This fall, New Mexico Tech is pleased to announce the artists performing in this year’s performing arts series.
“We’ve been doing this for a long time, since this program has been around for about 60 years,” said Ronna Kalish, director of the New Mexico Tech Performing Arts Series at the New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology. “Every year we roll out a whole new set of activities and things, and with the pandemic we had one year that was live, so this is the first real season where we’re thinking of everything being personal.”
Season tickets are now available which can save subscribers 25% off tickets. Individual tickets are $15 for adults, $12 for seniors and $5 for youth, while Tech students get in free with a student ID.
“So we started these outdoor festivals that were so successful, and we gave a lot of local bands and dance companies a way to perform, so we just kept at it,” Kalish said.
With their first personal series in a while, the athletes had to rock.
TNT Fest: Meet Tech & Town starts the series from 13.00-19.00. on Campus Drive on Saturday, August 27. This free event features student bands along with clubs, food trucks and more.
“Well, we’re looking for a variety, and because we’re a small town and a small university, we’re always trying to find things that meet a lot of different needs,” Kalish said.
“Yesterday: Tribute to the Beatles” comes to the Macey Center on September 10.
“Everyone was really excited about ‘Yesterday: Tribute to the Beatles,’ so we’re going to have a ’60s costume party and a Beatles trivia contest as the third week of school,” Kalish said.
“We’re actually setting up our stage as an arena so that when we put the theater company here it will have a more intimate feel.”
“They’re a really fun group from Scotland, and they play both traditional music and rock music,” Kalish said. “We’ve always done really well with Celtic bands here, as our students love it, our older people love it, everyone loves it.”
After Skerryvore comes the “Horror Channel” on 4-5. November.
“It’s a super exciting show, Colleen Gino wrote this musical and it’s a woman kicking up her heels on a Friday night and drinking a glass of wine after a hard week,” Kalish said. “Then she starts falling asleep and she has some nightmares where zombies appear.”
In January, Tech brings in the new year with Big Richard, an up-and-coming female group.
“They just came together as a project and everyone loved it so much,” Kalish said. “They started hitting the festival circuit, folk, bluegrass and songwriter festivals around the country, and they just made a big hit, so I immediately put out feelers to bring this group.”
“Big Richard is not during WomenFest, but we just loved the concept of them for women to come together,” Kalish said. “Obviously the name of their band is a spoof of all these rock and roll bands that have names that are slightly demeaning to women, so Big Richard is certainly a spoof of that kind of band name.”
On February 10, 2023, the Albuquerque Jazz Orchestra will perform with vocalist Hillary Smith.
A Sweetheart Soiree dinner will be served before an evening of big band swing music. Band members include professional and semi-professional musicians alongside local public school and university music educators to create a lively dynamic that allows audiences to share in the dazzling sights and sounds of this ever-popular sound. Dancing is of course welcome.
“We have a whole group of students here who love swing and ballroom dancing, so this show will really speak to them,” Kalish said. “And we have an older group of people who just love big band music, whether it’s contemporary or traditional or swing; they love everything.”
Rhythm of the Dance, featuring world and Irish champion dancers, hits New Mexico Tech on March 2.
This show features a social hour beforehand with Irish food and drink.
“It’s an Irish tap dance group, some of the original people from ‘River Dance’, the original producers, not the original dancers, and then a whole group of musicians. So it’s just a big show and really it’s about Irish history and an Irish music from many different angles, both modern and traditional.
Ending March is WomenFest 24-25 March.
“I’m a female musician, so I’ve always tried to have women in our season every year because I think it’s really important for young people and communities to see the amazing women out there,” Kalish said. “It is important for us to have an awareness of women’s issues.”
