CECILIA DUARTE | mezzo-soprano

A soloist in the Grammy Award-winning album Duruflé: The Complete Choral Works, mezzo-soprano CECILIA DUARTE has been praised by The New York Times as “A creamy voiced mezzo-soprano.” Born in Chihuahua, Mexico, Cecilia is a versatile singer who has performed around the world performing a variety of music styles, especially early and contemporary music.

Cecilia has been widely acclaimed for creating the role of Renata in the first Mariachi Opera Cruzar la Cara de la Luna with the famous Mariachi Vargas de Tecalitlán, commissioned by Houston Grand Opera in 2010. Cecilia has taken this opera to stages such as the Houston Grand Opera (2013, 2018), Châtelet Theatre in Paris, France, Chicago Lyric Opera, San Diego Opera, Arizona Opera, The Fort Worth Opera, Teatro Nacional Sucre, in Quito, Ecuador, New York City Opera, and El Paso Opera. Since then, she has created other roles for world premieres of chamber operas and new works, including Jessie Lydell in A Coffin in Egypt (HGO and the Wallis Annenberg Center in LA); Gracie in A Way Home (HGO and Opera Southwest); Harriet in After the Storm (HGO); Alicia in Some Light Emerges (HGO); and Alma in “Boundless,” the first episode of Houston Grand Opera’s Telly Award-winning web opera series Star-cross’d.

​Other operatic roles include Zerlina in Don Giovanni, Loma Williams in Cold Sassy Tree, Isabella in Rapaccini’s Daughter, Sarelda in The Inspector, Tituba in The Crucible, and Maria in Maria de Buenos Aires, among others. Cecilia also premiered the prequel to Cruzar la Cara de la Luna, reprising the role of Renata in the world premiere of El Milagro del Recuerdo, with Houston Grand Opera (2019) and Arizona Opera (2021).

Cecilia’s experience in early music include performances with Ars Lyrica Houston, Mercury Houston, and The Bach Society Houston, as well as the Fesitvalensemble in Stuttgart, Germany, the Festival de Música Barroca de San Miguel de Allende, México, and most recently, the Boston Early Music Festival and the Bach Collegium San Diego with whom she debuted singing Handel’s Messiah in a complete Spanish adaptation. She is also a member of Kaleidoscope Vocal Ensemble, performing early and contemporary music.

​Recordings include Cruzar la Cara de la Luna, with Albany Records, NY; soloist in the Grammy-winning album Duruflé: The Complete Choral Works with Signum Records; a special appearance in Encantamiento, an album with music by Daniel Catán; and Reencuentros, Cecilia’s first solo album produced by multiple Grammy Award-winner Blanton Alspaugh, under Reference Recordings Label.

Jesús Pacheco | Percussionist

Percussionist Jesús Pacheco obtained his bachelor’s degree in percussion from the Superior Conservatory in Seville, Spain. As a young musician, he was part of the Andalusian Youth Orchestra (OJA) under the baton of Michael Thomas, and the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra, directed by Daniel Baremboim. Jesús has performed at the Festivalensemble in Stuttgart, Germany, and served as a timpanist with the Bach Collegium (Stuttgart Bachakademie) both under the direction of Helmut Rilling, touring through Europe and China. In Andalusia, Jesús was a regular working with the Royal Symphonic Orchestra of Sevilla, and the Cordoba Symphony Orchestra, as well as other music ensembles devoted to early and contemporary music, and created and performed with his Percussion quartet Hits-Palis.

During his time living in Houston, Jesús has collaborated with the Bach Society Houston, The Houston Brass Band, Octave Illusion, and often performs with Mercury Houston, The Magnolia City Brass Band, Ars Lyrica Houston, Apollo Chamber Players, and the Houston Brass Quintet, among others. Along with his wife, mezzo-soprano Cecilia Duarte, Jesús has co-curated Orígenes, and Contemplation in Light, both community programs created for Ars Lyrica Houston promoting Latin American Baroque music, and Chant.

A versatile musician, Jesús can be found playing Latin Jazz with the Mateo Orozco and Bumerán band, and Flamenco music in the Houston area. Later performances include his debut with Houston Grand Opera in Suite Española 2: Exploring the Caribbean.

Trio Chapultepec

Trio Chapultepec, formed in July 2019, is a multi-instrumental group based in San Antonio, Texas composed of Vincent Pequeño, Israel Alcalá and William Carlton Gálvez. The members have extensively studied Mariachi together for several years and have been given national awards in both vocal and collegiate level ensemble competitions. Trio Chapultepec made their debut with Houston Grand Opera in December 2019 in a production of El Milagro del Recuerdo, with subsequent productions at the Arizona, Austin, Fort Worth, and San Diego Operas.