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The Dartmouth Wind Ensemble and Dartmouth Symphony Orchestra teamed up recently for a concert in Boston that included a premiere of Onda Tropical, a concerto by Master of Fine Arts in Sonic Practice student Rodrigo Martinez Torres.
The Hop on Tour show, held Nov. 3 at the New England Conservatory, drew an enthusiastic crowd of supporters, many of whom traveled from Hanover on a bus chartered by the Hopkins Center for the Arts.
"We're thrilled to bring this exciting world premiere to the iconic Jordan Hall," says Mary Lou Aleskie, the Howard Gilman '44 Executive Director of the Hop, who addressed audience members during a pre-concert reception. "This performance not only celebrates our talented ensembles but also marks another milestone of the Mexican Repertoire Initiative as it promotes and honors authentic Mexican music on the world stage."
The wind ensemble portion of the program featured Mexican composer Arturo Márquez's beloved Danzon No. 2 and Martinez Torres' three-movement accordion concerto with soloist Abi Pak '26, which garnered a standing ovation.
Originally commissioned as a single standalone movement, the concerto's "massive success" prompted the Hop to commission the subsequent movements, says Director of Bands Brian Messier, who founded the Mexican Repertoire Initiative, which works to increase exposure and representation of Mexican composers.
The symphony orchestra took the stage after the wind ensemble, performing Carlos Simon's Fate Conquers Now—inspired by a journal entry from Ludwig van Beethoven's notebook, and Beethoven's thunderous Symphony No. 5, which he wrote while he was contending with increasing deafness.
Beethoven was a tormented man who led a tormented life, and while the symphony reflects his despair and pain, it ends on a triumphant note, says DSO director Filippo Ciabatti.
Despite his difficulties, Beethoven was an optimistic person with an enduring message for the world: "We can overcome obstacles, we can triumph if we're standing together," Ciabatti says.
He called the concert, thought to have been the first-ever joint performance by the two ensembles, a "momentous occasion."
For the Hop to put together a highly collaborative event in Jordan Hall speaks not only to the students and the music, but to the institution as a whole "about what we want to do, what kind of message we want to project, and how important that is holistically for the Dartmouth community," Ciabatti says.
Messier says he was proud of all of the students, who played with maturity and artistry, "sharing equal parts discipline, joy, and hope," and found himself unexpectedly moved by the performance.
"We had been planning this concert for a while, but I was still surprised by how overwhelming it was to bring our students together in that beautiful hall surrounded by friends, family, and alumni from Hanover, Boston, and beyond," he says.
The event showcased some of the ambitious, creative work underway at the Hop, and the wide-ranging arts opportunities available to students across the university.
"Most of the participants in Dartmouth's ensembles are not music majors or minors," Messier says. "They're students who take music and art very seriously and want to continue to keep that as a part of their life."
Looking ahead, the student-musicians will have many more chances to do just that.
Next up for the DSO is a winter concert with works by Maurice Ravel and Manuel de Falla, and a guest performance by award-winning pianist Kenny Broberg at its spring show. The DSO will head to Italy this fall to perform with students from the Conservatory of Siena, building on a collaboration established when the group toured that country in 2018.
Music and art have the power to bring together people from very different backgrounds in a way that is inspirational, positive, and fruitful, Ciabatti says. "For me, that's what's most important about this experience."
The wind ensemble will continue extending the reach of the Mexican Repertoire Initiative through exchanges with its partners. The group's winter concert—a collaboration with guest conductor Luis Manuel Sánchez and student musicians from UNAM Banda Sinfónica in Mexico City, will feature Márquez's Rumba Fugata and works by other Mexican composers, including the premiere of Nubia Jaime-Donjuan's Clarinet Concerto.
Their spring term concert will also see first-time performances of work by Mexican composers, including Paulina Monteón, who will take part in conversations on campus with band directors visiting from other New England institutions. And new Hop commissions with leading composers will be announced in the coming year.