Conductor and educator Oliver Prezant. Photo by Jerri Foster

The Santa Fe Opera News:

The Santa Fe Opera presents “Discovering the Music of Bach” performances in Santa Fe and Albuquerque with conductor and educator Oliver Prezant and violinist Stephen Redfield, and “Bach’s Violin” – a free youth and family concert in Albuquerque.

The community is invited to join Prezant and Redfield for this in-depth look at selections from J.S. Bach’s Sonatas and Partitas for Violin Solo.

During the program, Prezant will lead an interactive exploration of the music, as we look at how Bach weaves single line melodies on the violin into complex, richly layered musical and emotional experiences. Redfield will provide excerpts and demonstrate a variety of approaches to creating an expressive, artistic performance on the violin.

In addition, audience members will be invited to share their feelings and impressions as they develop a relationship with the music and the performer. At the end of the program, the audience will hear a full performance of the music explored.

“Discovering the Music of Bach” takes place 6-7:30 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 18 at the CCA (Center for Contemporary Arts), 1050 Old Pecos Trail, in Santa Fe.

“Discovering the Music of Bach” will also take place 7-8:30 p.m. Friday, Jan. 19 in Albuquerque in the recital hall at Robertson & Sons Violin Shop, 3201 Carlisle Boulevard NE.

Tickets and information are available at www.oliverprezant.com/upcoming-events.                    

“Bach’s Violin”

• 4-5 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 20 in the recital hall at Robertson & Sons Violin Shop, 3201 Carlisle Boulevard NE in Albuquerque. Join conductor and educator Oliver Prezant and violinist Stephen Redfield for Bach’s Violin, a FREE, family friendly introduction to J.S. Bach’s music for violin solo, with fun and engaging opportunities for the whole family to interact with the music and the performers.

Admission Is Free, Registration Is Required:

• For registration and more information, visit: www.oliverprezant.com/upcoming-events

Discovering the Music of Bach and Bach’s Violin are productions of Opus OP Arts and Education Projects. Special thanks to Robertson & Sons Violin Shop for their support of this program. Program and artists subject to change.

Artist Biographies:

Stephen Redfield

Violinist Stephen Redfield was a student of Dorothy DeLay and Donald Weilerstein. A prize-winner in the Coleman and Monterey Chamber Music Competitions, he performs as a chamber musician throughout the United States and internationally. He is often featured as a soloist, specializing in the concertos of the 18th and early-19th centuries. Over many years with the Oregon Bach Festival, he has participated in numerous recordings, including the Grammy® Award-winning disc Credo. Stephen is concertmaster of the Santa Fe Pro Musica, the Arizona Bach Festival, and the Conspirare Company of Voices. With the Victoria Bach Festival, he performed for 30 years as concertmaster and soloist, with concerts broadcast nationally. Stephen is also an acclaimed Baroque violinist, performing widely and leading orchestras in Houston, Austin and Nashville. He has recently established the MarketMusic series of Baroque chamber concerts in Santa Fe where he now lives after his recent retirement from the University of Southern Mississippi.

Oliver Prezant

Oliver Prezant, conductor and arts educator, has presented lectures and education programs for the Santa Fe Opera, Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival, National Hispanic Cultural Center, Performance Santa Fe, the Tanglewood Association of Volunteers, Road Scholar, and the Guilds of the Santa Fe and San Francisco Opera companies. As the music director and conductor of the Santa Fe Community Orchestra, he worked with community musicians and choristers, professional soloists, public school music students, composers, creative artists, and community partners from Santa Fe and northern New Mexico to present a wide variety of innovative performances, unique education programs, and community collaborations. He has presented programs on the relationship of art and music for the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum, the Albuquerque Museum of Art, the New Mexico Museum of Art, and the Anderson Museum of Contemporary Art. Oliver was one of the founding teaching artists in Partners in Education’s ArtWorks Program, which provides arts education workshops for Santa Fe Public Schools students and teachers in the areas of music, poetry, visual art, theater, and dance. As the artistic advisor to the program, he trained teaching artists and classroom teachers, and coordinated with area poets, museums, and other arts organizations. He studied at the Mannes College of Music in New York City and the Pierre Monteux School for conductors in Hancock, Maine, and he was an Assistant Professor in the Contemporary Music Program at the College of Santa Fe and an instructor at Santa Fe University of Art and Design.