Discovering the Music of Poetry (Santa Fe)

SANTA FE, NM: What is the music of poetry? How can the rhythm of language and the imagery in a poem be translated into music? And what if the music were to act as a counterpoint, a contradiction, or a commentary, adding value and nuance of its own? 

Join conductor and arts educator Oliver Prezant, and improvising musicians Carla Kountoupes, violin; Jerry Weimer, clarinet; and Katie Harlow, cello, for a poetry reading by New Mexico Poet Laureate Lauren Camp, and a musical exploration of her poetry. 

During the program, Lauren will read for us, and Oliver and the musicians will create music based on the sound, the language, and the imagery of the poems, as well as your thoughts and impressions, culminating in a musical interpretation of the poem. 

The program takes place on Tuesday, October 1, 6:00 - 7:30 p.m.
Muñoz Waxman Gallery at CCA, 1050 Old Pecos Trail, in Santa Fe.

For tickets to Discovering the Music of Poetry, click on BUY TICKETS at the top of this page. 

Thanks to our generous donors!

Program and artists subject to change. 

This program is presented by Opus OP Arts and Education Projects.

Please support Opus OP Arts and Education Projects with an additional donation at checkout! 

Your charitable donation supports unique programs like this one, as well in-school programs and free workshops for public school teachers. Your donation is tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law. 

Sign up for the mailing list for info. on upcoming programs and events:

www.oliverprezant.com/subscribe

Visit www.oliverprezant.com for more information on Opus OP Arts and Education Projects, and other Opus OP presentations and workshops. 

Like and follow on Facebook! Oliver Prezant / Opus OP LLC

Photo Credits:

Poet Lauren Camp: Bob Godwin

Conductor and arts educator Oliver Prezant: Ruthanne Greeley

Violinist Carla Kountoupes: Will Wilson (Diné)

Clarinetist Jerry Weimer: Nacha Mendez

Cellist Katie Harlow: Joseph Sabella

Artist Biographies:

Writer and educator Lauren Camp works “in the confluence of sound, psychology, and language.” A former Astronomer-in-Residence at Grand Canyon National Park, she is New Mexico’s current Poet Laureate. Lauren is the author of eight books of poetry (most recently In Old Sky - Grand Canyon Conservancy 2024), the recipient of the Dorset Prize, a finalist for the Arab American Book Award and the Adrienne Rich Award, and the recipient of fellowships from the Academy of American Poets and Black Earth Institute. Her poems have been translated into Mandarin, Turkish, Spanish, French, and Arabic. A successful visual artist before becoming a poet, her portrait series, “The Fabric of Jazz: A Tribute to the Genius of American Music,” traveled to museums in ten cities. Her artwork can be found in cultural centers, hospitals, museums, U.S. embassies and other organizations around the world. She has long been involved with music, and was the host and producer of “Audio Saucepan,” an innovative radio show that ran for fifteen years on KSFR-FM, which combined poetry with a wide array of music. More information on Lauren can be found at www.laurencamp.com.

“I love the music of Lauren Camp’s poems… the alliteration and assonance, the layers of sound and imagery… these poems are filled with experiences that left me exhilarated with longing.” — Connotation Press

Conductor and arts educator Oliver Prezant has presented lectures and education programs for the Santa Fe Opera, the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival, the National Hispanic Cultural Center, Performance Santa Fe, the Tanglewood Association of Volunteers, Road Scholar, and the Guilds of the Santa Fe and San Francisco Opera companies. As the music director and conductor of the Santa Fe Community Orchestra, he worked with community musicians and choristers, professional soloists, public school music students, composers, creative artists, and community partners from Santa Fe and northern New Mexico to present a wide variety of innovative performances, unique education programs, and community collaborations. He has presented programs on the relationship of art and music for the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum, the Albuquerque Museum of Art, the New Mexico Museum of Art, and the Anderson Museum of Contemporary Art. Oliver was one of the founding teaching artists in Partners in Education’s ArtWorks Program, which provides arts education workshops for Santa Fe Public Schools students and teachers in the areas of music, poetry, visual art, theater, and dance. As the artistic advisor to the program, he trained teaching artists and classroom teachers, and coordinated with area poets, museums, and other arts organizations. He studied at the Mannes College of Music in New York City and the Pierre Monteux School for conductors in Hancock, Maine, and he was an Assistant Professor in the Contemporary Music Program at the College of Santa Fe and an instructor at Santa Fe University of Art and Design.

Violinist Carla Kountoupes is a member of the Santa Fe Symphony Orchestra, Arizona Opera Orchestra, Santa Fe Pro Musica Chamber Orchestra, and Piazzolla da Camera Piano Trio. Carla has toured and performed professionally with orchestras and chamber ensembles in Central America, Taiwan, Germany, and all over the United States, including as a member of the New Century Chamber Orchestra in San Francisco and the Costa Rican National Symphony Orchestra. She enjoys performing and recording many genres in addition to classical, including Latin/world, alt-rock/pop, and jazz. A dedicated music educator, Carla is on the faculty at the New Mexico School for the Arts. She is a graduate of Oberlin Conservatory (Violin Performance) and Oberlin College (English Literature). Carla’s violin was made in the 1740s and was inherited from her grandfather.

Clarinetist Jerry Weimer is a composer and clarinetist who has been a part of the Santa Fe music scene since 2001. Known for his unique sound, stylistic versatility, and compelling improvisations, Jerry is a regular presence in the Jazz and Latin music communities of Northern New Mexico, and was a featured soloist with the Santa Fe Community Orchestra in Weber’s Clarinet Concerto No. 1. He has collaborated with many local artists, including Nacha Mendez, Joaquin Gallegos, Jono Manson, Nosotros, Rumelia, John Rangel, the Shiners Club Jazz Band, Revózo, and Victor Alvarez’s SAVOR. Recent performances include Le Carnaval des Animaux with the National Dance Institute NM; Amane, with Joe Hay; Words in the Wind, with Melanie Monsour; and Zozobra in 2021. Jerry is a graduate of the College of Santa Fe where he studied with Eddie Daniels.

Cellist Katie Harlow has performed on cello, mandolin, accordion, and viola da gamba in numerous symphonic, chamber, early, folk, and improvised music ensembles, including the Santa Fe Symphony, the Chamber Orchestra of Albuquerque, New Music New Mexico, the New Mexico Women Composer's Guild, Opera Southwest, the early music groups Three Bass Blondes and the Boxwood Consort, the improvising music ensembles Out of Context and Playroom, the Bill Horvitz Band (jazz and new music), Cicadas (a mandolin ensemble), the folk music groups Bailiwick and Caledonia, and the band Basement Dancing. In addition, she has created arrangements and compositions for concerts, recordings, and theater productions. Katie holds a Bachelors in Cello Pedagogy and a Masters in Music Education from the University of New Mexico, and was on the faculty of Albuquerque Academy for many years.