Most musicals and choral performances around Santa Fe allow patrons to experience familiar music in an unfamiliar way, by hearing standards performed by professionals who happen to be their neighbors and perhaps even friends.The Santa Fe Women’s Ensemble spring concert, Connect! Springscapes, takes a very different approach. It will mark the debut of a piece created by Portland, Oregon, contemporary composer Joan Syzmko, Perhaps I Shall Be, who will discuss it at both performances. The music incorporates work by late New Mexico poet Nancy C. Wood.In addition to the ensemble, Connect! Springscapes features cellist Dana Winograd, percussionist Diana Sharpe, and accompanist Bill Epstein. Linda Raney directs.Connect! Springscapes; 3 p.m. Saturday, May 10, and Sunday, May 11; First Presbyterian Church; 208 Grant Avenue; $12-$35; sfwe.orgPeople strolling down Canyon Road might see InterFusion Art and wonder, “Where have I heard that name before?”InterFusion Art’s Glenn Renner says the new location better showcases the gallery’s collection of structural art.Owners Brenda and Glenn Renner opened the gallery, which is focused on contemporary jewelry and 3D structural art, in 2023 on Washington Avenue downtown. They vacated the space the following year to work on readying a new location at 205 Canyon Road; it opened May 1.“We purchased the building in July of 2024; it had been vacant for some time before that,” Glenn Renner says via email. “I believe the most recent occupant had been an interior design firm, but we remember it back when it was Greenberg Fine Art (our first time visiting the space). We always felt it was a great location, large outdoor space for sculpture and tons of potential on the inside to show structural artwork (art jewelry, sculpture, and structural wall art). We put several months of work into the inside to take full advantage of the space.”The gallery represents more than 40 artists. To learn more, call 505-467-8081 or visit interfusionart.com.About 6 miles to the southeast on Airport Road, Best Western Art Gallery closed in April after four years in operation.Co-director Jamie Sterling Pitt has moved to Houston, while founder Shane Tolbert remains in his position as academic director for the Santa Fe Community College School of Arts & Design. He created the gallery in his home garage studio during the isolation following the height of the pandemic. — B.S.For the first time, Umbrella Children’s Theatre — the youth troupe associated with Teatro Paraguas — is holding a fundraiser.Students involved in the group will perform and serve dinner. The gala comes shortly after the company’s presentation of Beauty and the Beast in late April and early May.JoJo Sena-Tarnoff, the president of the Teatro Paraguas board of directors, leads Umbrella Children’s Theatre. The versatile theater veteran also plays in the affiliated band Melange and occasionally acts, most recently in last year’s presentation of the play Atacama.The company was founded in 1988 as Southwest Children’s Theatre Productions by Rebecca Morgan and Celeste Allerton. — B.S.6 p.m. Friday, May 9; Teatro Paraguas, 3205 Calle Marie; $30-$50; 505-629-2177; teatroparaguasnm.orgAmerican Patchwork Quartet should be plenty fresh for its New Mexico concert, as the show marks the beginning of a 26-stop tour for the group that blends Americana, folk, and world music.The band’s eponymous first album was nominated for a 2025 Grammy Award, and the band describes the music as incorporating elements of jazz, country, African, and Asian components. — B.S.7:30 p.m. Friday, May 9; Outpost Performance Space; 210 Yale Boulevard SE, Albuquerque; $15-$35; americanpatchworkquartet.comNow, more than ever, we should embrace the arts, as well as the creatives who work behind the scenes to spotlight all manner of visual arts, staged productions, and festivals in our cities. Most of us can agree on or have experienced first-hand the fact that creative outlets are life-enhancing. Public art projects bring us together and enhance our appreciation of our communities and other cultures. They not only feed our souls, but they also drive economic growth by drawing in visitors, who then spend money on food and accommodations. This, in turn, benefits businesses. Albuquerque, Gallup, Las Cruces, Santa Fe, and Taos (to name just a few) all benefit from city-centric celebrations of the arts.* somosabq.comSOMOS ABQ, a self-described community leadership council, produced citywide festivals from 2017-2019 curated by artists, organizers, performers, and the like. Pivoting to virtual and smaller events from 2020-2024, SOMOS ABQ stitched together a number of online festivals, drive-in concerts, and citywide pop-up events.Founded on the principle that Albuquerque’s art scene adds character to and defines the city’s cultural diversity, the council continues its mission to develop community-led programs designed to not only introduce members of the public, some of whom may not have had opportunities to experience all the cultural aspects of New Mexico’s largest metropolitan area, but also to spotlight the city’s vibrancy.
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