NATCHITOCHES – The Natchitoches-Northwestern Symphony Orchestra will perform a concert entitled “A Celebration of Peace with Music from the Americas” on Monday, November 5 at 7:30 p.m. at Magale Recital Hall. Douglas Bakenhus is music director of the Natchitoches-Northwestern Symphony Orchestra and Jolie Gonzalez Masmela, graduate assistant conductor. Tickets are $10. NSU, ​​BPCC@NSU and LSMSA students are admitted free with current student ID

The concert will feature Northwestern State alumnus Dr. Raúl Antonio Munguía, director of orchestras and professor of violin and viola at Pittsburg State University in Pittsburg, Kansas, and Sherman Desselle, presenter of ” Jambalaya” from KALB-TV.

Bakenhus said the program was the brainchild of Masmela, who will give a talk before the concert at 7 p.m.

“His master’s paper (by Masmela) is on the subject of three composers who all studied with Nadia Boulanger in Paris,” Bakenhus said. “Boulanger, who was a composer and pedagogue, was considered the best composition teacher in the 20^and century. Many well-known composers in Europe and the Americas studied with her. She had a knack for teaching composers to find their own voice, especially through the music of their own cultures. It’s a fascinating subject, because they all sound so different. Astor Piazzolla was Argentinian, Adolfo Mejia was Colombian and Aaron Copland was American.

Bakenhus said he decided to go beyond Masmela’s article by adding works by Carlos Chavez and Adolphus Hailstork, who also studied with Boulanger in Paris. Hailstork is the only living composer. He studied with Boulanger just before his death in 1973.

The program will be “Fanfare on Amazing Grace” by Hailstork, “Las Cuatro Estaciones Porteñas” by Piazzolla and arranged by Desyatnikov with Munguia on violin, “Acuarela” by Mejía, “Sinfonia India for Large Orchestra” by Chávez, “Lincoln Portrait for Narrator and Orchestra” by Copland with narration by Desselle, “Cumbia” from “La Pequeña Suite” by Mejía and “Rodeo: Hoedown” by Copland.

Munguia directs the graduate programs in orchestral conducting and directs the strings field at Pittsburg State. Munguía is the Principal Guest Conductor of the San Pedro Sula Symphony Orchestra in his native Honduras. A strong advocate for music education, Munguía has conducted several district and honor orchestras in Missouri, Texas, Mississippi, Kansas, Louisiana, El Salvador, Brazil and Honduras. A strong proponent of the chamber music genre, Munguía founded the Pittsburg Chamber Music Festival held each summer in Pittsburg, Kansas. Now in its sixth edition, the festival brings together acclaimed national and regional artists across the tri-state area.

Munguia holds a Doctor of Musical Arts in Orchestral Conducting from Texas Tech University, a Masters in Orchestral Conducting and Violin Performance from Northwestern State, studying violin with Dr. Andrej Kurti and conducting with Bakenhus. He also holds a Bachelor of Music degree in violin performance from the University of Southern Mississippi.

Desselle is originally from Alexandria. He graduated from Peabody Magnet High School and Northwestern State in Vocal Music Performance.

He was offered a part-time job as a videographer with KALB in June 2008, and by the end of the year Desselle enjoyed the experience of being on both sides of the camera. In July 2009, he was named a “One Man Band” reporter, covering weekend news and NSU sports. He later started anchoring the Weekend Edition newscasts on News Channel 5 and reporting our ‘What’s Right About Cenla’ stories. Desselle is on “Jambalaya” Monday to Friday from 5 a.m. to 7 a.m.

Desselle speaks at local schools and community events and is a mentor for high school students. Desselle is a board member of the Orchester symphonique des Rapides, a member of the Fraternité Alpha Phi Alpha, the National Association of Black Journalists and is active in his local church.

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