WINNING ACHIEVEMENTS

The First 35 Years

Albuquerque possesses one of the most respected musical venues in the country, the Outpost Performance Space, an intimate listening room that hosts both local and internationally famous musicians year-round. Beloved by both listeners and musicians, the latter of which have extolled its virtues from its stage time and again—“I wish there were something like Outpost in New York,” said the late great saxophonist Michael Brecker, for example—the space is the brainchild of longtime executive director Tom Guralnick, who founded the organization behind it in 1988.

Guralnick wanted to create something that didn’t yet exist in the city—a dedicated listening space that artists could rent to present their music—and he intended to use the space primarily as a venue for experimental and world music. But at the very first concert—a five-hour event that included the Matachines dancers, experimental music, rock and roll, jazz, and classical—Guralnick thought, “That’s what the Outpost should be,” a venue for a wide range of musical offerings.

Modeled on spaces at which he had performed as a saxophonist in both Europe and the United States, the Outpost benefited from Guralnick’s experience with the nonprofit jazz presenter New Mexico Jazz Workshop, and it was clear early on that his contacts, both local and beyond, were largely in the jazz world. As the Outpost evolved into a presenting organization, it has emerged as the state’s major jazz presenter, but Guralnick notes that it has always presented a variety of genres, from classical Hindustani music to Americana.

Starting out on a shoestring budget in an awkwardly shaped space on Morningside that seated 90 people in butt-busting folding chairs, the Outpost now resides in its own 160-seat space on Yale, with a primo sound and video system—and much more comfortable chairs. It has successfully survived the vicissitudes that assail every nonprofit arts organization in this country. (Asked what was the most difficult financial time faced by the Outpost—the pandemic maybe?—Guralnick responded: “Like every day,” only half-joking.) In addition to its concert events, which include the annual New Mexico Jazz Festival in association with The Lensic in Santa Fe, the Outpost also offers educational opportunities for all ages.

A s important as the music is, perhaps the Outpost’s greatest contribution has been the development of community. For Guralnick, understanding the value of community goes back to the summer camp for kids his family ran. “That was a world unto itself,” he says. “I do draw a lot a parallels between the camp and the Outpost, in terms of being this world that people really feel like they are a part of. It’s very personal. I do believe that musicians feel it, and definitely the audience feels it. That is definitely what I want to engender.”

Having successfully navigated 35 years is by no means a guarantee that an organization will survive another 35 years. To ensure that it does, Outpost is working hard to invest in its future. Already well under way, an endowment campaign will ensure Outpost’s permanent sustainability and allow it to expand its staff and grow its artistic and educational offerings. Part of that effort is focused on enhancing its physical space to accommodate the changes. One exciting option entails a move to a new Sawmill Center for the Arts and co-anchoring that city-owned facility, projected to open in 2025, with 516

Arts. “We are actively pursuing that very promising opportunity,” says Guralnick. W hat’s certain, though, is that the Outpost intends to remain the unique musical mecca that it has become. Learn more at outpostspace.org, and consider picking up a membership, which offers savings and other benefits.

A Pulitzer Premiere

On March 4 at St. John’s Episcopal Cathedral, a once-in-a-lifetime musical event will take place: the Albuquerque premiere of Voiceless Mass, the Pulitzer Prize–winning composition by Albuquerque composer Raven Chacon, a member of the Diné Nation. Commissioned by WI Conference of the United Church of Christ, Plymouth Church UCC, and Present Music, an organization dedicated to pre- senting contemporary music, the piece was composed specifically for the Nichols & Simpson organ at The Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist in Milwaukee, where it premiered on November 21, 2021, as part of the cathedral’s Thanksgiving celebration. Chacon assumed that this might very well be the only performance of the piece, but the Pulitzer Prize has all but guaranteed that this profoundly spiritual work for pipe organ and ensemble will continue to be heard for many years.

Chacon typically looks askance at invitations to Thanksgiving musical events because he feels they are tainted with tokenism, but the enthusiasm and character of Present Music overcame his skepticism and won his trust. “They were saying we’re going to do this in the church, and there’s an organ in there,” says Chacon. “I said I want to write a piece for the organ in the church. That’s how that began. I have to respond to that then. I have to respond to the history of the church. Myself growing up semi-Catholic, it’s an opportunity to talk about things that have happened, about atrocities that institution has caused. If I’m an Indigenous composer being given that opportunity, I have to respond to it.”

Voiceless Mass responds with a penetrating and moving meditation on dislocation and loss. In his submission to the Pulitzer Prize Board, Chacon described the piece this way: “This work considers the spaces in which we gather, the history of access of these spaces, and the land upon which these buildings sit. . . . In exploiting the architecture of the cathedral, Voiceless Mass considers the futility of giving voice to the voiceless, when ceding space is never an option for those in power.”

In composing the work, Chacon says he was deeply conscious of the tradition of music in the church. It could contribute to the uplifting, perhaps, of the congregation, but it could also be used to manipulate and influence people. His intent was to mimic that experience to stimulate thought about the building, the land it occupies, and what it might represent to the voiceless mass of people who have struggled under the weight of church history.

Chacon’s own local musical history began with piano lessons from Dawn Chambers in Corrales at the age of nine, and his undergraduate work at UNM, where his musical growth was importantly influenced by musician and sound engineer Manny Rettinger and Chris Shultis, with whom he studied composition.

Voiceless Mass will be part of a concert featuring works by Micheal Barnes, Olivier Messiaen, Walter Piston, Joseph Schwantner, and Michel Galante, presented by Friends of Cathedral Music (FCM). David Felberg will conduct, and Maxine Thévenot, director of cathedral music, cathedral organist, and artistic director of FCM, will command the organ. Tickets and a link to a video of the Milwaukee premiere can be found at fcmabq.org/ voiceless-mass.

Vintage Vibes In A Glass

Town and Ranch Supplies offers a Gimlet with two types of lavender (syrup and Los Poblanos Lavender gin) for a sweet, sour, herbal drink that whispers sophistication. (p. 148)