Composer

Let's celebrate the musical diversity of the Americas together on September 21 with an event full of incredible rhythms and melodies!

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Music of the Americas

Maryland Hall

Family Pops:  Planets, The Phantom Tollbooth, and more

Port Angeles High School Auditorium

Join us for an unforgettable evening as the Plano Symphony Orchestra (PSO) kicks off its 2024-2025 Season with an Opening Night that promises to be a feast for the senses. Under the baton of Maestro Héctor Guzmán, the evening will feature a world premiere by the acclaimed Robert Xavier Rodríguez, hailed as one of the major American composers of his generation by Texas Monthly. This special concert is set to take place on Saturday, September 28, 2024, at 8 PM at the Robinson Fine Arts Center.

The night will be further illuminated by the presence of the Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre, showcasing their artistry in a beautiful pas de deux from Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake, alongside a sensuous performance of Ravel's Boléro with choreography by Susan Jaffe. Adding to the musical brilliance, PSO Concertmaster Elisabeth Adkins will captivate the audience with her rendition of the Concerto for Violin and Orchestra by Samuel Barber.

Rodríguez's new commission for the PSO, "Tlaloc," celebrates the ancient Aztec god of rain, thunder, and fertility. It features an array of percussion instruments and dramatic echoes of pre-Hispanic Mexico, promising a performance that is both romantically dramatic and richly lyrical. The evening's repertoire also includes Igor Stravinsky's Boléro, choreographed by Susan Jaffe, and "When Time Stands Still" by Franz Schubert, performed by the Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre and PSO.

This season-opening concert is generously sponsored by Mrs. Margot Perot, with "Tlaloc" underwritten by Tammy and Charles Miller. Don't miss this spellbinding evening that marks the beginning of a season filled with musical and balletic masterpieces. For tickets and more information, visit the Plano Symphony Orchestra's website or contact them directly at 972-473-7262. The PSO is located at 1635 Dorchester Drive, Plano, TX 75075.

Opening Night

Robinson Fine Arts Center

No one was more “All for Art” than the incredible Mexican surrealist painter Frida Kahlo, and her life story takes Steinmetz Hall by storm this January as Opera Orlando presents Robert Xavier Rodriguez’s operatic celebration of the artist in Frida. This poetic and beautiful retelling of Frida’s life reveals a woman of extreme magnetism and originality, an artist whose sensual vibrancy came straight from her experiences: her childhood during the Mexican Revolution; a devastating accident at age eighteen that left her crippled and unable to bear children; her tempestuous marriage to muralist Diego Rivera and intermittent love affairs; her association with the Communist Party; her absorption in Mexican folklore and culture; and her dramatic love of spectacle.

Frida

Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts

Robert Rodriguez's opera is a beautiful, yet unflinching musical portrait of the life of one of the world's most iconic artists.

Leeds Beckett University

Join us in the lobby of the Center for the Arts in downtown Jackson for a program including music performed and composed by José Gonzalez Granero, a recently debuted world premiere and exciting selections curated by the ensemble.

On the Road: Landscapes Chamber Ensemble at Center for the Arts

Center for the Arts

Chamber Music: Landscapes

Walk Festival Hall

A show you won't want to miss! Opera Cultura presents the Northern California premiere of the bilingual opera Frida by Mexican-American composer Robert Xavier Rodriguez. The highly-regarded opera, which incorporates music from Mexican folk traditions, tells the dramatic story of the life of Frida Kahlo - one of the most visionary and iconic artists of the twentieth century. THE STORY Sung in both Spanish and English, Frida is the story of renowned Mexican artist Frida Kahlo, wife of the country’s great muralist Diego Rivera. Her tortured life unfolds in a flowing succession of scenes. Diego’s preoccupation with art and other women shrivel Frida’s soul and her demands for love drain him; they need one another desperately. Divorce is imminent. Frida’s health deteriorates; only painting permits emotional release, translating her agonies into a series of canvases. Her fate is to live alone, engulfed by pain, but her paintings live forever, reflecting hidden dreams and inspiring courage to transcend conventional boundaries.

Composer

Robert Xavier Rodriguez

Events

Past events

Sep 21, 2025

Music of the Americas · Naptown Philharmonic Orchestra

Sep 28, 2024

Family Pops: Planets, The Phantom Tollbooth, and more · Port Angeles Symphony Orchestra

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