SOCORRO, N.M. – Paul Barrientos was a musician, a teacher, a friend and colleague, a thundering and resonant voice from the crowd, a lovable curmudgeon, and by many accounts, a tireless advocate and mentor for those who feel as if they just don’t “fit the mold.” He helped many find their voices, both in music and in life. 

Paul passed away late on Saturday evening, October 5, 2019, three weeks shy of this 72nd birthday. He will be deeply missed.

Paul’s memorial service will be at 2 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 2, 2019, in the third-floor ballrooms of the Fidel Student Center at New Mexico Tech. The service will include an Episcopal Eucharist, music, and time for audience members to share memories of Paul.

The Early Years

Paul Arthur Barrientos was born October 31, 1947, to parents Arthur and Margaret Jean Barrientos. He was the eldest of five children and is survived by his two brothers and two sisters: Mark Stephen, Ann Marie, Martha Jane, and John Giel. He spent his formative years living near St. Louis, Mo., which is where he developed his lifelong passion for baseball and, specifically, for the St. Louis Cardinals.

According to his brother John, Paul enjoyed performing for as long as he could remember and performed at the St. Louis Municipal Opera Theatre (or, the MUNY). Paul also had attended St. Joseph’s College in Indiana for a period of time. 

At some point during this time, Paul was in a serious automobile accident, which would leave him with a very slight limp for the rest of his life. Paul’s friends remember him saying that it was possibly during his recovery that he started thinking about pursuing his musical interests more seriously.

Sometime in the very early 80s, Paul moved to Boston, where he met his longtime artist friend of 39 years, Ron Rundo. While in Boston, Paul took on an assortment of jobs teaching voice and leading church choirs and was a featured soloist for the Boston Pops Orchestra. While living in Boston, Paul commuted to New York City to study under a voice instructor.

In 1983 or 1984, Paul and Ron moved to New York and roomed together in Brooklyn. Paul worked as a travel agent by day and performed in opera and theatre companies on and off Broadway by night. It was while living in Brooklyn that he met the love of his life and partner of 8 years, Michael E. Stone.

Living in the Land of Enchantment

According to Ron, Paul and Michael were looking for a better life together and decided that the Land of Enchantment was exactly the sort of change that they were looking for. In the early 90s, Paul and Michael moved to Albuquerque, where Paul made an impact on the New Mexico music and theatre scene as big and as deep as his sonorous bass voice.

Paul’s list of performances in New Mexico is vast. Paul performed with Opera Southwest, Musical Theater Southwest, the Santa Fe Opera, the University of New Mexico, and the New Mexico Shakespeare Project. He has been in productions staged at the Adobe Theater, The Vortex Theatre, The Kimo, and the National Hispanic Cultural Center. Notable among his performances was The Barber of Seville and the title role of The Mikado, both staged at the Kimo Theater in Albuquerque, and Sir Toby in Twelfth Night at the Adobe Theater. He completed a Bachelor of Music degree at the University of New Mexico while living in Albuquerque

Paul also directed the New Mexico Gay Men’s Chorus for several years in the early aughts. In a 2003 review of Have Yourself a Gay Little Christmas in the Weekly Alibi, the NMGMC was said to be performing at “a very high level” under Paul’s direction.

While living in Albuquerque, Paul pursued the opportunity to mentor the next generation of New Mexico musicians while teaching chorus at Rio Rancho High School and working as choir director at Del Norte High School. While teaching voice at Cibola High School, Paul met Warren Wilgus, one of the many students who Paul would inspire to pursue a life of music and theater.

“When we met I was an extremely under confident awkward teenager from a very broken environment,” said Wilgus in a tribute on Paul’s Facebook page. “He helped me find my voice, my strength, my confidence.”

In one of his last theatrical productions in 2014, Paul partnered with Warren and his wife, Courtney, to stage Shrek the Musical with Musical Theater Southwest. Paul served as the music director.

“Paul was like a second dad to me,” said Warren. “And now I’ve been able to be that type of resource for others. It’s a humbling experience to follow in those footsteps.”

Unfortunately, Paul experienced his share of tragedy in New Mexico, as well, when Paul’s life partner, Michael, passed away in 1994, right before Christmas. Those who knew Paul well shared in his grief each year after as Paul marked the anniversary of Michael’s passing.

Paul’s Years at New Mexico Tech and Socorro, NM

Paul started as a lecturer and voice instructor in the New Mexico Tech Music Program in 1999. At that time, Paul commuted from Albuquerque, and so his impressive list of accomplishments in Albuquerque overlapped with an equally impressive list of activities in Socorro.

“Paul assisted with the choirs and taught voice lessons from early on,” said Doug Dunston, Emeritus Professor of Humanities and former Music Program Director, “and he loved performing. He was equally happy singing as a member of the chorus or as a bass soloist and particularly enjoyed turning the emoting to 11 when on the theater stage, such as in our Madrigal Feasts.”

Among his many activities in Socorro, Paul directed the New Mexico tech chamber orchestra and chamber choirs in the early 2000s; served as vocal coach, choral director, and even executive producer for numerous NMT musicals, including Pirates of Penzance (2002), Orpheus in the Underworld (2006), and The Mikado (2008); performed in and directed plays and musicals through the Socorro Community Theater; coordinated a Socorro-based music group, Encantación, that performed a variety of classical, medieval, and contemporary compositions; schooled Techies with his nimble swordplay as his alter-ego, Felipe, in NMT’s Society for Creative Anachronism; and partnered with Allan Stavely to coordinate the “Wassail!” Holiday concerts at Epiphany Episcopal Church.

Paul was also an active member of Epiphany Episcopal Church and had directed the church choir off and on and coordinated events such as their annual Messiah sing-along concerts. Additionally, Paul served numerous roles over the years in the Unitarian Universalist Christmas concerts.

Even when Paul left New Mexico for several years to take care of his ailing mother in Florida, he was ever the busy music instructor, organizing a 30-person seniors choir at in his mother’s retirement community.

Most notably, though, Paul loved to teach, and he lived for his students. His Song and Society class, which he taught up until Spring of 2019, was very popular with students and allowed him to showcase his encyclopedic knowledge of music history, which spanned across millennia and music genres. Paul was conversant on everything from Vivaldi to Slayer.

More importantly, however, Paul’s students found him to be an attentive and caring listener and mentor. It was not unusual for students going through rough patches to seek him out. Paul would sometimes talk to students for hours after class when he felt that they needed a friend.

“[Paul] was a generous human being with a big heart,” said Ron Rundo, who also said that his friendship with Paul started as a mentor-mentee relationship. “He was always mentoring people in need. [He] always made you feel like you were the only person in the room, the most important person.”

Several years back, Ron had moved to Santa Fe and was commissioned by the Sanctuario de Chimayo to paint a portrait of Don Bernardo Abeyta, which is still on display to this day. Paul’s friends and loved ones would recognize the portrait’s model as Paul, kneeling before the cross, his wise eyes and patient soul greeting pilgrims traveling to Chimayo and offering to listen.

– NMT –