Ajijic piano sensation Saul Ibarra and his friends are hosting the third annual Festival de Musica Axixic Haus Der Musik from June 21 to 28.
The festival’s “essential purpose” is to become a major platform for young Mexican artists to share their work professionally, Ibarra says.
“In Mexico, it is very difficult to be noticed at a young age by big concert halls and orchestras,” Ibarra notes.
“There is usually a preference for foreign performers, and it is difficult to bridge the gap from student to professional artist. Even the few young performers who manage to get more opportunities are usually not treated ‘professionally,’ with low compensations that do not reflect the life of sacrifice and the hours of study that a musician has to go through.”
Ibarra says the decision made two years ago to hold the festival at this Ajijic venue was a good one.
“The border between stage and audience is almost non-existent at Haus der Music. It deconstructs the psychological barrier of a traditional performance space separating the audience from the performer. This novel construction creates a sense of equality. Performers and audience members become equal witnesses to the beauty of the architecture of shaped sonorities that speak so deeply to all of us.”
Besides the well-known talent of Ibarra, seven other up-and-coming Mexican musicians will perform:
• Luis Villa Roa won piano competitions in Shanghai, Italy and Chicago, and is currently studying at the Oberlin Conservatory.
• Violinist Carlos Martinez graduated from the Manhattan School of Music as a member of the Pinchas Zukerman Program. In 2022, he made his solo debut with the New York Session Symphony, performing Mendelssohn’s concerto.
• Clarinetist Jazmin Pascual is pursuing a bachelor’s degree at the Cleveland Institute of Music. She recently won two clarinet competitions in the United States.
• Joel Chavez is the principal cellist of the University of Guadalajara’s Higinio Ruvalcaba Chamber Orchestra. He has also participated as a guest musician with the Jalisco Philharmonic.
• Alexander Vivero is a 15-year-old pianist, composer and orchestra conductor. He has conducted the Solistas de America, Camara de Zapopan and the ECOS Blas Galindo orchestras, among others, and has performed at Carnegie Hall, and the Teatro Degollado, Conjunto Santander and Palcco in Guadalajara.
• Pianist Llewellyn Sanchez Werner has been featured in The New York Times and Wall Street Journal, and on CBS, PBS, NPR and CNN. He has been proclaimed a “gifted virtuoso” by the San Francisco Chronicle, and a musician with “a masterful technique and a veritable deluge of sonorities” by La Presse Montreal.
Concert schedule:
Saturday, June 22: Piano recital by Luis Villa Roa.
Monday, June 24: Piano and violin recital by Carlos Martinez (violin) and Saul Ibarra (piano).
Wednesday, June 26: Trio performance by Jazmin Pascual (clarinet), Joel Chavez (cello) and Alexander Vivero (piano).
Friday, June 28: Piano recital by Llewellyn Sanchez-Werner.
All concerts are at 7 p.m.
(Cellist Karla Lugo opened the festival with Ibarra on Thursday, June 21.)
Tickets, 500 pesos, can be reserved at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., or by calling Fabiola Ibarra at 333-490-0340. They are also on sale at Carretera Ote. 33C, Int. C (above Multiva Bank) in Ajijic.