When it comes to live music and artistic connections, the UTEP Center for Arts and Entrepreneurship (CAE) and the El Paso Pro-Musica are the head of hosting local concerts with world-renowned artists.
Most recently, the “Summer Fest” concert was held at the Fox Fine Arts Recital Hall at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 20.
Headlining artists for this event included violinist Chee-Yun Kim, pianist Natasha Paremski and Grammy award-winning cellist Zuill Bailey.
Both Kim and Paremski have performed numerous times with dozens of major orchestras across different parts of the world. Bailey shares similar successes while making community impacts in his role as artistic director of the Center for the Arts and Entrepreneurship.
The entire program was dedicated in memory of Dede Rogers, an El Paso-born philanthropist who is known for her work championing the city’s arts and culture.
This sentiment was made prominent based on the first song the group played in her name, “Trio Elegiac No.1 in G Minor” composed by Sergei Rachmaninov. It is a piece meant to serve as an elegy, which is a poem of reflection and lamentation for those who have passed.
The music itself is gentle, but still aims to invoke nostalgia and grief from the audience. The trio managed to make the entire piece sound like a wistful conversation between the three instruments being played.
After the initial dedication, the remaining first half of the program carried out a more upbeat tone. The trio performed “Piano Trio No.1 in D Minor” composed by Anton Arensky.
Before they played though, Bailey shared a few words about the talented artists working with him onstage and promoted all the events El Paso ProMusica has lined up for the year.
He continued to liven up the crowd with an anecdote about coming out to listen to classical music which helped prepare everyone for the wonderful shift in performance.
The music was fun and romantic and was only further accentuated by the incredibly expressive performance skills of each musician. Their unique interactions with each other and the passion in their playing made it much more enjoyable for the audience.
Even during the brief intermission there was endless chatter about how entranced people were.
The night ended with the lovely and highlighted program “Archduke Trio” composed by Ludwig van Beethoven. Each movement showcased bold shifts between light, carefree playing and more heartfelt sounds.
These musicians were delightful to hear and had the audience anticipating the next live music event on campus. Even first timers commented on how enjoyable the concert was.
One audience member, Devon Stroman, excitedly said it was very nice and tranquil.
UTEP student Jacquelyn Medina, mentioned how she enjoyed the energy the musicians had while playing, saying that one could see how the musicians moved with the music. Both audience members mentioned how excited they were to know that there will be more concerts like this in the future.
The El Paso Pro-Musica and UTEP Center for Arts and Entrepreneurship will host more performances from internationally successful artists throughout the 2022-2023 season.
For more information on these events visit elpasopromusica.org/shows.
Meagan Garcia is the arts & culture editor and may be reached at [email protected].
