UTSA Concert Choir in Monterrey, Mexico

UTSA Concert Choir tours Mexico, Rio Grande Valley

(March 3, 2004)--The UTSA Concert Choir sang to large audiences during a Feb. 3-6 tour of Mexico, followed by a weeklong tour of high schools in the Texas Rio Grande Valley.

Conducted by UTSA Professor John Silantien, the choir received standing ovations in Monterrey, Saltillo and Montemorelos. In Monterrey, the group performed an evening concert at the Auditorio San Pedro.

The reviewer from the Monterrey newspaper, El Norte, wrote that the choir offered "a musical buffet seasoned with Mexican American touches."

The choir was welcomed at the Universidad Autonoma de Coahuila in Saltillo and the Universidad de Montemorelos. In Montemorelos, the UTSA students were treated to a post-concert banquet, and Silantien lectured to a large group of choral music education students.

UTSA voice faculty members and Matthew Dunne, guitarist and head of the UTSA guitar program, accompanied the choir on the tour and performed excerpts from Castelnuovo-Tedesco's "Romancero Gitano."

Plans are underway for future collaborations between musicians from the Mexican cities visited and the UTSA choir.

In Texas, the choir performed for choral students at high schools in Brownsville, Harlingen, McAllen and Laredo. The performances sparked inquiries about UTSA music programs from approximately 200 students at the Rio Grande Valley high schools.

Visit the UTSA Department of Music Web site.