It’s not every day that we get to have the world premiere of new music on our radio station, but that happened when composer Edna Alejandra Longoria brought two excerpts of her new piece Serenata al más allá for SOLI Chamber Ensemble to perform.
The group will premiere the entire work at a concert on Tuesday, Nov. 11 at 7:30 p.m. at Trinity University’s Ruth Taylor Concert Hall.
Longoria said the gorgeous “El altar de abue” movement was based on memories of sitting with her grandfather to listen to music on the radio, from classical melodies to regional Mexican.
A second excerpt, “La calaverita,” brought a few laughs as Longoria explained the inspiration.
In Mexico, Longoria explained, “We love to write short poems about a family member or a friend, and in this type of poem, Death comes to get them, and she's supposed to be funny and humorous; sometimes death is successful and sometimes she's not. And so I decided to write a poem about death coming to get SOLI musicians while they're performing!”
Death crept inside to look around
tip toeing lightly on the ground.
She eyed the group with greedy glee
four fresh souls all dressed up for me.
The music danced, it leaped and flared,
So rhythmic—Death was not prepared.
They played with style and fear and might
Each note a flash of fierce delight.
She tried to grab them one by one
but tripped and tumbled in their fun.
She huffed and paused, then muttered,
”True, you were far too brilliant to pursue.”
She slumped defeated in her seat,
then clapped and laughed and tapped her feet.
The game was lost, but not her grace,
She danced away and left no trace.
Longoria’s collaboration with SOLI is the inaugural step in the group’s new Future Focus program, bringing together composers and performers for a multi-day residency program that includes inspiring performances, meaningful connections, and surprising creativity, all shared with the community in unique ways.
“Edna has been such an amazing partner,” said SOLI’s Artistic Director, Stephanie Key. “It was always Edna that I wanted to launch this inaugural residency with, because she’s such a giving, talented human being that I knew she would help us, in a very special way, connect with our community.”
Those connections this week have included workshops with students from YOSA, Trinity University, The University of the Incarnate Word, and UTSA.
The collaborative concert SOLI will perform on Tuesday includes not just Edna Longoria’s new music, but pieces by Gabriela Ortiz, Arturo Marquez, and Ardiana Verdié.
Hear SOLI's performance in our studio by using the audio player at the top of this page.
