Arturo Márquez Returns to Imperial Valley for a Celebration of Music and Family

-Editorial

Renowned Mexican composer Arturo Márquez will visit the Imperial Valley for a special concert celebrating his music and his family ties to the region, the Mexican Consulate in Calexico announced during a Sept. 25 news conference.

Consul Rocío Vázquez Alvarez announced that Márquez will participate in “An Evening with Arturo Márquez” on Oct. 10, bringing the internationally recognized composer to the Imperial Valley for a performance highlighting his musical career and connection to the region.

The concert will feature Márquez’s music performed by the Imperial Valley Symphony under the direction of Dr. Matthew Busse, the orchestra’s musical director and conductor. Busse also teaches orchestra at Southwest High School and at Imperial Valley College and Arizona Western College.

Busse said the concert developed after discussions with Imperial County District Attorney George Marquez, the composer’s younger brother, about bringing Arturo Márquez to the Imperial Valley. After what Busse described as a lengthy process, organizers contacted the composer and were able to coordinate the October appearance.

“I think it’s going to be exciting because of the ties that Arturo Márquez has with the Valley,” Busse said. “I think it should be a very exciting event because his music is very exciting.”

Busse said the orchestra has previously performed works by Márquez and that the upcoming concert will allow musicians and audiences to experience a program centered on the composer’s work while he is in attendance.

The program is expected to include Márquez’s “Danzón No. 2” and “Danzón No. 7,” along with other compositions. The Imperial Valley Master Chorale will also participate, and a cellist from San Diego is scheduled to perform a work for solo cello and orchestra.

Busse said he is also hoping Márquez will take the conductor’s podium for at least one of his compositions during the performance, although he emphasized that the possibility had not been confirmed.

George Marquez provided a personal perspective on his brother’s musical career and the family history behind his connection to the Imperial Valley. He said Arturo, the oldest of nine siblings, is 20 years older than him and was already immersed in music during George’s childhood.

“I’ve always had memories of him as a musician,” Marquez said, recalling visits to Mexico City where he would see his brother playing piano.

Marquez said music was part of the family long before his brother became a composer. Their father, Arturo Márquez Sr., was a mariachi musician and violinist, as was their grandfather.

Arturo Márquez later lived in the Los Angeles area before returning to Mexico and eventually studying in Paris. Marquez recalled receiving letters from his brother while he was studying abroad and said they maintained a close relationship despite the age difference and distance between them.

When Marquez was 19, he lived with his older brother for a year, an experience he said changed his outlook on life.

“He taught me a different way of looking at the world,” Marquez said. “He taught me that you appreciate the little things in life.”

Márquez recalled his brother taking him to museums and teaching him to appreciate art despite the family having limited financial resources at the time. They would make sandwiches and visit museums, he said, experiences that demonstrated that enjoying art and life did not necessarily require money.

Marquez said his brother maintained connections to the Imperial Valley through their parents and would visit the region for holidays and family gatherings.

“My parents loved Imperial Valley,” Marquez said. “Arturo would come and spend holidays here, come to visit my parents.”

Marquez described the Oct. 10 appearance as an opportunity for his brother to give something back to a community that played an important role in their family’s life.

“He’s doing this as a personal favor for myself and also to give back to the community that gave so much to his family, to his parents,” Marquez said.

Marquez called the concert a rare opportunity for Imperial Valley residents to experience his brother’s music with the composer present.

“An event like this is once in a lifetime,” Marquez said. “So people should take advantage of that and come to it. And he’s going to be here.”

The Imperial Valley Symphony is a nonprofit organization, and Busse said proceeds from special performances help support the orchestra and its programs. The organization also provides scholarships to student musicians and presents a young artists concert at the end of the season.

“We’re a nonprofit orchestra, and we like to try to do special concerts to raise money, primarily to support the orchestra,” Busse said.

Busse encouraged residents from across the region to attend and support the symphony, saying organizers hope to fill the theater for Márquez’s visit.

“We want Arturo to come here and see the support that he gets from Imperial Valley,” Busse said.

The concert will begin at 7 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 10, at Jimmie Cannon Theater in El Centro, 2001 Ocotillo Dr. Tickets are $40 for VIP admission, which includes a reception and preferred seating; $20 for general adult admission; and $10 for students in kindergarten through 12th grade. Children under 5 will be admitted free.

Tickets are available through the Imperial Valley Symphony’s website and social media pages.