NATCHITOCHES – Violinist Raúl Munguía will present a recital at Northwestern State University on Wednesday, Sept. 27 at 7:30 p.m. in Magale Recital Hall. Admission is free and open to the public. A livestream will be available at capa.nsula.edu/livestream. He will be accompanied by NSU Associate Professor of Collaborative Piano Dr. Chialing Hsieh.
Munguía recently joined the Nazareth University School of Music faculty as director of Orchestras and String Studies. The Honduran conductor and pedagogue began his musical studies in San Pedro Sula at the Victoriano López Music School. Notable among his recent awards are honorable mention at the prestigious Premio Respighi in Conducting in NYC in 2022, Excellence in Creative Activity by the College of Arts & Sciences at Pittsburg State University in 2022/23 and Musician of the Year by the State Music Clubs of Kansas 2018.
Munguía is a versatile musician combining his work in orchestral conducting with an active career as an orchestral musician and a chamber player. He has been guest conductor of the Honduras Philharmonic Orchestra, the San Pedro Sula Chamber Orchestra, the Victoriano López Symphony, the University of Southern Mississippi Symphony Orchestra, the Natchitoches-Northwestern Symphony Orchestra, The Joven Camerata of EL Salvador, The San Vicente Music Festival Orchestra in Chile, The Southeast Kansas Symphony, the Iola Symphony, the Belgrade Camerata in Serbia, the OJUEM Symphony at University of Mexico among others. In the opera genre, he has conducted the TTU Opera Company, Midland-Odessa Opera Company, the University of Southern Mississippi Theater Opera Company, The Pittsburg State University Opera and Theater company and the Philharmonic of Tegucigalpa, Honduras.
A strong advocate of music education, maestro Munguía has served as clinician to several District and Honor ensembles in Kansas, Missouri, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas, Chile, Brazil, and Honduras. A passionate proponent for the chamber music genre, Munguía founded and established the Pittsburg Festival of the Arts held every summer in Pittsburg, Kansas, that featured more than 15 concerts in its 11th edition.
Munguía holds a Doctoral in Musical Arts degree in Orchestral Conducting from Texas Tech University where he studied with Dr. Andrew George and Dr. Bruce Wood; A Masters of Music (Orchestral Conducting and Violin Performance emphasis) from Northwestern State studying orchestral conducting with Dr. Douglas Bakenhus & violin with Dr. Andrej Kurti. He also holds a Bachelor of Music in Violin Performance from The University of Southern Mississippi under the supervision of Dr. Stephen Redfield, working on both standard and period Baroque violin. Munguía performs regularly as Duo Capriccioso (Violin/Viola & Flute Duo) with his wife, flutist Denissa Rivas.
Hailed as a “brilliant pianist” (Fanfare), Hsieh has performed recitals in Europe, Asia, and throughout the United States and has been a featured pianist on seven CDs for the Centaur, Innova, Enharmonic and Ballpark record labels. Hsieh has given masterclasses throughout the United States and abroad and served as a judge and adjudicator for competitions and events. She earned her M.M. and D.M.A. in piano performance at the University of Cincinnati, College-Conservatory of Music.
