Santa Fe Community Orchestra. Courtesy photo
MUSIC News:
SANTA FE — The Santa Fe Community Orchestra will perform its second concert of the 2025-2026 season at 1:30 p.m., Sunday, Dec. 14, at the Scottish Rite Temple in Santa Fe. The orchestra will be led by conductor William Waag in a program of Samuel Coleridge-Taylor and Edward Elgar.
Concert Program
Riddles & Themes
Join us for an afternoon of captivating orchestral storytelling, where Samuel Coleridge-Taylor and Edward Elgar explore identity, mystery, and emotion through masterful sets of variations that resonate across time and tradition.
Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, Symphonic Variations on an African Air
Samuel Coleridge-Taylor’s Symphonic Variations on an African Air reveals the brilliance of a composer whose music bridged cultures and eras. A gifted orchestrator, Coleridge-Taylor crafts a compelling set of variations that evolve with invention and grace. Each transformation of the theme explores new emotional dimensions, showcasing the orchestra’s color and versatility. As one of the most celebrated Black composers of his time, Coleridge-Taylor infused classical forms with personal and cultural resonance, leaving behind a legacy of beauty and depth.
Edward Elgar, Variations on an Original Theme
Edward Elgar’s Variations on an Original Theme, popularly known as the Enigma Variations, remains one of the most endearing and enigmatic works in the orchestral canon. Written between 1898 and 1899, the piece presents fourteen character sketches of Elgar’s friends and loved ones, each captured in music with remarkable wit and affection. At its heart lies the mysterious “enigma”—a hidden theme that Elgar hinted at but never revealed. The variations range from playful to deeply moving, culminating in the majestic finale “E.D.U.”
The concert is free of charge and tickets are not required. Further information can be found at sfco.org.
The Scottish Rite Temple is located at 463 Paseo De Peralta in Santa Fe. Free parking is available behind the venue.
About the Orchestra
The Santa Fe Community Orchestra was founded in 1982 to provide an opportunity for volunteer musicians to perform free orchestra concerts for a broad range of Santa Fe and northern New Mexico audiences, to present free educational programs for audiences of all ages, to engage New Mexico musicians as soloists, to promote the composition and performance of works by New Mexico composers, and to support the musical and cultural life of Santa Fe.
Our musicians are made up of community members from Santa Fe, Los Alamos, Las Vegas, Taos, and beyond. The majority of our members spend their working lives in other professions, from lawyers to teachers to doctors to scientists and engineers. Music is a passionate pursuit for us, and we are excited to share our love for these works with the community.
Riddles & Themes. Courtesy photo