American music lost an important voice in 2014. Stephen Paulus , internationally-known for his choral compositions and operas, passed away at 65. One of his last major works was an opera for families based on a story by New Mexico writer Peggy Pond Church. Shoes for the Santo Niño was originally presented in 2011 by the University of New Mexico, which commissioned it, in conjunction with the Santa Fe Opera. The Opera brings it back this month for holiday performances .

Fifth graders in Santa Fe will perform for the community this month in a program of "tall tales" that they themselves have conceived and written. The dual-language performance, on November 29 and 30 at Teatro Paraguas , is part of an after-school program called Storytellers & Writers , which works with kids in New Mexico who need extra help reading, writing and speaking English. "The program is so much fun that the kids develop confidence speaking their thoughts and expressing themselves,"

The great issue facing the film industry these days is inclusion. How to increase the involvement in the industry of underrepresented communities: African-Americans, women, Asians, Latinos, and Native Americans. The question of inclusion is also central to Albuquerque's Pueblo Film Fest . The fourth annual event takes place November 17-19 at the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center. The festival offers Pueblo filmmakers what they most need right now, says the event's organizer, Bettina Sandoval of the

Since last spring, Santa Fe Community College has had access to a stockpile of decommissioned firearms. Using the college's forging and welding facilities, students and faculty in the Art Department have transformed these metal parts into sculpture and jewelry, works of art that will be displayed this month and then auctioned off to benefit New Mexicans To Prevent Gun Violence and SFCC scholarships. The Guns to Art Benefit show runs November 7-17 at form & concept in Santa Fe; a reception

His iridescent shapes float in 3-dimensional space, an exploration of the mysteries of light. "Some people, it puts them in a state of almost infancy," says August Muth of his holographic art. "They can't resist the temptation to touch the light." The Santa Fe artist's latest works are on view through November 9 at the Canyon Road gallery, OTA Contemporary . Gallery visitors, says Muth, "experience something they don't experience normally: light in space. 'How can this blue rectangle exist in

If you've visited the Maxwell Museum at the University of New Mexico, you might have noticed in its side courtyard a 40-foot-tall totem pole. That pole has been standing outside on the Albuquerque campus for over 70 years. This year, it was brought inside, not just for a much-needed restoration but also to answer some pressing questions about its provenance. Research by retired UNM professor Dr. Beverly Singer and her UNM colleagues discovered that the pole was commissioned in 1907 by the Smith

When he was a teenager living in northern New Mexico in the 1970's, Tom Joyce apprenticed himself to a local blacksmith. Over the next decades, those skills, along with his unusual rapport with iron and steel, led Tom Joyce to a career as an artist of forged metal. He was recognized with a MacArthur "Genius" Grant in 2003. His latest sculptures are on display through 2017 at the Center for Contemporary Arts in Santa Fe. Tom felt comfortable the first time he entered that blacksmith shop in the

When he was a teenager living in northern New Mexico in the 1970's, Tom Joyce apprenticed himself to a local blacksmith. Over the next decades, those skills, along with his unusual rapport with iron and steel, led Tom Joyce to a career as an artist of forged metal. He was recognized with a MacArthur "Genius" Grant in 2003. His latest sculptures are on display through 2017 at the Center for Contemporary Arts in Santa Fe. Tom felt comfortable the first time he entered that blacksmith shop in the

On the night of September 23, the facade of the historic La Fonda Hotel in Taos will be illuminated by patterns and images created by the Japanese-born, Brooklyn-based artist Motomichi . The display is part of the Paseo , Taos's 4th annual celebration of art and community. And projected right alongside Motomichi's display, and complementing it, will be art created by Taos students. Motomichi's theme for his display is monsters . Agnes Chavez, co-founder and co-director of the festival, explains

The Montage Music Society commissions and performs music composed in response to visual art, and every concert includes projections of the art that inspired the music being performed. Pianist Debra Ayers and her Montage colleagues wanted to address the fear many people have of new music. "Let's help the audience get their imaginations going, hearing music and seeing the visuals that inspired the music." Montage has found that the experience changes the way audiences listen. The Society will