Opera Southwest is pleased to welcome the New Mexico Symphonic Chorus to our family. This exciting new alliance charts a sustainable new path for the Symphonic Chorus and heralds a thrilling new artistic chapter for both organizations.
Ever since our memorable collaborations producing Pearl Fishers (2014) and Aida (2015), Opera Southwest and the New Mexico Symphonic Chorus have enjoyed a special relationship.
Maestro Anthony Barrese will step into the role of Artistic Director & Principal Conductor, while Aaron Howe, Opera Southwest’s Chorus Master, will serve as Chorus Master of the NMSC.
Going forward, we plan to lead the New Mexico Symphonic Chorus in a renewed focus on major symphonic choral works with orchestra, produced at the National Hispanic Cultural Center.
In 2024-25, this means two concerts of the highest quality. First, we will return to Handel’s Messiah, a piece the NMSC is well known for, but with a twist: as we did with Carmen, it will be performed in Spanish translation – Mesías. In the spring, we will present the Verdi Requiem. Perhaps no other work is more appropriate to mark the joining of our two organizations than this one, known for its operatic grandeur and dramatic power. Each concert will feature an all-star cast of Opera Southwest favorites as soloists.
G.F. Handel – Mesías Friday, November 22, 2024 6:30 pm
G. Verdi – Messa da Requiem Sunday, May 11, 2025 2:00 pm
Additionally, the NMSC will join the OSW Chorus for New Year’s Eve (tickets will be on sale soon).
Roger Melone, Music Director Emeritus
Music Director Emeritus of the New Mexico Symphonic Chorus, Roger Melone was previously Resident Conductor and Chorus Director of the New Mexico Symphony Orchestra (NMSO). Since arriving in Albuquerque in 1983, Melone has brought national acclaim to the NMSO Chorus, now known as the New Mexico Symphonic Chorus. Under Melone’s direction, the NMSO Chorus performed at the Bravo! Vail Valley Music Festival. Mr. Melone led the chorus to triumphant performances there with the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra in 2006, and the Philadelphia Orchestra in 2007, 2008, and 2011. In March 2014, Mr. Melone conducted Opera Southwest’s production of Bizet’s The Pearl Fishers, which featured the New Mexico Symphonic Chorus.
As Resident Conductor of the NMSO, Mr. Melone conducted subscription, tour, pops, and children’s concerts. The NMSO Chorus received the Albuquerque Arts Alliance Bravo Award for Music Excellence for its 1998 performances of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 and William Walton’s Belshazzar’s Feast. In 1994, Mr. Melone was awarded the prestigious Albuquerque Arts Alliance Bravo Award for excellence in the arts. He continues to develop the talents of the New Mexico Symphonic Chorus, whose performances have been described as “stunning” and “riveting” by national critics.
Prior to his tenure at the New Mexico Symphony Orchestra, Mr. Melone held similar posts with the San Antonio Symphony Orchestra. He attended Del Mar College in Corpus Christi, Texas, where he studied with Ronald Shirey. He then studied with B. R. Henson at Texas Christian University in Fort Worth, Texas. In San Francisco, Mr. Melone studied baroque performance practices and harpsichord with Laurette Goldberg.
Roger retired at the end of the 2022-23 season leaving an incredible legacy of choral musicmaking.
