Sharon Isbin/Courtesy photo
The Pacifica Quartet/Courtesy photo
BY ANN MCLAUGLIN
Artistic Director
Los Alamos Concert Association
Acclaimed classical guitarist Sharon Isbin and the Pacifica Quartet will reunite to perform music from their bestselling album, Souvenirs of Spain and Italy, in Los Alamos on Friday, Nov.18 at 7 :00pm in the Duane Smith Auditorium.
Presented by the Los Alamos Concert Association, the ensemble will also perform the Southwest premier of a work written for Isbin and the Pacifica by Joseph Schwantner.
Called “classical guitar’s reigning diva” by the Dallas Morning News, multiple Grammy-winner Sharon Isbin was named the Musical America Worldwide Instrumentalist of the Year in 2020, the first guitarist to receive that honor in the publication’s 59-year history. She has appeared with over 200 orchestras and in many of the world’s finest concert halls. Her catalog of over 30 albums has sold over one million copies and reflects her remarkable versatility.
The Pacifica Quartet, also the recipient of multiple Grammy awards, has achieved international recognition as one of the finest chamber ensembles performing today. The Quartet is known for its virtuosity, exuberant performance style, and daring repertoire choices. Having served as quartet-in-residence at Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music for the past decade, the Quartet also leads the Center for Advanced Quartet Studies at the Aspen Music Festival and School, and was previously the quartet-in-residence at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Together, the five artists will perform quintets by Vivaldi, Boccherini, and Joachín Turina, plus Song of a Dreaming Sparrow, composed for them by Joseph Schwantner in 2020.
Isbin will also perform a solo work written for her by Leo Brouwer, El Decameron Negro, and the Quartet will play Four for Tango by Astor Piazzolla.
The concert takes place in the Duane Smith Auditorium located at 1300 Diamond Drive on the campus of Los Alamos High School.
While State of New Mexico guidelines do not mandate masks for this performance, Sharon Isbin has requested, for her own protection, that audience members wear masks. Masks will be appreciated by many in the audience and social distancing in the large hall is encouraged.
Tickets ($35) are available electronically at www.losalamosconcert.org, and in Los Alamos at the Fuller Lodge Arts Center and at Smith’s in Los Alamos and White Rock. As always, tickets for young people ages 6-18 are free.
For complete artist, venue, and ticket information, visit LACA’s web site at www.losalamosconcert.org
PROGRAM
Antonio Vivaldi Concerto in D Major for Guitar and Strings, RV 93 (arr.Pujol, ed.Isbin)
Leo Brouwer El Decameron Negro
Joseph Schwantner Song of a Dreaming Sparrow
Joachín Turina La Oración del Torero
Astor Piazzolla Four for Tango
Luigi Boccherini Guitar Quintet in D Major, G.448, “Fandango”