Dia de Los Muertos at San Francisco Symphony
Conversation with event Curator Marta Rodriguez Salazar
SAN FRANCISCO, CA - November 5 - Atmosphere at SF Symphony Dia de los Muertos
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The San Francisco Symphonic Orchestra will celebrate this Saturday, November 4th, the “Dia de los Muertos” concert in 2023. This special event will commemorate the Meso-American holiday, which honors the memory of loved ones who have passed away.
The orchestra will perform a range of pieces that reflect the theme of this important holiday, with a focus on MAYAN traditions this year, introducing new art and music and unique experiences with old traditions. There will be a mixture of music from traditional Mexican folk songs to classical compositions that explore the theme of life and death.
The Davis Hall lobby has been showcasing art installations and interactive experiences related to this event the whole month, and they will be there until Tuesday, November 7th.
Our conversation today is with the long-time curator of this annual event, Martha Rodríguez Salazar. She is a singer, a flute performer, a music educator, and a community organizer. She is a Mexican-born artist, a long-time San Franciscan who has been in charge of curating this event since 2008, bringing every year a unique experience and exploring different aspects of “Dia de los Muertos” traditions and history.
Miguel Harth-Bedoya conducts the San Francisco Symphony in the concert program, which includes music by Clarice Assad, Arturo Márquez, Alfonso Leng, Silvestre Revueltas, and Arturo Rodríguez. Vocalist Edna Vázquez also joined the symphony to perform a selection of songs. Dancers from Casa Círculo Cultural and performers from Canción de Obsidiana are featured throughout the concert.
Canción de Obsidiana was created in 1989 by its director, Victor-Mario Zaballa. The ensemble strives to create an atmospheric landscape of timeless sounds with original compositions incorporating traditional Mexican hand-made acoustic indigenous instruments and electronic musical instruments. The wind and percussion instruments are replicas of pre-Columbian pieces made by Mr. Zaballa from museum collections. The ensemble has performed at the Lincoln Center, Theater of the New City in New York, deYoung Museum, Mexican Museum, Intersection for the Arts, San Francisco Arts Commission Gallery, The Lab in San Francisco, Monterey World Music Festival, Tucson Museum of Art, and Oakland Museum.
Miguel Harth-Bedoya recently completed seven years as chief conductor of the Norwegian Radio Orchestra and 21 years as music director of the Fort Worth Symphony where he continues as music director laureate. He was previously music director of the Auckland Philharmonia and Eugene Symphony. Harth-Bedoya regularly appears with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Chicago Symphony, Boston Symphony, Atlanta Symphony, Baltimore Symphony, Cleveland Orchestra, Minnesota Orchestra, New York Philharmonic, Philadelphia Orchestra, Helsinki Philharmonic, and Sydney Symphony. Recent engagements include the New Zealand Symphony, BBC Scottish Symphony, Munich Philharmonic, Dresden Philharmonic, Zürich Tonhalle Orchestra, Danish National Symphony, Royal Stockholm Philharmonic, NHK Symphony, and Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony. He makes his San Francisco Symphony debut with this concert.
Edna Vázquez is a fearless singer, songwriter, composer, and guitarist whose powerful voice and musical talent transcend the boundaries of language to engage and uplift her audience. She is a creative musical artist with a vocal range that allows her to paint seamlessly with her original material, an intersection of Mexican tradicional, rock, pop and other genres. Vázquez’s passion for music and performance grew from her bicultural roots and, with songs deeply rooted in universal human emotion, she has traveled far and wide spreading her message of light, love and cultural healing.
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