John Truitt will receive the 2023 Robb Award at the Robb Trust's annual ¡Música del Corazón! Tenth Anniversary Celebration for his lifetime achievement in the field of music. The event will feature live performances by Lara Manzanares, Jordan Wax, Felix Peralta, Rob Martinez, Laura Rebolloso, The University of New Mexico Mariachi Lobo, and others Sunday, Nov. 19, at 3 p.m. at the National Hispanic Cultural Center's Albuquerque Journal Theatre. The event is free, and the public is invited.
¡Música del Corazón! will celebrate its 10th anniversary in November with a slate of favorite performers in the Nuevomexicano tradition. A pre-concert talk will feature scholars Carmella Scorcia Pacheco, Adolfo Estrada, and Enrique Lamadrid, a historian and Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Spanish at The University of New Mexico.
The event is free but attendees are asked to reserve tickets on the NHCC website. The event is presented by The University of New Mexico John Donald Robb Musical Trust and National Hispanic Cultural Center.
Learn more about ¡Música del Corazón! at the Robb Trust website.
An Albuquerque-based composer, flamenco guitarist, and woodwind specialist, Truitt is a career music educator for more than 50 years. He has taught at all levels, from pre-K to the graduate level, and in recent years has mentored many music teachers during his career. He has taught for the Albuquerque Public Schools, National Institute of Flamenco, and UNM, but is most associated with the nationally prominent guitar program at Albuquerque Academy which he started in the 1970s and directed for 22 years.
Truitt is past chair of the Guitar Education Council of the National Association for Music Education, a former member of the Pre-College Education Board of the Guitar Foundation of America, and a New Mexico Music Educators Association board member. He spearheaded the inclusion of guitar ensemble in the New Mexico All-State Music Festival, the first state in the country to do so. He has written for concert band, jazz band, orchestra, and chorus, and guitar literature for solo and ensemble. His works have been played by such artists as Mickey Jones, Jeremy Mayne, Genevieve Leitner, Ben Silva, Sarah Herbert, Adam Larison, Lynn McGrath, Elliot Simpson, Matthew Rohde, The Rio Grande Quartet, The Texas Guitar Quartet, and The Triptych Guitar Trio. Truitt is also a judge, clinician, and director for festivals and competitions around the country, as well as a freelance jazz woodwind player and flamenco accompanist.
Truitt is currently completing a set of musical impressions of works by artist Helen Hardin to be performed in the Spring of 2024.
Learn more about John Truitt and the Robb Award at the Robb Trust website.
The UNM John Donald Robb Musical Trust prides itself in supporting the music and musical legacy of John Donald Robb, to further his inspiring commitment to education, and to advance the understanding of music of the Southwest. The Robb Trust, in partnership with composers, performing artists, educators, students, and audiences, enhance the legacy of Dean Robb by preserving the traditions of Southwest folk music, promoting his music, and supporting the composition of contemporary music.