(photos: top right, Eric Sewell on violin; middle left, Lisa Donald, cello; middle right, Ruxandra Marquardt on violin; bottom, Cory McBride, viola.)

“Between Heaven and Earth” is the title given to a free two-hour concert by the Nomad Ensemble at New Mexico Tech Friday, Jan. 24, 2025. The third of four concerts in the Presidential Chamber and World Music Series will be held at Macey Center beginning at 7:30 p.m. No reservations or tickets are required to attend the performance, although free-will donations are accepted.

The Nomad Ensemble features Socorro resident Eric Sewell, a violinist and curator for the musical group, which also includes Ruxandra Marquardt, violin; Cory McBride, viola; and Lisa Donald, cello. Sewell counts the upcoming performance as his fifth time as a featured performer in NMT’s Performing Arts Series.

“I also joined the visiting Elegant Savages Orchestra in its accompaniment to the silent film ‘Nosferatu’ and the pit ensemble for the university’s production of ‘Young Frankenstein,’ both presented on the Macey Center stage,” he said. “I’ve appeared three times as conductor of NMT’s Chamber Orchestra and twice as a community member of that ensemble. With a couple of other casual performances around campus, I think a baker’s dozen is about right for the total.”

Sewell, who holds degrees in violin performance and musicology from the University of Alabama and Columbia University and is an alumnus of the Alabama School of Fine Arts, has performed at universities across the country from the University of California Santa Cruz to the State University of New York Stony Brook and from Louisiana State University to Bowling Green State University. He said what’s most satisfying to him about performing at universities is each audience’s receptivity to unfamiliar music and genres.

“There seems always to be a collective spirit of exploration in the house,” he said. “It is extremely gratifying to present rare and sometimes difficult works knowing that our listeners are not just along for the ride, but are also invested in the reward for what may be a challenging experience.”

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The Nomad Ensemble’s upcoming program, “Between Heaven and Earth,” will appeal to anyone interested in connections between the abstract and the concrete, Sewell said. The program will include ancient Welsh tunes from Ralph Vaughn Williams; hymn tunes from Charles Edward Ives, compositions from Heitor Villa-Lobos, who was part of a generation of Latin-American composers who delved deeply into history and folklore for inspiration; and from Ottorino Respighi, one of the leading Italian composers of the early 20th century. Sewell calls the selections “musical wormholes.”

“Each of these works uses music from a different time and/or place than the classical music concert hall where they would be presented,” he said. “Vaughan Williams uses ancient Welsh melodies, and his piece was intended for performance in homes. Villa-Lobos sings popular and primitive Brazilian folk tunes foreign to ‘high-art’ venues. Respighi reanimates melodies and harmonies from antiquity into a modern context. Ives crafts a chaotic joyride through the New England countryside circa turn of the 20th century. In each work an element of transportive expressivity brings listeners through varied points in time and space, folding audiences into a singular musical experience.”

Sewell looks forward to his group’s performance delighting NMT students, faculty and staff and area residents.

“In my experience, there is a core preoccupation of STEM disciplines, that is, facilitating dialogue between purely intellectual endeavor and practical application,” he said. “These compositions all prominently use pre-existing musical material. The composers then convince us of an expressive utility outside the tunes’ original purposes. What could be more STEM-savvy than hacking older music to make a unique and relevant contemporary statement?”

The Presidential Chamber and World Music Series, sponsored by New Mexico Tech President Mahyar Amouzegar, features four free concerts for students, faculty, community members, and their families throughout the academic year. Other sponsors of the concert include Susan Miller and Michael Fazzone Gold Memorial, Associated Universities Inc. and the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO). The series’ final free concert will be held Thursday, April 17, 2025, featuring Camerata Del Sol, a string quartet drawing together performers from Las Cruces, El Paso, and Ciudad Juárez to bring unique chamber music experiences to the region.