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2022 ACDA Northwestern Region Conference

Headliner and Special E v en
Headliner and Special Eventsts

Closing Concert Freddy O. Vilches is a multi-instrumen-
talist (charango, Venezuelan cuatro, que-
na, zampoñas, Afro-Cuban percussion)
singer/songwriter, and educator based in
Portland, Oregon. Originally from Santi-
ago, Chile, Vilches has performed extensively through-
out the U.S. and Latin America. He has recorded and
performed with some of the most versatile Latin bands
in the Northwest, and he performs regularly with his
own Matices Latin Ensemble. He holds a PhD in Latin
American Literature from the University of Oregon.
Abya Yala Choral Suite He joined the faculty of Lewis and Clark College in
Pan-Latin-American Premiere 2006 and is an associate professor in the Department
A Co-Commission by NW ACDA and of World Languages and Literatures.
Resonance Ensemble
Katherine FitzGibbon is professor of
Freddy Vilches, composer music and director of choral activities at
Performed with Matices Latin Ensemble Lewis & Clark College, where she con-
Kathy FitzGibbon, conductor ducts two of the three choirs and oversees
Combined Lifelong Choirs: the vibrant voice, choral, and opera areas.
Resonance Ensemble (Portland, OR), Spokane Kan- FitzGibbon founded Resonance Ensemble in 2009, ini-
torei (Spokane, WA), Seattle Pro Musica (Seattle, WA) tially dedicated to thematic, collaborative vocal perfor-
mances with artistic partners. In the last several years,
Three lifelong choirs collaborate in premiering Abya she and Resonance have shifted their mission, focus-
Yala Choral Suite with Freddy Vilches and Portland-based ing on underrepresented composers and communities.
Matices Latin Ensemble. The word “Abya Yala” comes Recently commissioned works include compositions by
from the Guna people, meaning “Land in its Full Ma- Melissa Dunphy, Renee Favand-See, Damien Geter,
turity.” Abya Yala is often used by indigenous peoples and Joe Kye.
to refer to Latin America, reclaiming the name to
center indigenous perspectives rather than colonized
perspectives. Chilean-born composer and cuatro and
charango performer Freddy Vilches has created a cho-

ral suite with five-person Latin ensemble in six move-
ments, each of which sets a poem from a Latin Amer-
ican poet exploring identities that are othered within
Latin America, such as people of Indigenous descent,
mixed race people in Cuba, and Black people in Bra-
zil. Each movement features folk music styles from the
region being discussed in that poem, and the compo-
sition aims to invite a reflection upon both the univer-

sality of dominant cultures and the beauty of diverse
Latin American musical styles and poetry.

146 CHORAL JOURNAL January 2022 Volume 62 Number 5