An international collaboration is bringing the sound of Spain and Puerto Rico to Yorkton. Soprano Terri-Lynn Mitchell and guitarist Christopher Matthew Rios Lorenzo will be in Yorkton creating Spanish Soundscapes, at the Godfrey Dean Cultural Centre on August 10 and St. Andrews United Church on August 12.
The repertoire is entirely Spanish in language, but is split between two areas culturally, Lorenzo says. The first half will begin in Spain, with a song cycle by Joaquin Rodrigo. The other half will move to Puerto Rico, where Lorenzo is from, with songs composed by Ernesto Cordero. Mitchell will also have solo piece called “The Singer,” to give a “break from the Spanish,” in her words, and a way to give a nod the different heritage of the two performers.
“He’s from Puerto Rico, I’m from here, and we’re collaborating across countries,” Mitchell says.
The collaboration began at the University of Ottawa, where both performers were completing their masters program. Mitchell had been working with guitarists before, and after meeting they decided to work together.
The Spanish influence is very strong in Puerto Rico, and Lorenzo emerged into classical guitar at 17, attending the Puerto Rico Conservatory of Music and getting his bachelor’s degree. He says that’s how he got familiar with the repertoire, and says he began to get a taste for Spanish and romantic repertoire.
Mitchell does not speak Spanish, but is singing in it. She says that she has been trained to sing in many different languages as part of her training in opera, but that Spanish was not one of them. She admits it was an extra challenge, but that Lorenzo was able to help her learn.
“I feel, as an artist, very supported in this collaboration. It’s very exciting to stretch myself as a singer to try out the Spanish repertoire.”
The performances will also feature a selection of paintings, which were painted to the music being performed by Lorenzo. She describes the paintings as an improvisational interpretation of the music, as she paints to the music that Lorenzo is playing, often using her hands to create the work, and make an “emotional interpretation of the music he is playing.”
“I love how it is a frozen snapshot in time... The best thing to do is not to think and not to judge what is going on.”
The concerts are completely free, Mitchell saying that her goal was to give back to the community that raised her through music.
“I always like an opportunity to bring art back into the community, because it inspired me a lot as a kid, it was such a wonderful musical environment to grow up in. I just feel that it is a way of sharing and giving that gift of music back to the community.”
Lorenzo, meanwhile, is experiencing Yorkton and Saskatchewan for the first time. While a very different landscape from his home in Puerto Rico, Lorenzo says that he can relate to the people here because the culture here is very friendly, very similar to people in Puerto Rico, so he feels at home.
There will be two performances at the Godfrey Dean Cultural Centre on August 10 and St. Andrews United Church on August 12, both at 7:30 p.m., followed by a reception with the artists. Both performances are free.
