My visit to Mexico by Katie Stillman, London

Performing Arts & Entertainment in Canada, Spring, 1996 by Katie Stillman

In late 1995 I was invited by Diana Isherwood on behalf of the Ontario CMC to travel to Mexico during the March Break. As a guest of the Director Patricio Gomez, I would perform therein a concert held at the School for the Arts in Monterrey. The Canadian Embassy in Mexico City offered to host me while I was in Mexico and especially while I was in Mexico City. Mrs. Claudia Solis, the Cultural Attache to the Embassy began putting a programme together for the few days I would spend in Mexico City before travelling to Monterrey.

In the end I stayed over a week in Mexico City and a second week in Monterrey. After three days of acclimatization and rehearsals with my accompanist Mario Quiroz, my first recital was in an open-air plaza, Plaza Loreto. The audience sat on risers in the plaza and passers-by looked on. My programme consisted of just over an hour of music with Mario Quiroz accompanying me on the piano. We started with the Mozart 1st Violin concerto and then moved on to works by Wieniawski, Sarasate and Beethoven. The appreciation from the large crowd that gathered really set me up for the rest of the tour.

The next recital was in the elegant foyer of the Embassy itself, el Altrio, on the 12th of March. I played the same programme to a very appreciative audience. The Ambassador very kindly gave me a beautiful brooch as a momento of my visit.

Next Claudia, Mario and I drove the 2 hours to San Miguel de Allende, a beautiful old town. My recital was held in a large hall, Teatro Angela Peralta, packed with tourists and visitors. The response was wonderful and I was presented with a large bouquet of roses at the end of the concert.

The final concert in the Mexico City area was with a Chamber Orchestra, Orquesta de Camara de Morelos, directed by Eduardo Sanchez-Zuber, and was held in the old, open-air Cathedral in Cuernavaca. It was an interesting programme, including the Vivaldi concerto for four violins; the Mozart 1st Violin Concerto with me as soloist; a modern piece by Brouwer for guitarist Fernando Marina ending with the Chamber Orchestra playing Tchaikovsky's Andante Cantabile and Pachelbel's Canon.

Following this concert I flew to Monterrey. There I played in a very large theatre, Auditorio San Pedro, as part of the cultural activities associated with the celebration of the 400th Anniversary of the founding of Monterrey. This visit was an experience I will always remember and I hope that I can soon travel back to Mexico to meet, once again, the many people who have become my friends.

I would like to thank all the members of the CMC committees, especially Provincial President Diana Isherwood who organized the trip and travelled with me to Mexico City and also Mrs. Claudia Solis for all her work setting up the tour and accompanying me everywhere in Mexico City. She was a friend to me. My thanks and appreciation also to Patricio Gomez who organized a wonderful visit to Monterrey. Finally, I would like to express my appreciation to the two families who invited me to stay with them, the Monterrubios in Mexico City and the Torres' in Monterrey. They made me so welcome and helped make the trip such a wonderful experience.

Without the help and teaching of my instructors of the last 2 years, Martin Beaver and Annalee Patipatanakoon, this trip would not have been possible, and I gratefully acknowledge all the help from the Young Artists Performance Academy at the Royal Conservatory in Toronto. Thank you to all.