Today we’d like to introduce you to Cecilia Duarte.
Cecilia, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I was born in Chihuahua, Mexico, in a family of musicians. I grew up listening to music of all kinds. One of the things I remember the most, is my mom singing Latin American songs, or Boleros. During my childhood, I went to an art school where I learn piano, dancing, theatre, and painting. My dad died when I was 8 years old, and art served me as a refuge to express myself. Later I joined a musical theatre company where I sang and experienced the stage in a more formal way. My director was a big influence, and taught me how to work in a professional environment.
When I finished high school, I wish I could tell you that I knew what I wanted to do, but I didn’t! I was very drawn to psychology, but I knew that music had been a big part of my life, and I wanted to keep doing it. I didn’t know how, what style, or what form, but I left my hometown and I moved to the city of Guadalajara where my brother and sister-in-law lived, and I started studying there.
During my years in Guadalajara, I dropped out of school, I joined the state’s chorus, and started taking private lessons in music theory, and voice lessons with a retired American tenor (Dr. Harlan Snow) who gave me my first voice lessons. Through him, I met a few American voice teachers that came over to listen to us in Dr. Snow’s studio.
An opportunity arose, and I moved to Houston, TX., to study privately with one of them (Dr. Joyce Farwell.)
I kept learning more about classical singing, and I auditioned for the Houston Grand Opera chorus. I have sung in every production as a chorister for five full seasons, and also became a part of their outreach programs singing in Opera To GO! and premiering new works for new composers. I also became a teacher at a Montessori School, and kept a church job.
After these five years, a new opportunity came to me. Houston Grand Opera commissioned the first opera with Mariachi music (Cruzar la Cara de la Luna) to celebrate the bicentennial of the Mexican independence. They offered me to do the lead female role, and I accepted. I left all the other things I had been doing, and started to look for opportunities to work singing with other ensembles in town. I had always been interested in singing early music, and since Houston has it all, I reached out to those ensembles to present myself.
For many years I have worked hard to foster solid relationships with all the people I work with. After “Cruzar” I have premiered several new operas with Houston Grand Opera, and I have built a career as an early music singer with companies like Ars Lyrica Houston, Mercury Houston, and most recently The Boston Early Music Festival.
I have also created outreach programs for Ars Lyrica with my husband, percussionist Jesús Pacheco, where we promote Spanish and Latin American early music for young audiences, and coming up, a new program to be premiered that involves plain chant, and meditation.
I must say that while those years of building relationships, and establishing myself as an artist, I went back to college, and did my bachelor’s (Vocal Performance) and master’s (Vocal Performance and Pedagogy) degrees at the University of Houston (Go Coogs!)
While singing early music and contemporary works has been my main focus, I have always been passionate about song repertoire (remember my mom singing when I was little) no matter the country where they come from. I love the song form, and the beauty that comes from them. My recitals usually include this kind of repertoire, and it is also very important for me to include Latin American song rep.
Spanish language music has been one of my latest points of interest. If I have spent so many years preparing myself to sing the music of so many European great composers of different periods, why not do the same with Spanish and Latin American repertoire? This makes me feel connected to my roots, and those things that formed me in the early years of my life.
Currently, I also work with the Kaleidoscope Vocal Ensemble, a group of BIPOC singers from all around the country that specializes in early and contemporary music (so glad I don’t feel so alone!) The pandemic has made it difficult for us to sing live, but we have done a few virtual videos to keep our work going, and show people that representation matters. The pandemic also sparked a new idea for me. I decided it was time to record my first solo album, and I went for it. The support I got from so many colleagues, friends and family was more than I could have expected. Reencuentros is a complication of Latin American songs or boleros from the 1940s and 1950s, that I did as a tribute to my mom, who taught me the beauty of this repertoire. The album is produced by multiple time Grammy Award winner Blanton Alspaugh, under the Reference Recording Label. This will be the first album in Spanish they release.
Reencuentros will come up around May of this year, and I also have some meaningful collaborations with great ensembles in the city of Houston, such as the Apollo Chamber Players, and ROCO Houston, plus concerts with the Kaleidoscope Vocal Ensemble.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
There is never a smooth road, and each artist will find a different set of challenges. For me as a Latin American artist, I had to work very hard to create a space for myself, and to establish my name and myself as an artist. I am very versatile, and I am not an opera singer that sings the standard opera repertoire. Understanding that for myself, without taking any value in what I do has been important in my development. Working on knowing who I am, what I want, and focusing on my strengths has helped me in forging my own path, where I know I can put my strengths at work.
I have been extremely fortunate to have created really solid relationships with companies like HGO, Ars Lyrica, and Mercury, but also with those smaller ensembles that create and promote wonderful music, and with which I have the honor to collaborate and create. All this takes years. No matter who you are, the challenge is to establish yourself not only as a great performer, but also a reliable artist, with a great work ethic.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I specialize in early music, and contemporary opera and chamber works. My background in popular music lets me be a versatile singer. I occasionally sing Jazz with composer and pianist Paul English.
We’d be interested to hear your thoughts on luck and what role, if any, you feel it’s played for you?
Creating the role of Renata in the first opera with mariachi, Cruzar la Cara de la Luna has been a defining point in my career. Thanks to it, I have been able to sing in major opera houses in the country, Europe, and Latin America.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.ceciliaduartemezzosoprano.com
- Instagram: @cecilia_duarte_mezzo_soprano
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Duarte.Mezzo
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOJsef9E-lIsrJRLJbV6vNg
Image Credits
Ashkan Image
