included in the performance’s repertoire will be Sensemaya by Silvestre Revueltas and Dub-Sanjo by Texu Kim.
The concert will be held at Patrick Henry PHAME Performing Arts Center in San Diego, California, and will be free admission.
To learn more about these upcoming events and how you can attend the Días de los Vivos panel discussion and concert, visit the Arts Alive SDSU online calendar of events.
