Falling into Folk Preview | Behind Variations of Luna Llorona

Leah Froyd
Oct 18
4 min read

We’ve reached our last spotlight on Falling into Folk which begins next weekend! This week, we will feature our resident composer, José Daniel Vargas and his inspirations while writing Variations on Luna Llorona which you will hear soon! To read more about José’s background, check out his previous blog post.

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*A photo of my family in traditional Mexican garb. Our heritage was always an important part of our identity, and the guitar in my hands was only one of the tons of instruments around in our house.*

The first time I felt truly homesick after moving to San Francisco was the first time I walked through the Mission District. I wasn’t homesick for the house I had lived in, I always visited during summer and winter break. My homesickness was for the house my grandparents used to live in. I spent a lot of my earliest years there, as well as Christmas, Thanksgiving, and birthdays. My mom’s side of the family that lived in the United States would gather at their house to celebrate, laugh, sing, dance and eat. Tables were covered in doilies, walls were covered in crosses and photos, Spanish echoed through the house from family members and the old stereo in the dining room. Decorations and imagery and other goods I saw in storefront windows in the Mission all reminded me of the wonderful childhood memories my family and I shared in that house.

A few weeks after my trip to the Mission, I received an email from my former double-bass teacher Dr. Philip Alejo. He worked with me through middle school and high school. It was thanks to his instruction that I was able to join a high level youth orchestra and had the privilege of playing some of the most beloved pieces in the string repertoire. I was shocked to hear from my bass teacher for the first time after several years, and even more shocked that he was reaching out to commission me. He was planning an upcoming recital celebrating the music and the people of the Sonoran Desert and he thought it would be appropriate to include a piece by a living composer from the Sonoran Desert.

*Dr. Alejo speaking at the event where he premiered my piece “Canto Hondo.”*

His commission could not have come at a better time. On the heels of my homesickness I began looking back on the music that had been the soundtrack to so many of my childhood memories, this time through the lens of the classical music training that I had gained at conservatory. Some of the other pieces on my teacher’s recital included songs that went on to inspire one of the top-selling albums in the United States. I will discuss in more detail at the show, so I look forward to seeing you there! I began reading histories and watching documentaries about the folk music traditions in Mexico that are centuries old and still alive to this day. It was a healing experience for me to reconnect with my family and my roots through the study of music⁠—something I have dedicated my life to.

This is one of the documentaries I watched. I loved how the videographers went in depth about the people and the communities that this music grew out of, and how the environment shaped the music and other traditions that surround it.

*Dr. Alejo visiting an elementary school in Juarez, Mexico. He performed my piece for them and encouraged them to continue to work hard with music!*

My piece on the falling into folk program is a theme and variations on one of the melodies I wrote for my double-bass teacher back in 2021. Each variation takes the theme on a journey through the different styles and genres of mariachi music. Check out the playlist below to get a feel for the range of styles featured in my piece! (you may even recognize some of them already)

Dr. Alejo commissioned me again last year for a new piece for his ensemble River Town Duo. You can listen below for another example of my work incorporating folk styles into my own compositions.

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Our general admission sale is currently underway for our next concert series in San Francisco. You can now reserve a seat at any of our upcoming concerts!!

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