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Ida Kavafian Celebrates 35 Years At Angel Fire

New Mexico can claim an important role in the career of Ida Kavafian.  Every summer, the acclaimed violinist travels here from her home on the East Coast.  First, she performs as part of the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival and from there she heads north to lead Music From Angel Fire, intimate concerts in the mountain communities of Northern New Mexico.  The 2019 season, August 16-September 1, will be Ida's 35th as Artistic Director.

What does leading the festival in Angel Fire offer Ida as a musician that the other facets of her career do not?  "It offers the same quality of music-making," says Ida, "but in an atmosphere of informality and community -- the kind of family we all are, audiences and musicians alike.  It's where we can make music in the most relaxed atmosphere, and of course in these beautiful mountains."

In this longer version of her conversation, Ida talks in greater detail about her history as Artistic Director of MFAF.  She also describes two works that will be part of the 2019 season, a new cello quintet by this year's composer-in-residence, Richard Danielpour, and a work for guitar and strings by former composer-in-residence, Aaron Jay Kernis, both of which were commissioned by MFAF.

ida_interview_long_version_final.mp3

Spencer Beckwith reports on the arts for KUNM. For ten years, until March of 2014, Spencer was the producer and host of KUNM's "Performance New Mexico," a weekday morning arts program that included interviews with musicians, writers and performers. Spencer is a graduate of the acting program at the Juilliard School, and, before moving to New Mexico in 2002, was for many years a professional actor based in New York City.