SPRING CONCERT

Celebrate Mother’s Day with the Santa Fe Women’s Ensemble in Transcendence: When Heaven and Mother Nature Sing, an inspiring afternoon of music that honors beauty, nature, love, and the enduring connections that bring us together. This richly varied concert moves across centuries and cultures, blending beloved favorites with imaginative contemporary works and a world premiere.

The program features arrangements of favorite African American spirituals alongside Junkal Guerrero’s Bi Bihotz. Audiences will also enjoy Giulio Caccini’s beloved Ave Maria, with the Ensemble joined by flutist Charly Drobeck, and Mozart’s sparkling Sull’aria from The Marriage of Figaro, sung by Ensemble members Julie Kirk and Barbara Doern Drew.

Nature and poetry take center stage in Joan Szymko’s imaginative setting of Mary Oliver’s The Summer Day, again featuring Drobeck on flute. From the 17th century, Barbara Strozzi’s Three Graces offers a celebration of beauty, while contemporary composer Christine Donkin brings a deeply personal voice to the program with the world premiere of Oh for Nine Lives, setting poetry by Ensemble member Nancy Maret in remembrance of a dear departed friend.

The concert concludes with Womankind by Emily Drum, accompanied on the cajón by percussionist Jeff Sussmann—a vibrant finale celebrating women, strength, community, and the natural world.

With music ranging from intimate and contemplative to joyful and exuberant, Transcendence: When Heaven and Mother Nature Sing offers a beautiful way to celebrate Mother’s Day. Come be inspired, uplifted, and transported by an afternoon of transcendent music.