About Us
The Project is a Multi-Song Commission based on the texts of Chicana poets, such as Sandra Cisneros, Carmen, Tafolla, Pat Mora and many others, set to music by Edna Alejandra Longoria. When performed these songs are accompanied by the visual artwork of Chicana artist, Melissa Arangua-Johnson, with the exception of those on texts by Raquel Valle Sentíes. Our Project has been funded by the following grants and organizations: The University of Delaware General University Research Grant, the Arts and Culture grant from the City of San Antonio, and the Luminaria Artist Foundation grant.
Noël Archambeault, D.M.A.
San Antonio native, Noël Archambeault, is the founder of the Chicana Art Song Project and teaches applied voice and voice pedagogy at the University of Delaware. She holds a Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance from the University of the Incarnate Word in San Antonio, a Master of Music in Vocal Performance and Pedagogy from Westminster Choir College of Rider University and a Doctor of Musical Arts in Vocal Performance from Texas Tech University.
Noël’s performing career has been marked by tremendous vocal and dramatic
versatility and has included performances of operatic and concert repertoire from soprano
and mezzo-soprano literature. Recent concert engagements have encompassed composers
as drastically different as J.S. Bach and Arnold Schoenberg, and have included performances of works by Haydn, Mozart and Rossini. Her operatic repertoire includes prominent heroines of the lyric and spinto soprano repertoire, including the title role in Puccini’s Suor Angelica, Amelia in Verdi’s Un Ballo in Maschera and Micaela in Bizet’s Carmen. As a recitalist, Noël is in great demand as an interpreter of 20th-century and contemporary music. Recent collaborations include the speaker in Schoenberg’s Pierrot Lunaire, as well as performances with Orchestra 2001 and the Relâche ensemble.
Edna Alejandra Longoria
Edna Alejandra Longoria is a Mexican-American composer born in McAllen, Texas and raised in Reynosa, Tamaulipas, México. Longoria obtained a MM in Music Composition at the Bob Cole Conservatory of Music at CSULB, and a BM in Music Composition from UTSA. Edna’s music has been premiered by various ensembles and musicians such as Verdant Vibes ensemble, Trio Casals, North/South Consonance ensemble, Chatter ensemble, Sonic Apricity, Elixir Piano Trio, Los Angeles Percussion Quartet, pianist Clare Longendyke, flutist Iwona Glinka, soprano Noel Archambeault among others. Miss. Longoria’s music has been performed at the Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, SCI National Conference, Music by Women Festival, SCI Region VI Conferences, LunArt Festival and the Alba Composition Festival. Edna’s piece “Danzas cautivas” won the 2019 call for scores at the LunArt Festival. In addition, Miss. Longoria has recently won the 2020 San Antonio NALAC Grant Award, as well as the 2019 San Antonio Performing Arts Grant Award. Edna’s music has been premiered in the US, Mexico, and Europe. double clicking the image and clicking Change Image.
Melissa Arangua-Johnson
Melissa Arangua is a Chicana visual artist from San Antonio,Texas. She holds an Associates of Art Degree from San Antonio College, and she is currently pursuing a Bachelor of Science degree in Special Education at Texas A&M University San Antonio.
Melissa’s work explores the intersection of her Mexican heritage and Chicana traditions to inspire her vibrant and colorful multimedia, symbolic visual art pieces. She first began exhibiting her artwork in 1993 in both solo and group shows, including exhibits at The Esperanza Peace and Justice Center, Finesilver Gallery, Anarte and The Carver Community Center. She ran Santa Lucia, a small gallery in San Antonio’s Blue Star Arts Complex, in the early aughts where she curated female-centric group shows for local artists. She has donated pieces to further causes that support womens’ rights, female focused non-profits like The Martinez Street Women’s Center, LGBTQ groups, and other movements that resonate with her on a personal level. Melissa then took some time away from painting after giving birth to her daughter, Isa Luz, in 2008. Between her life as a mother, a wife, and as a student, Melissa can be found passionately at work in her studio fervently creating visual imagery.