When you see an announcement for a vocal concert that includes music by Handel, Mozart, Verdi, and Richard Strauss, plus some Gilbert and Sullivan and a large helping of zarzuela highlights as the finale, you know it can only be a New Mexico Performing Arts Society event.

The small, 14-year-old organization consistently offers the most wide-ranging programs of any of our musical groups, with each season also including Bach cantatas and chamber music concerts.

Another thing you’ll know is that almost all the performers are residents of New Mexico. The group hires from outside the state only when artistically qualified performers aren’t available from within our borders.