Music Department Hosting The Chicana Art Song Project on April 6
Artists’ Corpus Christi visit includes a Q&A session; both FREE engagements being livestreamed
Article by: Rosa Linda Reynoso
What happens when a soprano, composer and artist collaborate their talents? The result is the Chicana Art Song Project, a multi-disciplinary endeavor aimed at giving voice to female Mexican-American artists, allows a new generation of artists to feel connected to the music and increases awareness in the classical community of culture and traditions.
Currently, the classical art song repertoire only offers tacitly related nationalistic songs, such as those from Argentina, Cuba, Spain and others, but none that specifically refer to Chicana culture and tradition. The songs reach audiences that may not know of the Chicana movement’s history and relevance.
On Wednesday, April 6, the Chicana Art Song Project, with soprano Noël Archambeault, composer Edna Alejandra Longoria and visual artist Melissa Arangua-Johnson, will present two engagements at Del Mar College (DMC)––an evening performance followed immediately by a Q&A session.
Presented by the College’s Music Department and the DMC Cultural Programs Series, in collaboration with the Mexican American Studies Program, the performance begins at 7 p.m. Both activities are FREE and scheduled in Wolfe Recital Hall, located in the Fine Arts Center Music Building on Heritage Campus at Ayers and Kosar Streets.
The evening performance and Q&A session will be livestreamed at
· YouTube: https://youtu.be/NaSUR0UVzZM
· Facebook: www.facebook.com/delmarcollege/live
Don’t miss this exciting collaboration between these three guest artists as they present an evening of wonderful music together! For more information, contact DMC Interim Department Chair and Music Professor Cynthia Longoria at clongoria@delmar.edu or contact the DMC Music Office at 361-698-1211.
While not required, Del Mar College encourages patrons to wear masks or other face coverings as well as follow other safety protocols already in place, including social distancing.
Based on the works of well-known writers and Chicana poets such as Sandra Cisneros, Carmen Tafolla, Pat Mora and many others, the Chicana Art Song Project is a multi-song commission set to music by Longoria, features soprano Archambeault and visual artwork by Arangua-Johnson.
Founder of the Chicana Art Song Project, Archambeault’s performing career has been marked by tremendous vocal and dramatic versatility and has included performances of operatic and concert repertoire from soprano and mezzo-soprano literature. Recent concert engagements have encompassed composers as drastically different as J.S. Bach and Arnold Schoenberg and have included performances of works by Haydn, Mozart and Rossini.
Archambeault teaches applied voice and voice pedagogy at the University of Delaware. She holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of the Incarnate Word in San Antonio, a master’s degree from Westminster Choir College of Rider University and a doctoral degree from Texas Tech University.
A Mexican-American composer, Longoria was born in McAllen and raised in Reynosa, Tamaulipas, México. Her music has been premiered by various ensembles and musicians such as Verdant Vibes ensemble, Trio Casals, North/South Consonance ensemble, Chatter ensemble, Sonic Apricity, Elixir Piano Trio, Los Angeles Percussion Quartet, pianist Clare Longendyke, flutist Iwona Glinka and soprano Noel Archambeault, among others.
Additionally, Longoria’s music has been premiered in the United States, Mexico and Europe, including at the Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, SCI National Conference, Music by Women Festival, SCI Region VI Conferences, LunArt Festival and the Alba Composition Festival.
Chicana visual artist Arangua-Johnson’s work explores the intersection of her Mexican heritage and Chicana traditions to inspire her vibrant and colorful multimedia, symbolic visual art pieces.
Arangua-Johnson first began exhibiting her artwork in 1993 in both solo and group shows, including exhibits at The Esperanza Peace and Justice Center, Finesilver Gallery, Anarte and The Carver Community Center. She ran Santa Lucia, a small gallery in San Antonio’s Blue Star Arts Complex where she curated female-centric group shows for local artists. Additionally, Arangua-Johnson has donated pieces to further causes that support women’s rights, female focused nonprofits and other movements that resonate with her on a personal level.
More information about the artists can be found at www.chicanasong.com/about-us.
Del Mar College empowers students to achieve their dreams. We offer quality programs, individual attention, outstanding instruction through faculty with real-world experience and affordable costs to credit and noncredit students in Corpus Christi and the South Texas Coastal Bend area. Nationally recognized while locally focused, we’re ranked in the top two percent of community colleges in the country granting associate degrees to Hispanic students (Community College Week). Del Mar College focuses on offering our students programs that match current or emerging career opportunities. Whether students are interested in the fine arts, sciences, business, occupational or technical areas, students get the education they need for the future they want at Del Mar College.