The Artists in Residence program hosted world-class soprano Cecilia López and collaborative pianist, Nathan Salazar, on campus for multiple demonstrations, discussions and a public concert.
The Artists in Residence program, designed by the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences, hosts weekly guests ranging from artists to musicians to writers, allowing them time through the week to showcase different skills and abilities to students.
López, a Mexican American native of Rupert, Idaho, was named by Opera News as one of opera’s “25 Rising Stars,” according to the Artists in Residence program.
López is known for her portrayals of heroines such as Violetta in Verdi’s “La Traviata” and has performed at major opera houses, including the Metropolitan Opera.
Salazar has performed his piano skills in Europe, Russia and throughout the U.S. at premier performance halls like the Kennedy Center and Carnegie Hall.
Salazar, a native from Santa Fe, has performed and coached with Serenata of Santa Fe, the Sante Fe Desert Chorale, the Sante Fe Opera and the Boston Lyric Opera, according to the Artists in Residence program.
Salazar has been called an “emerging artist” from his extensive training and performing in Santa Fe.
López and Salazar hosted a free public concert on Sept. 10 in Reynolds Performing Hall from 7:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. that included a wide variety of music, including a libretto sung in French, German, Russian and Spanish.
The first half of the concert consisted of songs in different languages, sung by López while Salazar played the piano. The second half of the performance was sung entirely in Spanish with songs by Latinx composers from Central and South America and Spain.
Between songs, López discussed touching stories from her childhood regarding her upbringing and what made her inspired by music.
López shared that when she was young, she would work with her mother in the potato fields in Idaho, where her mother would commonly sing mariachi music to help the time go by quicker.
López said that her mother would start singing a song, and soon enough, the whole row that they were working on would be finished, and so on.
The French songs that were performed were called “À Chloris,” “L’énamourée,” and “L’Heure exquise” written by Reynoldo Hahn.
López and Salazar performed Richard Strauss’s “Zueignung,” “Die Nacht,” and “Cäcilie,” completely in German.
The artists performed songs in Russian by Sergei Rachmaninoff to end the first half of the performance, translated to “How Fair This Spot,” “Don’t Sing, My Beauty, In Front of Me,” and “Dream.”
The second half, sung entirely in Spanish, comprised of songs titled “La Rosa y El Sauce,” “Estrellita,” “El Reloj,” “Amanecí en Tus Brazos,” “La Borrachita,” and “Me Llaman la Primorosa” from “El Barbero de Sevilla.”
In addition to the concert, López and Salazar hosted two presentations/discussions about diversity and inclusion in the arts and branding, self-promotion and networking; an opera master class; and a Q&A panel.
The next Artist in Residence will be Joey Tartell, a trumpet player, and will host a master class on Sept. 20 at 2 p.m. in the recital hall at Snow Fine Arts.
