String Quartet Masterworks from Mexico - October 18, 2025

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 15, 2025
 
Contact:
Amy Norton, 303-204-5183, [email protected] (note: .co, not .com)
Conrad Kehn, 720-641-2414, [email protected]
 
The Playground String Quartet celebrates fall with works by Mexican composers
Saturday, October 18, 2025, at Kim Robards Dance
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DENVER— In a climate where diversity is undervalued and often actively oppressed, The Playground String Quartet is proud to celebrate fall with a concert of string quartet pieces by two composers from Mexico. The performance will feature the Colorado premiere of Gabriela Ortiz’s ceremonial “Altar de Muertos”, inspired by the Mexican holiday Day of the Dead, and “Eclectic Huapango” and “Two Dances” by composer Alfonso Molina, which focuses on pre-hispanic Mexican traditions that have endured beyond Mexico’s Spanish conquest. The show will take place at Kim Robards Dance 1755 W 48th Ave in Denver on Saturday, October 18, 2025, 7:30 p.m. (Doors open at 7). Tickets are $20, and $10 for students, and are available at for purchase now at www.playgroundensemble.org.

Ortiz describes her highly theatrical ‘Altar de Muertos’:
“The tradition of the Day of the Dead festivities in Mexico is the source of inspiration for [this composition] whose ideas reflect the internal search between the real and the magic, a duality always present in Mexican culture, from the past to present. The piece is divided into four parts — Ofrenda, Mictlan, Danza Macabra and La Calaca — each describing diverse moods, traditions and the spiritual worlds which shape to the global concept of death in Mexico, plus my own personal concept of death.“
Ortiz' score calls for the players to wear traditional folk masks and these are being made special for the Playground Ensemble by artist Josefina Calzada.

Molina’s quartet uses rhythmic motifs from the old and new Mexican culture. The Huapango rhythm — which is normally used in Mexican songs from the Huasteca Potosina region — is used as an ostinato rhythm at the beginning of the piece, using a ternary basic unit. The second movement (Dance I) is based on a traditional ritual from the Totonac Indians from the Gulf of Mexico, still celebrated today, representing the five elements from the indigenous world that they treasure, as well as the changes that take place during the year in their community. The third movement (Dance II) is based on the pre-hispanic conception that volcanic stones hold old souls inside them and that these souls, escape in the form of sparks when being exposed to fire.

The Playground String Quartet features Sarah Whitnah, Violin; Jackson Bailey, Violin; Allyson Stibbards, Viola and David Short, Cello
 
The Playground Ensemble is a group of professional musicians, composers, educators and fans dedicated to presenting chamber music as a living art form. Their goal is to provide stimulating performances, expand common perceptions of both contemporary music and the chamber ensemble, and nurture a community around this music that they love. As a 501(c)3 nonprofit, they cultivate a thriving local composition community through a robust commissioning program and extensive education/outreach programs. For more information, photos, and a complete list of concerts and events, please visit the Playground Ensemble website at www.playgroundensemble.org.
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