UNM Distinguished Alum and Grammy Award Winner Col. Jim Keene conducts The UNM Symphony Orchestra
The orchestra was be led by UNM distinguished alumni U.S. Army Col. Jim Keene, who will be retiring from the U.S. Army after 30 years of service, most recently leading the Grammy Award winning U.S. Army Field Band.
The concert featured UNM horn professor and virtuoso Michael Walker in a performance of composer Dana Wilson’s exciting Concerto for Horn. The orchestra also featured the music of Indian-American composer Reena Esmail’s, titled “Black Iris” after Georgia O’Keefe’s famous painting and dedicated to representing and amplifying the voices of women highlighted by the #metoo movement.
The concert began with the “Carmen Suite (number 1)” featuring themes from the world’s most famous opera by George Bizet. The concert ended in a performance of one of the greatest movie scores ever written, “The Magnificent Seven,” which serves as a perfect soundtrack to the American West.
The UNM Symphony Orchestra program has been in existence for more than 50 years. It constitutes one of the most important cultural student organizations on the campus of The University of New Mexico and is open to all students regardless of academic major.