ETHEL + Robert Mirabal: The Red Willow

Grammy-winning Native flutist Robert Mirabal and the genre-defying string quartet ETHEL return with the next installment from their long cross-cultural partnership. The Red Willow is a breathtaking, ambitious piece of music and storytelling that explores the magnificence of northern New Mexico before extending the story worldwide. 

In this unique expression of thirteen years of friendship and collaboration, ETHEL and Robert Mirabal come together to reimagine the concert experience.

Their art is a vigorous blend of joy, compassion, and vital virtuosity. In honor of Mirabal’s community, they offer a ceremony full of original music, movement, and wisdom. The Red Willow is a new program built around a work commissioned by Taos Chamber Music Society in the summer of 2023.

With their signature mastery, ETHEL and Mirabal refer to the local—the timeless magnificence of Taos—then explode it into the universal with a kaleidoscope of sounds that transcend geographical and temporal boundaries. Each member contributes their unique voice, and together, they weave a gorgeous tapestry with colors from Native America, Europe, Africa, and Asia. At the pinnacle of the program is the central work, “The Red Willow Suite,” a breathtaking, ambitious piece of music and storytelling.

Event Sponsors: Insitute of Indian American Arts (IAIA) and El Castillo / La Secoya Life Plan Community

This project is supported in part by New Mexico Arts, a division of the Department of Cultural Affairs, and by the National Endowment for the Arts.