Musician/Composer Alex Moreno will perform a solo piano recital this Saturday, July 8, at 6 pm, at the Texas Crown Performance Hall. Admission is free, but contributions will be gratefully accepted.

On the program will be pieces by Chopin, Ravel, Gershwin, Milhaud, Mendelssohn, Grieg, Coleridge-Taylor, Beethoven, and Rachmaninoff.

An alumni of Canadian schools, Moreno is pursuing a Bachelor of Music in Composition at the renowned Shepherd School of Music at Rice University in Houston. He is also a strong advocate for music education and committed to bringing classical music to rural areas.

His formal music training began at the age of 12 as a percussionist, under the tutelage of Band Director Dean Webber, and has received many accolades including the Texas State Solo and Ensemble Competition Outstanding Performer Award. Moreno’s musical ambitions lead him to teach himself piano, and later music composition. He credits his childhood experiences hearing classical music for the first time at the Citadelle Art Museum that motivated him to pursue a composition degree at Rice University.

Recently the Texas Commission on the Arts highlighted Moreno’s work with the Citadelle in a newsletter for July 2023, with the text below:

“Every fall, TCA staff spend many, many hours reviewing report forms that grantees submit as they close out their grants. These reports share arts organizations’ trials and tribulations, challenges and solutions. Many of these stories will resonate with others across our field, so we're sharing some of them through grantee spotlights.

“Our focus this month is the Citadelle Art Museum, a fine arts museum in Canadian. Canadian is the county seat and only incorporated community in Hemphill County, which has a total population of 3,382 according to the 2020 census. Last year, the Citadelle Art Museum was awarded an Arts Respond Project grant in the Natural Resources and Agriculture priority area. The competitive grants in this priority area support activities that take place in rural counties, and/or which have a focus on natural resources. The museum’s Arts Respond Project grant supported Full Circle, a project in partnership with Rice University, Amarillo College, West Texas A&M University School of Music, and the Canadian Independent School District, focused on creating a special series of concerts for residents of Hemphill County.

 “The project was inspired by the story of locally-born composer Alex Moreno, whose childhood experiences hearing classical music for the first time at the Citadelle Art Museum motivated him to pursue a composition degree at Rice University. Full Circle featured the commission, performance, and recording of six original chamber music compositions, all inspired by the collection at the Citadelle Art Museum, by Alex Moreno and fellow colleagues at Rice University. These pieces were performed by students and faculty from their partner schools at both the museum and Canadian’s Texas Crown Performance Hall, offering multiple, free opportunities for youth and adults to become inspired just as Moreno was. Following the performances, the recordings became integrated into the Citadelle’s permanent collection for future generations to experience.

 “The impact of these commissions is already palpable, with some audience members having traveled more than 240 miles to hear the performances at both venues. In most cases, these performances served as attendees’ first experience with live chamber music, mirroring Moreno’s own childhood experience. Reflecting on the project and its partnerships, Moreno said of the experience, “Probably one of the most special things about this opportunity was that it gave me the chance to show my hometown what I get to experience daily, and that was just so very special,” he said. “I got to take the best orchestral performers in the country home to meet my community.”

“TCA is proud to be able to support the Citadelle Art Museum, and the many other wonderful organizations across the state who make the arts accessible to our fellow Texans.”

Photo above: A performance as part of Full Circle, which featured the commission, performance, and recording of six original chamber music compositions, all inspired by the collection at the Citadelle Art Museum, in Canadian. Photo: the Citadelle Art Museum.