Genesis World Premiere in USA
- Denissa Rivas
- Aug 6
- 5 min read
Travel blog by Denissa Rivas
My name is Denissa Rivas de Munguía and I am a professional flutist and teacher. I am married to Raúl Munguía, professional orchestra conductor and violinist. We are the principal flute and conductor of the Genesis Symphony, respectively. We are both from Honduras and came to the USA two decades ago to continue our musical studies in higher education. When we finished our doctoral degree, we applied for jobs and destiny brought us to Pittsburg State University in Pittsburg, Kansas where Raúl became the orchestra conductor and upper strings coordinator, and I taught music theory and flute. Soon we got involved with the community and discovered that there was a composer living in town, John Hartman. He approached Raúl and told him about this composition called Genesis and would like Raul to see it and give him some feedback.
Reading the score while listening to the Midi file was an event in itself. Genesis had ten movements, each one with its own character and instrumental colors, sometimes there were powerful, forte chords and sometimes soft melodic passages with subtle shifts of harmonies. This piece was wonderful! It had to be performed! Raul talked to John…How about including two movements in one of the Pittsburg Symphony Orchestra concerts? So in the season opener concert of the Fall of 2019, movements 1 and 2 of Genesis were performed.
And thus, the performance journey of Genesis began.
The next step was to perform the whole piece and for that, there was quite a lot of planning to do: When and where, hiring an orchestra, organizing rehearsals, plus the composer was revising and editing several passages. How about Spring of 2020? Yes! That would give us plenty of time…but the Universe said not yet. The world stopped because of the Coronavirus pandemic. And then, on December 1st of that year, God called John to his presence. His transition into eternal life left us all deeply forlorn.
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Spring came again with its quintessential daffodils announcing new beginnings. Worldwide, the confinement measures were gradually being lifted. People around the world were trying to figure out their new normal. In our part of the world, spring encircled us with its ever uplifting hope. External grieving retrieved slowly into that corner inside the heart where loved ones are kept alive. Mickey Xun-Hartman called us for a meeting: It’s time for new beginnings. We must continue John’s wish to perform Genesis in its entirety. Let’s find a date, a place, and let’s get an orchestra. And we said, “Yes, ma’am!”
Genesis had its American premiere in Pittsburg, Kansas on November 13th, of 2021 at the Bicknell Center of the Arts. The performance captivated the audience from beginning to end. When the final notes of New Dawn, the finale, faded into the air, everyone kept still for a few more seconds and then, a crescendo of applause filled the hall. A standing ovation ensued. What a wonderful moment! Experiencing the premiere of a piece of this magnitude is not an everyday event for either the orchestra or the audience and, when the performance is received with such effusive enthusiasm, our musical purpose has been fulfilled.
After the successful premiere, what would be next? Raúl had an idea. How about videorecording? If any orchestra in the world wanted to program Genesis, listening to a recording would be extremely helpful. And so, after a few months of planning, Genesis was professionally recorded in July of 2022.
A few weeks after the recording project was finished, the idea of presenting the work abroad started to form. Two countries were at the top of the list, Canada and Honduras and, after several meetings, Honduras was the chosen one. Why Honduras? Because Raúl and I are from there and we stay connected with the country’s music scene. And because since 2017, Honduran musicians have joined us in several symphonic projects in Kansas. They had been guests at John Hartman and Mickey’s home, getting to know them personally and seeing first hand how passionate they were about music. Taking Genesis to Honduras would require a more extensive planning plus a greater set of logistics to conquer but, what’s life without challenges? Possible dates later in the year were tossed around, but did not work out. The best option was February of 2024 and with the concert days already chosen, the ball started rolling!
Two concerts were programmed for this trip abroad and Tegucigalpa, the capital, was the best option because of the city’s availability of venues. The logistics of hiring musicians, scheduling rehearsals, securing the venues, and miscellaneous tasks was assigned to Franklin Rodríguez, director of the Camerata Vivaldi, and his wife Kathia Rivera, director of the musical ensemble Allegra. On our side, four musicians from the previous performances would be travelling together, Carol Cook, lead soprano; Rusty Jones -principal bassoon; Raúl Munguía -Genesis symphony conductor, and myself, principal flute. We were so looking forward to this new musical adventure!
By the time 2024 rolled in, new changes had happened in our lives. Raúl and I had moved to Rochester, New York and thus we would not be able to travel in the same flight with the rest of the musical gang. This worried us because for Mickey, Carol, and Rusty, this would be their first visit to Honduras and neither of them spoke Spanish. We all managed to travel on the same date, but on different times and flights. But again, what’s life without challenges!
On a Wednesday afternoon in February, we arrived at the Palmerola International Airport, a new airport, inaugurated in 2021. We had never been there, thus we were worried about our friends. Had they arrived yet? Did they have any problems at customs? After we ourselves went through customs, we walked into the front of the airport. From afar we saw Mickey, Carol, and Rusty…no need to worry, they were happily lounging in the cafeteria, legs crossed and drinks in hand like seasoned travelers. We hurried towards them and hugged them with excitement. The whole gang was together again! We were now ready for our new musical adventure.
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Leggere questa storia mi riempie di orgoglio ed emozione. Vedere come due connazionali hanno portato il nome dell’Honduras su palcoscenici internazionali, non solo come interpreti ma anche come ambasciatori culturali, è una dimostrazione del talento che la nostra terra sa generare. Il brano Genesis non rappresenta soltanto una collaborazione artistica di alto livello, ma anche un ponte tra culture, generazioni e geografie.
Inoltre, il fatto che abbiano deciso di fare questo brano in Honduras, nonostante le sfide logistiche, dimostra un profondo amore per il loro paese e un impegno concreto per lo sviluppo musicale nazionale. Celebro questo sforzo con ammirazione e speranza, augurandomi che sempre più giovani honduregni si ispirino a questo esempio per inseguire i propri sogni con disciplina, passione…
It's a great honor for Honduras to welcome artists like you. Thank you for always including our country in your plans. You're doing a great job.
I can only deduce that both the Composer and the Conductor prepared themselves spiritually and professionally, without knowing it, for this very moment. Their paths may have crossed so that this majestic work could come to life, inspiring and fulfilling its purpose in each of us who have had the good fortune to hear it live. In my case, not just once, but twice.
Thank you Denissa for sharing your experience and your husband’s. As a native Honduran, I am very impressed with this story and also with composer Hartman’s participation , cheers to you and Genesis ! Wishing you the best !
What a lovely homage to composer John Hartman . It is so true what they say, those who compose and leave their music never leave this earth. Thank you for telling the story, Denissa !