A group of anxious young people gather in a bar. They're about to take part in a whirlwind game of romantic connection -- a sort of high-stakes musical chairs. Speed Dating is a contemporary opera by the popular American composer Michael Ching. The New Mexico premiere will be performed by students in the University of New Mexico's Opera Theatre program October 21-23 at Keller Hall in Albuquerque. Leslie Umphrey and Sam Shepperson, co-directors of the UNM Opera Theatre, say that Speed Dating 's

"It's a rage right now, a new American pastime." Local ukulele enthusiast, and professional percussionist, John Bartlit thinks that "in our jet set, apartment-moving society, it's a perfect fit." The unassuming four-string instrument, which emerged in Hawaii in the late 19th Century, will be the center of attention in Albuquerque on September 23-25 when national and local musicians convene for the 3rd annual Ukekopelli Festival . In this more complete version of the conversation, John describes

On display this month at Albuquerque's National Hispanic Cultural Center is a series of ten murals -- all made entirely out of seeds. The murals were created in towns and schools and at community events all around New Mexico, as part of an artistic effort to promote healthy environments. The organization behind the installation is Seeds A Collective Voice , which was founded three years ago by New Mexico-based artist Jade Leyva. The inspiration for the project came from the murales de semillas

Almost 70 dealers from around the country will converge on the Santa Fe Railyard in mid-August for the 3rd annual Antique American Indian Art Show . They will display, and offer for sale, a range of historical material made by Native American artisans in the years leading up to, and through, World War II. The Art Show's co-producer, collector Kim Martindale, explains how this new, dealer-based show differs from the artist-based shows, such as Indian Market, that have long defined summer in Santa

Maria Tallchief was America's first major prima ballerina; her sister Marjorie was also a successful ballerina; together they inspired a love of ballet in their homeland, the Osage Nation of Oklahoma. Carrying on this tradition today in Osage country is Randy Tinker Smith. Randy and her daughter Jenna Smith have received national attention for Wahzhazhe, The Osage Ballet . The production comes to Santa Fe on August 6 . To create the ballet, Randy spent a year listening to Osage elders and

Her head is over six feet tall, made up of 104 bead-like ceramic objects. Her hair is woven fabric, long enough to attach to the surrounding walls. And she speaks. She is entitled Everything Anywhere and she is installed this summer at the Center for Contemporary Arts in Santa Fe. Her creator is the busy young New Mexico-based ceramic artist Cannupa Hanska Luger . Cannupa explains the unusual process he followed in creating Everything Anywhere, a work he hopes will express a "matriarchal" form

On view this summer at the Albuquerque Museum is Drawing Into Architecture: Sketches and Models of Antoine Predock . Included are almost 300 works on paper, along with clay architectural models, representing, in a small way, the 50-year career of the internationally-known New Mexico-based architect. KUNM joined Antoine Predock at his Albuquerque studio for a half-hour conversation about the new exhibition (and the companion book now available from UNM Press) and about his decision in 1967 to

Revered as a deity by native peoples, then marked for extermination by the federal government. Derided as a "living, breathing allegory of want" by Mark Twain, then crowned a king of cool by the Beat Generation. New Mexico writer Dan Flores tracks the range of reactions the coyote has inspired over the years in Coyote America , just published by Basic Books. The book is his attempt, says Flores, to tell the story of the coyote's development over the millenia, but also to put that story into the

Through 20 years of performances and classes, an award-winning Albuquerque band has brought the distinctive sound of Scottish music to the Southwest. The High Desert Pipes and Drums will be joined by guest musicians and dancers for a fundraising concert on June 25 and 26 at the Hiland Theatre. Longtime member, bagpiper Patricia Sharp, explains that in 1999 the High Desert Pipes and Drums became the first American pipe band to win in Grade IV of the World Pipe Band Championships in Scotland, and

Each summer, the Broadway League, the national theater industry association, brings to New York talented young performers from around the country. They compete for scholarships, recognition and possibly a pathway to the Broadway stage in the National High School Musical Theater Awards . This year, two teenagers from New Mexico will be taking part. They will be selected in a public performance on May 8 at Albuquerque's Popejoy Hall. Popejoy's Terry Davis explains that the finalists in the Popejoy