Lensic Online
Connect with The Lensic, Wherever You Are
Lensic Online brings the best of The Lensic to you, wherever you are. Check this page often to watch clips of past Lensic Presents performances, learn more about your favorite Lensic artists, access arts resources especially for kids, and more. We’ll be adding new content regularly.
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Ghost Light Sessions at The Lensic
During the 2020-21 shutdown, The Lensic’s Ghost Light Sessions helped support local artists and keep the music alive in Santa Fe! Each Ghost Light Session was recorded on stage between April 2020 and September 2021, with only one or two crew members present and face masks worn by all off-camera. The series is named for the single bulb that’s left burning when the theater is dark. You’ll see it on stage in these sessions.
Jono Manson


Nathan Dunton
Nathan Dunton is a composer, arranger, and teacher based in Santa Fe. He’s also an intergenerational music facilitator, working with FamJam, Lifesongs, and the Santa Fe Opera ALTO program. Before moving to Santa Fe, he created his music in Austin. Nathan’s original work is featured on several albums, including Love Runs to the Sea, released in 2018. Learn more at NathanDuntonMusic.com.

Laurianne Fiorentino & Michael Kott
Laurianne Fiorentino and Michael Kott have been playing together for over 25 years. Kott is featured on Laurianne’s 2017 award-winning CD When I’m An Angel. With Michael, masked and outside on the porch, and Laurianne at the computer, they raised over $500 for The Food Depot with a streaming concert during lockdown. The pandemic put a temporary hold on their Elemental Concert Series at San Miguel Chapel, where the duo had celebrated a single element from the periodic table each month. Laurianne’s latest release in 2020 features spoken word and nonscripted acoustic music: Charming the Universe ~ Poems from the book The Gift ~ Hafiz. www.lauriamusic.com

John Kurzweg
John Kurzweg is a multi-platinum record producer and multi-instrumentalist/singer/songwriter who first became known for his work with post-grunge band Creed in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Kurzweg, who in the late 80’s signed with Atlantic records as a solo artist, continues recording & performing his own brand of rock music and can often be found playing various venues around the Santa Fe area. Learn more at JohnKurzweg.com.

Dos Gatos
Albuquerque musicians Felix Peralta and Dave Barclay are Dos Gatos! For their Ghost Light Session, the duo performed the same Zydetejano Blues (a blend of Latin, blues, Tejano, and rockin’ outlaw country music) we know and love from their full band, Felix y Los Gatos. Find them on Facebook here.

Mustafa Dill
Taos-based musician and communications professional Mustafa Stefan Dill plays oud—a lute-like Middle Eastern instrument—and guitar. Based in Taos, he has created and participated in a number of award-winning and global music projects. Mustafa will reopen Oud Strings, an online musical instrument store, this summer. Learn more about Mustafa and his music here.

Drww Christopher
Musician Drww Christopher is a Santa Fe native who grew up on the city’s west side. His message for young people from his community: Everything you want is possible to attain. It takes work, but nothing is impossible. Hear more of Drww’s music on his Soundcloud page at https://soundcloud.com/drwwchristopher.
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Dan Goldfus
Dan Goldfus has been playing electric and acoustic guitar for over 40 years and teaching guitar for more than 30. Now a Santa Fe resident, he spent much of his music career performing in the San Francisco Bay Area and California’s Wine Country. Dan was a founding member of Jazz on the Vine, which released three CDs, and he’s released two CDs of his own original music: Across The Fields and West of Dakar.

Sean Healen
Sean Healen is a prolific New Mexico-based, award-winning singer/songwriter. With music and lyrics reminiscent of Leonard Cohen and Steve Earle, his style is at once intricate and eloquent. He has performed double bills with musical notables including John Hiatt, Michael Franti, Peter Case, The Flatlanders, Junior Brown, and many others. Learn more at https://seanhealenmusic.com/

Pasión Flamenca: Nicolasa Chávez and Luís Campos
Nicolasa Chávez, a 14th-generation New Mexican who has studied flamenco since age 11, is Deputy State Historian for New Mexico, a former curator at the Museum of International Folk Art, and curator of Flamenco: From Spain to the US. Her group Pasión Flamenca includes a rotating group of dancers and musicians. Here she performs with frequent collaborator Luís Campos, who’s long beena part of the NM flamenco scene. Currently Luís is composing flamenco lyrics relating to his New Mexico roots. Some use traditional flamenco melodies; others have original melodies using flamenco structures.

Tom Adler
Tom Adler, a lifelong Santa Fean, is a folk musician who writes, performs, teaches, and hosts “Folk Remedy” on KSFR (101.1 FM) every Sunday morning from 8 to 10 am. With four CDs recorded over the years, Tom has received some fine reviews and national and international airplay. Connect with him on Facebook here.

Jay Heneghan
Vocalist and classically trained pianist Jay Heneghan leads the Jay Heneghan Project, a jazz/blues/R&B band with a rotating cast of some of Santa Fe’s most seasoned and talented musicians. For this Ghost Light Session, Jay is joined by Tom Rheam on piano and Richard Snyder on bass. Learn more at https://www.jayheneghanproject.com/.

Suzanne Teng and Gilbert Levy of Mystic Journey
Suzanne Teng (world flutes) and Gilbert Levy (world percussion and strings) of Mystic Journey create instrumental music that is ethereal and exotic, soulful and healing, and “sensual and serene,” as described by Billboard magazine. Learn more about these talented Santa Fe musicians at https://mysticjourney.net/.

Marc and Paula's Roadside Distraction
Marc and Paula Rhae are in the process of releasing a new CD titled Love Can Shine Through. The pre-release of four songs has already garnered two New Mexico Music Awards nominations: “Love Can Shine Through” in the Singer-Songwriter category and “I’ve Got a Notion” for Best Vocal Performance. Learn more at their Reverb Nation page.

Carla Kountoupes & Thomas Green: Duo Doble
Carla Kountoupes (violin) and Thomas Green (double bass) perform together as Duo Doble. Carla is a member of the Santa Fe Symphony, Arizona Opera Orchestra, and Santa Fe Pro Musica Chamber Orchestra, and she is on faculty at NMSA and Mandela International Magnet School. Tom, on faculty at Aspen Community and Milagro Middle Schools, was principal bass with Eastern Connecticut Symphony Orchestra until moving to Santa Fe in 2019. Here, they perform Astor Piazzolla’s Five Tangos.

Tenney Walsh
Tenney Walsh, a singer-songwriter and actress based in Taos, began writing songs when she was living in New York City. There, she acted on and off Broadway before turning to music as an outlet for storytelling. Learn more/hear more on her pages on Facebook and Soundcloud.

Ross Hamlin and Johnny Bell
Santa Fe’s Ross Hamlin (guitar) and Johnny Bell (banjo) recently recorded this Ghost Light Session, featuring original music. That’s a shruti box in the foreground.
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Student Showcase

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School shows at The Lensic were canceled this year, but we still want to give young people a chance to perform on The Lensic stage. Working with the schools, we’ve invited local students to bring their talent to The Lensic in a safe, socially distanced recording sessions.
Find more Student Showcase performances here.

Sadie O'Sullivan, Mandela International Magnet School
Sadie O’Sullivan is a sophomore at Mandela International Magnet School and an accomplished violinist! Here, she plays several songs, including works by Bach and Massenet, accompanied by Robert Krupnick on piano.

Lilah Chang, Mandela International Magnet School
Lilah Chang is a talented student who attends Mandela International Magnet School. In this Student Showcase, she performs on the violin and the Chinese erhu, with piano accompaniment by Robert Krupnick.

Brandon Morrison, New Mexico School for the Arts
Brandon Morrison is a musician and a senior at New Mexico School for the Arts. For his Student Showcase, Brandon performs pieces by Bach, Brahms, and more, and he performs them beautifully! He is accompanied on piano by Robert Krupnick.

Madelyn Kingston, New Mexico School for the Arts
Madelyn Kingston is a student at New Mexico School for the Arts and also plays with the Santa Fe Youth Symphony. Enjoy her beautiful performance of these pieces by Mendelssohn and Bonfá. That’s her father, Andy Kingston, on piano.

Marguerite Palmer-Kamprath, Santa Fe High School
Marguerite Palmer-Kamprath is a talented senior at Santa Fe High School. For her Student Showcase, she brings us a beautiful rendition of “The Sweetest Flower That Blows,” by Charles B. Hawley, with piano accompaniment by Scott Hagler.

Marjorie Rezendes, Santa Fe High School
Marjorie Rezendes is a talented vocalist and senior at Santa Fe High School. Here, accompanied on piano by Scott Hagler, she performs Alessandro Parisottis “Se Tu M’ami.” Brava!

Lynette Gassner, New Mexico School for the Arts
Lynette Gassner is a senior at New Mexico School for the Arts and an accomplished musician. Here, she performs Bach’s Cello Suite No. 1, Sarabande, with piano accompaniment by Robert Krupnick.
Listen! Lensic Playlists

Something Else
The Lensic’s Joel Aalberts creates a new Spotify playlist each week to keep you dancing, soothe your soul, and bring joy to your ears. Click the links each week to listen! Free Spotify registration required.

Feeling Optimistic
The sun looks a little brighter, the birds sound a little sweeter. We’re feeling optimistic after a very long time and we’re holding on to it! Enjoy this playlist of “things are looking up!” music, with songs by Dolly Parton, Diana Ross, Tracy Chapman, U2, Bill Withers, Gustavo Cerati, Pink Martini, and other artists we love.

Bugalú!
The Latin-flavored dance music known as bugalú, or boogaloo, originated in New York in the 1960s. A mixture of Cuba’s son montuno, mambo, R&B, rock, and more, it’ll lift your spirits and get you shaking those hips! Hear Ray Barretto, Mongo Santamaria, Eddie Palmieri, La Lupe, Tito Puente, Celia Cruz, Bobby Cruz, and other greats.

The Punks of CBGB
This week we salute CBGB, the New York club that opened in 1973 and soon became the epicenter for punk and new wave in America. You’ll hear Blondie, the Ramones, the Runaways, Television, Talking Heads, the Cramps, the Replacements, the Stooges, Patti Smith, and more.

The Wrecking Crew
The L.A. studio musicians known collectively as “The Wrecking Crew” played on hundreds of hit recordings in the ‘60s and ‘70s. You may not know their names, but you’ve heard their amazing work on songs by Elvis, Diana Ross, Glen Campbell, Henry Mancini, the Beach Boys, the Mamas and the Papas and so many others. Read more about them here while you’re listening to this week’s playlist!

We Love You, Moms!
For you and yours on Mother’s Day, a collection of songs we think are just perfect for the occasion. Enjoy this mix with music by Sade, Casey Musgraves, Diana Ross, The Beatles, Dolly Parton, Josh Groban, Alicia Keys, Alison Kraus, Carole King, Stevie Wonder, Vince Gill, and others who sing with love and appreciation.

. . . Bring May Flowers
We’re ready for springtime! Enjoy this mix of songs about roses, magnolias, tulips and other beautiful blooms. You’ll hear music by Linda Rondstadt, the Statler Brothers, The Foundations, Vampire Weekend, Blondie, Outkast, Jealous of the Birds, Jesca Hoop, The Doors, Patti Smith, and more.

Earth Day
In honor of Earth Day (April 22, 2021) and our precious planet, we present a collection of songs about nature and its beauty. You’ll hear from John Denver, Nina Simone, Neil Young, Stephen Stills, Donovan, PJ Harvey, Marvin Gaye, Talking Heads, George Harrison, Zavier Rudd, and more. As Louis Armstrong sings, what a wonderful world!

Chill! Yacht Rock
We’re more than happy to admit a fondness for the smooth, melodic grooves of the “yacht rock” so popular from about 1975 to the mid-’80s. Chill out with this sunny mix of tunes from Toto, Hall & Oates, Seals & Crofts, Ambrosia, 10cc, Gerry Rafferty, the Atlanta Rhythm Section, the Doobie Brothers, Steely Dan, George Benson, and more. Bonus points if you can name Bertie Higgins’ biggest hit.
Great Conversations

For the Kids
Shakespeare in a Divided America, a fascinating new book by author James Shapiro, looks at how The Bard’s 400-year-old tragedies and comedies have helped shape our understanding of issues throughout America’s history. Our friend John Andrews—Santa Fean and head of the Shakespeare Guild—talked to the author in a recent digital presentation for the National Arts Club in New York.

A Chat with F. Murray Abraham
A theater without an audience is not a performance; it’s a rehearsal! So says Oscar-winning film and stage actor F. Murray Abraham (Amadeus, Homeland) in this Lensic Presents online chat, hosted by Joel Aalberts of The Lensic and John Andrews of the Shakespeare Guild. We are so grateful to F. Murray Abraham for taking the time to talk with Lensic audiences about his life in theater and this unusual time of theater closures.
Just for Kids

Jacob Jonas The Company
Jacob Jonas The Company’s #ADigitalDance project encourages creativity, expressive movement, and human connection among people of all ages. Try one of the weekly “task” challenges as a family (make a ten-second video of yourselves moving, for example) and share your work with a growing online community. See @ADigitalDance and #ADigitalDance on Instagram, or click the link below to learn more.

Sonia de los Santos
Acompaña a Sonia ¡desde casa! Canta sus canciones, aprende sobre las historias que inspiran su música y conoce el trabajo de algunos de sus artistas favoritos. / Join Latin American Family Music star Sonia from home! Sing along to her beloved songs, learn about the stories that inspire her music, and get to know the work of some of her favorite artists.

Hocus Focus
Illusionist Kevin Spencer, who was scheduled to perform at The Lensic this spring, offers free magic-lesson videos for kids of all abilities at his Hocus Focus Magic Club website. Kids may recognize Kevin from the Lensic-sponsored workshops he led in Santa Fe special education classrooms in 2018 and 2019. These online lessons bring Kevin’s delightful energy to your home.

Justin Roberts
Justin Roberts, the Chicago-based kids-music musician and indie rocker you heard at Lensic Family Fun Day last March, offers music, make-your-own-instrument projects, and other great at-home activities for the younger set at JustinRobertsMusic.com. Make and play your own kazoo, designer your own concert posters, learn to play some of Justin’s songs, and more.