Ellen Chavez de Leitner: News

Here is a letter about a new concert series in Abiquiu. I'll be performing Telemann solo Fantasias, and Mozart and Beethoven sonatas with Edwin Light, pianist, on July 6th. Come if you can!

Dear Abiquiu Friends and Friends of Abiquiu,

I'm pleased to announce the Inaugural season of the Abiquiu Chamber Music series, June 22 - August 31. This will be held six Sundays at 2 p.m., providing interesting and quality classical performances by artists from NM, AZ, and NYC. The concerts will be held in a magnificent open-air setting overlooking the Rio Chama (see attachment) here at my home and performance space in Abiquiu.

Admission is $12 per concert; or purchase the entire series for only $60. Children are free with an adult ticket. All tickets must be purchased in advance, either through reservations at abiquiumusic@gmail.com or directly from The Tin Moon Gallery or Maya Art Cafe. Cash or Check only, please. Tickets will be available for reservation beginning June 3rd. Seating is limited to 50 per event.

For those wanting to linger afterwards, Maya Art Cafe will be providing a catered, elegant prix fixe post-concert dinner, 4:30 - 6:30. Advance reservations are needed for that by WEDNESDAY prior to any of the Sunday concerts. Those dinner reservations may be made directly at 505.685.4942.

For any additional information on the series, programs, or artists, please contact me at: (505) 685.0076. There will be regular coverage of the upcoming concerts in the Rio Grande Sun, beginning with an overview, feature article either the 1st or 2nd week of June.

We hope that this will make a significant artistic contribution to our special community. Please reserve your tickets early and bring your visiting-vacationing friends with you!

Thanks for your support and for "spreading the word." I look forward to seeing you at the River!!

--Madeline

Madeline Williamson, Pianist
Abiquiu Chamber Music
505.685.0076
abiquiumusic@gmail.com

"Enchantment Chamber Music" Series at Loretto Chapel in Santa Fe on Sunday June 8th, 2008 features chamber music for violin and guitar performed by Ellen Leitner, and Roberto Capocchi, "Duo Guadalupe". On the program is the Grand Sonata, Op. 25, by the 19th century guitar virtuoso Mauro Giuliani, “Danza de los Amantes Efimeros” by contemporary composer Francisco Gonzalez, and well-loved tangos by 20th century Argentinian composer Astor Piazzola. See more details on the CALENDAR, or go to BUY to reserve tickets.

From an e-mail from a very satisfied concertgoer:
"Ellen,
I was thrilled by your marvelous performance on April 6 at the Loretto Chapel, when I happened to be in town on a small vacation. You and your instrument bring out the best in each other, and your innovative approach was fascinating to see."...(the concert) "restored my faith in chamber music in general ..."

Sunday May 11, 2008, 7:00 PM
Luigi Boccherini's "Fandango" guitar quintet, Franz Josef Haydn's guitar quartet in D, and a trio by Niccolo Paganini will be featured on Mother's Day at Loretto Chapel in Santa Fe. Musicians are Ellen Chavez de Leitner and Jane Snyder, violin, Marke Talley, viola, Candace Brower, Cello, and Roberto Capocchi, guitar. Tickets in advance (click "BUY" on this site) until May 8th, or at the door.

Thursday April 24th at 7pm Ellen Chavez de Leitner, violin, and Roberto Capocchi, guitar, that is, Duo Guadalupe, will perform their Spanish program at Northern New Mexico College in Espanola, NM.

"Enchantment Chamber Music" will feature Duo Guadalupe playing some of their Spanish repertory to kick off first concert of this spring series.
The Loretto Chapel has limited seating, so please make reservations in advance!
Call 505-920-9728 or click on "Buy" above to order online

Everyone loved the Irish airs on Ellen's solo violin that opened the show and the second act of Belisama's recital on March 1st and 2nd! The dancers were fabulous, and there was also a live set with fiddle, guitar, bodhran, and flute. Rose Leitner choreographed a stunning flamenco set, and the troupe joined her for a combination flamenco and Irish dance set.

Belisama Irish Dance Company will be performing Saturday and Sunday March 1st and 2nd at the James A. Little Theater in Santa Fe.
Opening the show will be a violin solo by Ellen. Also featured, besides the wonderful Irish dancers, will be a flamenco solo by Rose Leitner, and a traditional Irish music set.
See Calendar for details.

Johanna Boudreau and Genevieve Leitner will join Ellen in:

15th Annual Art of Devotion
December 14, 2007 – April 30, 2008
Opening Reception Friday December 14th, 5 to 8pm
Genevieve Leitner will join Ellen, playing NM waltzes & polkas, and Christmas music from Spain and Latin America for this reception:

Peyton Wright Gallery
237 E. Palace Ave., Santa Fe

The Art of Devotion exhibition presents one of the most extensive collections of public and private devotional art in the country. This visually stunning and historically significant exhibition features paintings, furniture, silverwork, and sculpture from colonial-era Mexico, Central and South America, as well as Europe. The Spanish Colonial collection dates from the 16th to the 19th centuries and includes work from Bolivia, Peru, Argentina, Mexico, Ecuador, Chile, Venezuela, Guatemala and the Philippines.

The exhibition also presents a selection of historic Russian Icons dating from the 18th through the early 20th centuries, as well as a collection of historic New Mexican santos, bultos, cristos and retablos from New Mexico's finest 18th and 19th century santeros, making this show one of the finest, and most comprehensive, exhibitions of devotional iconographic art in the United States.

In addition, the second floor gallery features work by Herbert Bayer, the German Bauhaus Master, emphasizing paintings and works on paper, as well as a number of free-standing sculptures posthumously fabricated from Bayer's original maquettes. Other works include selections from the gallery's fine American Modernist collection.

The hours that we'll be playing for the Dec. 16 Posadas in Abiquiu have changed. We'll play from 4 - 6 PM. Here's the press release:

The Pueblo de Abiquiu Library & Cultural Center Invites you to
Posadas y Postres
Join us in Celebrating a Fruitful Year & the Blessings of the Holiday Season
Sunday, December 16th, 4–6 PM, Abiquiu Parish Hall on the Plaza

Homemade Desserts and Other Surprises!
Enjoy New Books, Old Friends, and Special Guests
Traditional Violin and Guitar Music with Duo Chimayo

Suggested donation: $10 per Person
For information call the Library: 505 685 4884

Stay for Las Posadas in the Pueblo Parish beginning at 7 PM

DUO CHIMAYO
Delightful New Mexican waltzes and polkas from the late 19th and early 20th century are the main repertory of Duo Chimayo. Mother and daughter Ellen Chavez de Leitner and Johanna Feliz Boudreau began playing and performing together in1996. They play in the traditional setting of violin and guitar, using music from the Museum of New Mexico archives. Ms. Leitner is a classically trained violinist, while Ms. Boudreau is a self-taught guitarist and songwriter, who began her musical studies learning violin from her mother. Ms. Leitner's maternal side of the family came from Spain and has been in New Mexico for 15 generations. Duo Chimayo enjoys keeping the musical culture of their ancestors alive.

Ellen will be performing with her daughters, Johanna and Genevieve at Peyton Wright gallery for the opening reception for "The Art of Devotion". The exhibit will be stunning, and music to match!
Friday, Dec. 14, 2007, 5- 8pm
237 E. Palace Ave., Santa Fe

Johanna Feliz Boudreau joins Ellen accompanying her on guitar. They play traditional New Mexican waltzes, polkas, and other dance tunes from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. They began playing together in 1996, then took a break while Johanna went to college and started a family.

You can now listen to some traditional Irish Airs played by Ellen Chavez de Leitner. These are recordings made with a mini disc recorder at Ellen's studio. Click on Music in the Menu bar.
Ellen will be performing with the Irish Dance Troupe "Belisama" in the spring of 2008.

The next in the series of recordings of Father Blanch's music will be recorded in December when Cecilia is New Mexico. We will record his Christmas music, and hopefully it will be available early in 2008.

Ellen will perform solo violin pieces and her daughter Johanna Boudreau will accompany her on guitar in waltzes and polkas from northern New Mexico. The event is a fundraiser for Anansi charter school in the village of Arroyo Seco, close to Taos. Come enjoy the fall weather and the beautiful scenery around Northern New Mexico, and support good education!

Currently I'm planning a concert series of the quintet, Duo Guadalupe, a solo violin program, and a performance with Cecilia and Genevieve.

Also in the wings:
A house concert at a prominent Santa Fe citizen's residence, and
"Schubertiana" (evenings of friends performing chamber music, with potluck dinner and good cheer) organized by a St. John's colleague, Tony Jeffries.

More music of Father Blanch will be available hopefully by next year. Cecilia is busy at graduate school at Yale. She is a soprano soloist, member of "Voxtet" and the Yale Schola Cantorum, which will be travelling to Serbia and Croatia in the spring. I may join her for her recital, sometime before summer, in one of Fr. Blanch's compositions.

Please let me know if you have any favorite pieces you would like to hear in our concerts, or any other ideas you have. My goal is to have more chamber music throughout the year, and to increase the audience so more people can enjoy beautiful, heartfelt, inspiring music.

Cecilia and Genevieve Leitner, sisters, (Ellen's daughters), will perform a concert on Thursday, June 19 at Fuller Lodge in Los Alamos, and Friday June 20 at the Unitarian Universalist Church on Barcelona Road in Santa Fe. These are their only performances while they're home for the summer. (Please see "Calendar" on this website.)

Cecilia is doing her graduate studies at the Yale Institute of Sacred Music, and Genevieve attends North Carolina School of the Arts for undergraduate studies. For the concert, Cecilia will also be accompanied by a very talented young pianist, Nathan Salazar.

I'll be traveling to Ireland from May 29th to June 12th to accompany Rose and her friend Kelsey for their Irish dance competition. We'll also be checking out the fiddling scene there as well as touring the country.

The concert went well, and everyone seemed to have enjoyed it. If anyone has comments, please post them in the guestbook. Lots of people enjoyed the Haydn. ("It was sublime.") And the beautiful castanet players were a big hit.
I didn't mention it at the performance, but my glasses broke as I was cleaning them right before the concert, and I had a hard time seeing when they started slipping! So that made it difficult for me, but I still enjoyed it, and I think most people didn't notice.
Thanks to everyone who attended! And a big thanks to our sponsors, whose ads are on the program back - please check them out if you haven't already.

The concert on April 29th has been changed to 7:00 PM. You can order tickets or reservations by phone or online. Please come! The music is beautiful and entertaining. See the Calendar for more details, or call (505) 920-9728.