The Sights and Sounds of Mexico
Concert Sponsor: Dignity Dental Practice A Division of Rommel K. Bal, D.D.S., Inc.
Featuring Special Guest: Mariachi Bonitas de Dinorah Klingler
Sunday, October 23, 2022 at 3:30 pm at Atherton Auditorium
The Sights and Sounds of Mexico Complete Program
Program Order
You can also download or view the PDF (Program Only)
Program Notes
Welcome to our first concert of the season, The Sights and Sounds of Mexico! We are thrilled to have Mariachi Bonitas joining us today for our program. When choosing the choral repertoire for today’s performance, I tried to span eras and regions to give a snapshot of the beautiful heritage of music in Mexico, including some you may not have known about before today.
Our journey begins in the early 17th Century. Gaspar Fernandes (1566-1629) was a Portuguese composer who came to New Spain in 1599, moving to his final post as Chapel Master at Puebla de los Ángeles in 1606. Eso Rigo E’repente is a villancico with Afro-Spanish influence, including the use of both indigenous and African dialects found in New Spain. The story is that one of the church singers carried the manuscript to Oaxaca Cathedral where it was maintained in the church archives. Another composer of the early baroque, Juan Gutiérrez de Padilla (1590-1664) also served at Puebla de los Ángeles beginning in 1620 and was appointed maestro di capilla in 1628 following Fernandes.
Martin de Cruzelaegui (c. 1737-1802) is reported as being a friend to Padre Junípero Serra and traveled throughout the California mission territory with Serra. Later he took a post in Puebla. In 1775, he wrote Laudate Dominum Omnes Gentes (Psalm 117) for the Feast of the Most Precious Blood of Jesus Christ. His style is reflective of later baroque even early classical era composition from Western Europe. If you close your eyes, you may hear an echo of Handel. Fun fact, he arranged the mission chant, Alabado, you will hear on this program for four-part choir.
Octavio Paz Lozano (1914-98) was an award-winning Mexican poet. During his lifetime, his poetry won many prestigious awards, including the 1990 Nobel Prize for Literature. Two songs on our concert use poetry by Octavio Paz: Little Birds and Hermandad. The composer writes on his website about Little Birds, “The work is an homage to Gabriel Faure, with its running piano part and fluid sensual melodies.” Paz’s poem Hermandad was written in homage to Claudius Ptolemy and this setting by Dorothy Papadokas is filled with complex meters and interesting changes.
Two of our composers are a bit lesser-known 20th Century composers, at least in the United States. Carlos Chávez (1899-1978) was a composer, educator, music theorist and conductor. In 1928 he was appointed director of the Mexico’s National Conservatory of Music. Blas Galindo (1910-93) was one of his students, who would later also serve as the director of the National Conservatory of Music. On our program you will hear a beautiful lullaby, Arrullo, and Dos Corazones by Blas Galindo. By Chávez, you will hear the complex, yet lovely, La Paloma Azul.
Maria Grever (1885-1951) was the first Mexican female composer to achieve international recognition. She studied music with several prestigious teachers in France, including Claude Debussy and wrote more than 1,000 songs, most of them boleros. Her most famous song, What a Difference a Day Made (Cuando Vuelva a Tu Lado), made famous by Dinah Washington, skyrocketed her to international fame. Also on our program, is an arrangement of her adorable song, Tipitin.
We do hope you enjoy the program.
Mariachi Bonitas
Established in 2020, Mariachi Bonitas de Dinorah Klingler is an all-female Mariachi that was created to share the captivating art of Mariachi music in the Sacramento, Davis, Stockton, Modesto, Bay (Northern California) area. Under the direction of our multi-award winning singer, songwriter and musician, Dinorah Klingler, Mariachi Bonitas was started to create a space for female Mariachi musicians to voice their love for Mariachi.
In the musical environment where songs are mainly sung by men, these ladies demonstrate great passion and devotion for Mariachi while at the same time creating history along the way.
With their musical excellence, Mariachi Bonitas is ready and thrilled to warm your hearts with their passion for Mariachi music!
For more information visit their website https://www.mariachibonitas.com/.
Check this interview with KCRA 3. https://youtu.be/gXPKt3SR14o
Text and Translations
- Master Chorale Text and Translations
- What a Difference a Day Makes
- Stockton Youth Chorale and Valley Youth A Cappella
- Mariachi Bonitas Text and Translations
- Arrullo
- Stockton Chorale Text and Translations
- Mexico Lindo y Querido
Meet our Directors
Dr. Bruce Southard
Artistic Director
Bruce Southard is currently the Director of Choral and Vocal Activities at San Joaquin Delta College and has more than thirty years of experience working with singers of all ages in California, Kentucky, Montana, North Dakota and Minnesota.
Teaching is Dr. Southard’s passion, and he was named the Outstanding Teacher of the Year in the College of Arts and Sciences at Dickinson State University in 2013. He regularly serves as guest conductor and clinician throughout the region. In 2019, he made his Carnegie Hall debut conducting John Rutter’s Mass of the Children and has served as the Artistic Director of the Stockton Chorale since 2015.
Dr. Southard studied conducting with William Dehning, Kenneth Davis, Michael Weber and JoAnn Miller. He has also worked directly with Howard Swan, Eph Ehly, Bernard Rubenstein, and Alfred Mann. He received his Bachelor of Music from the University of the Pacific, his Master of Music from Western Kentucky University and his Doctor of Musical Arts in Choral Music from North Dakota State University.
Joan Calonico
Conductor, Stockton Youth Chorale and Valley Youth A Cappella
Joan Calonico graduated from the University of Pacific Conservatory of Music with a bachelor’s degree in Music Education. Since then she has been a general music and choral specialist in Lincoln Unified School District. She served the district as mentor teacher and music teacher specialist, coordinating the K-8 music program district-wide. She recently retired as principal of Don Riggio School, where visual and performing arts are an integral part of every student’s education.
Active in many music organizations, Mrs. Calonico served as a representative to the California Music Educators Association, a guest lecturer in music education at the University of the Pacific, and a clinician and panelist for the American Choral Directors Association and California Music Educators Association. She has conducted middle school honor choirs throughout the region, including the San Joaquin County Middle School Honor Choir. She has been directing the Stockton Youth Chorale since 2002 and is the founding conductor of Valley Youth A Cappella and the Port City Boys Choir. She sings with the Stockton Chorale, Stockton Master Chorale, and has sung in the opera chorus for the Stockton Opera Association. Making music with kids is her favorite thing to do.
Ricardo “Ric” Campero
Conductor, Stockton Singers
Ricardo (Ric) Campero received his Bachelor’s of Music in Music Education from the University of the Pacific Conservatory of Music in 1979.
Mr. Campero taught instrumental and choral programs at Ceres High School for 25 years, then decided to apply his talents at the elementary level where he was successful at increasing music participation and further encouraging enrollment in the junior high school and high school music programs. Mr. Campero retired from Ceres Unified School District in 2018 after 38 years.
In 2019, the Ceres Unified School District Board of Directors announced plans to name the first performing arts center in Ceres, the Ricardo “Ric” Campero Performing Arts Center. Construction will be completed January 2023.
Currently, he is a visiting lecturer, conducting the Pacific Singers at the University of the Pacific, conservatory of Music, Stockton.
Mr. Campero serves the Stockton community through music as director of The Stockton Singers, and as director of the Central United Methodist Church Chancel Choir.
Mr. Campero is in demand as a choral singer and soloist, as well as a clinician. He conducted the San Joaquin and Stanislaus County Jr. High School Honor Choirs in Spring 2022.
Michael Hernandez
Assistant Director
Michael Hernandez is a retired music educator who taught for 40 years in Stockton. He began his teaching career at St. Mary’s High School and elementary schools in the Stockton Diocese. He moved to Stockton Unified School District in 1986 and taught middle school band, orchestra, and choir at Webster Middle School and classroom music, band and orchestra to kindergarten through eighth grade students at Martin Luther King, Jr. Elementary School.
Mr. Hernandez is a graduate of University of the Pacific, Conservatory of Music. He earned his Bachelor of Music in Music Education in 1981 and Masters in Music Education in 1988. He studied clarinet with Dr. William Dominik and saxophone with Dr. Don Da Grade. He also sang and studied conducting with Dr. William Dehning.
Michael Hernandez is an active professional musician in the Stockton area. For many years he has played Bass Clarinet in the Stockton Symphony and he is a member of Pacific Avenue Clarinets. He is currently the conductor of the Valley Concert Band, a professional band that plays for the Victory Park music concerts in the summers as well as other venues in the area. He has sung in the Stockton Chorale and Master Chorale for a number of years and has been the Assistant Conductor of the Chorale since 2019.
He feels that being a participant in a variety of musical ensembles and working with different conductors, like Peter Jaffe, Eric Hammer, and William Dehning, as well as many others, has greatly inspired his teaching and performing. “Seeing how other conductors engage the musicians in the process of making music and sharing that music with an audience has always been a great experience for me.”
When he’s not making music, he enjoys reading, cooking, woodworking, working in the yard, and traveling. He also likes scuba diving and hiking and visiting our National Parks and spending time with family.
Sponsors, Advertisers, and Donors
A special thank you to all of our advertisers, sponsors, and donors this season! We could not continue to inspire joy and and enrich our community through choral music without your generosity and continued support.