The Show Must Go On

Read Baltazar Juárez’s comments on the September 2017 Mexico earthquakes and their effects on the Mexico International Harp Competition.

Baltazar Juárez and I were students together at Indiana University with Susann McDonald back in the late ’90s and early 2000s. We had much in common, both having come from Spanish-speaking countries to study in Bloomington—Baltazar from Mexico, and I from Argentina. I had a chance to catch up with Baltazar, a man of many hats, whose tireless work to promote the harp in his native country is raising the profile of Mexican harpists on the international scene.

Baltazar is one of the most active harpists in Mexico, and is even busier as we approach the month of November, when the contest he founded—the Mexico International Harp Competition—will take place for the fifth time  in Mexico City. We had a nice, long chat via Skype—Baltazar in Mexico City, I in Chicago—and had many good laughs along the way.

Harp Column: Tell us about the Mexico International Harp Competition that you founded. It will hold its fifth contest this fall—how has the competition changed and evolved over the years?

“I see a nice future,” Juárez says of what’s to come from the classical harp community in Mexico.

Baltazar Juárez: Yes, we started the competition in 2006, it has evolved and matured, of course. It has gotten bigger and gained more importance internationally. We also have more students coming from many other countries beyond Latin America. In the first competitions we only had Latin American people, which is very nice, but now our spectrum is wider.

HC: Yes, I saw that you have people from all over.

BJ: Yes, it’s very nice, but of course now the work is bigger.

HC: So you had five competitions in 11 years so it would be an average of every other year; is that when you host them?

BJ: Exactly yes, it will be every other year yes. It has kind of depended on the political situation of our country, but now I think it will be every other year.

HC: Starting an international competition and festival from square one is a massive undertaking. What was your inspiration for starting the Mexico International Harp Competition?

BJ: The inspiration basically came from two people. Here from Mexico Lily Tamayo. Some years ago she hosted a Latin American festival.

HC: Yes, Latin American meetings.

BJ: Yes, exactly. It is was very, nice and I was very young, and I enjoyed them. Of course it was a lot of work for her, and she eventually stopped organizing them. Then in Bloomington, Ms. McDonald took us to fundraising events for the USA International Harp Competition (USA IHC).

HC: Yes, I remember we would try to promote the competition.

BJ: So I saw how she did it, and I knew it was going to be a lot of work, but I thought it was necessary because in Mexico he used to have a very weak musical level and didn’t have any base (of harpists).

HC: Do you mean no point of comparison and nothing to push people? So you felt (a competition) would be an encouragement?

BJ: Exactly, and I thought we needed a competition to start raising the level.

HC: So you envisioned the competition as a way to motivate harp students to work towards a goal and to find out where they stand.

BJ: Yes, and that idea is from Ms. McDonald, actually. =I wanted to organize an event [like the USA IHC] in my own country because we didn’t have anything like it.

HC: What have been the biggest challenges in organizing this competition in Mexico?

BJ: I think the biggest challenge has always been the money. You have been invited as a jury member yourself, so you know that the jury members come as friends. They understand that we’re limited in what we can pay and how much of the expenses we can cover. it’s also a challenge to come up with prize money for the winners. There are institutions that support us and host the competition, but they cannot supply everything. I would like to give everything to the winning artist and the jury, but it’s hard to find the money to sustain it all.

HC: With that in mind, what are your long-term goals for the competition?

BJ: I think we can just keep it growing, and from now on we start doing the international competition every two years, but also have a national competition on the off years. That way the people that don’t reach the level of the international competition would still have the experience of competing on the national level. Then, maybe, at some point, they can be in the international competition. I think that’s how it’s going to be for the future.

HC: What was it like to study the harp with your father?

BJ: At that time it was very nice, but he was very strict. When I was a child, I didn’t want to practice many, many hours. I would have liked to just play without practicing. But he gave me discipline, and he made me practice a lot. I didn’t appreciate it at the time, but now as an adult, I am so happy that I had the opportunity to study with him.

HC: He gave you the discipline.

BJ: Yes, which is very important. I think it was the best thing that could have happened to me. At the time, though, when you are a kid, you don’t know it.

HC: How old were you when you started to play?

BJ: I started at different times. He first started to teach me when I was maybe 6 years old. Then he stopped when I was maybe 9. And then at 10 he said, “Now you’re going to practice harp. You are going to study harp.”

HC: So 10 was the decisive age.

BJ: Exactly. He said, “You’re going to practice harp. You’re going to practice certain hours.” He outlined a whole plan for me.

HC: How did you know you wanted to follow in his footsteps?

BJ: You know, I liked it. Even when I was a kid, I liked, I liked it. At that age, you don’t think of your future. But my father just decided when he said, “Now, you’re going to practice harp.” I like the instrument. I like the music. I don’t know—I just enjoy it. I knew what I wanted to do since I was very young.

HC: Who else have you studied with?

BJ: When I entered the (National Conservatory of Music of Mexico), my first teacher was Judit Flores Alatorre, the principal harpist for the national  orchestra. She taught me a very nice technique. I think she had Italian training. She told me, “(The pedal harp) is a whole different instrument.” I had to forget what I had been doing with the folk harp.

HC: What age were you when you made the transition?

BJ: I was 11.

HC: Oh, you were very young!

BJ: She made it very clear, and it stuck in my head. Already at the beginning of the year, she was very happy that I was advancing in the classical harp technique. But then she retired—she was already a bit old—and another teacher came who was really, really, really bad. I basically went on studying by myself.

HC: You didn’t get along with the new teacher?

BJ: No, I didn’t get along with her.

HC: How old were you then when this transition happened?

BJ: Twelve. Maybe 12 and a half.

HC: Right away!

BJ: Yes, it was right away. had only been with Alatorre for a year and a half before the new teacher came. At the beginning it was okay, but before long I was only getting lessons once every month. It was almost nothing. And she started telling me, “No, you’re not going to be a harpist. You don’t have the musicality, technique, or composition to be a musician.” I had no choice but to continue by myself from then on. I was still at the conservatory, but mostly studying the harp independently.

HC: And then after that?

BJ: After that I went on to study for two summers with Susanna Mildonian.

HC: Oh you did?

BJ: Yes.

HC: Where was it? In Europe?

BJ: It was in Sienna, Italy. It was very nice because each masterclasses lasted a month and a half.

HC: Oh, nice!

BJ: I got two or three lessons every week, and she’d say, “No, it’s not like that. Let me show you.”

HC: So she was very hands-on demonstrating more than explaining.

BJ: Yes, like that. And I learned like that with my father, so for me it was a good match.

HC: Then after that?

BJ: After that I moved to Bloomington to study with Ms. McDonald in ’96. I think you came in the same year.

HC: Yes, we started together. That was 21 years ago, Baltazar!

BJ: So many years, I know!

HC: It was just yesterday!

BJ: Yes, yes.

HC: How long did you stay at Indiana [University]?

BJ: I stayed for seven years.

HC: Would you say that Susann McDonald was your biggest influence as a teacher and mentor?

BJ: Exactly. Yes, she was. Because what can you learn by yourself?

HC: I know­—I had a similar situation growing up in Argentina. I was studying alone for a few years while seeing [Ms. McDonald] once in a while. She was like the mom to a lot of us. We were lucky to have her.

BJ: Exactly. Very lucky.

HC: So after you graduated, you went back to Mexico. Tell us about the harp scene in Mexico and specifically Mexico City where you live.

BJ: I would say the harp scene is getting bigger and better, little by little. We have a growing number of young harpists with a good international level. Those that have been studying abroad are coming back. One is Betuel Ramirez; you know, she was away for two and a half years, and now she’s coming back, and she’ll stay in Mexico. That will definitely enrich the harp scene in Mexico to have her involved here. There’s also Emmanuel Padilla Holguín (winner of the 2016 Mexico International Harp Competition), though he’s going to stay a little bit longer in Europe.

HC: It sounds like there’s a crop of young harpists—your students—who are going abroad to continue their education and  then coming back ready to contribute to the harp scene in Mexico.

BJ: Exactly. And the idea of the competition is to foster that.

HC: In 2013 you were invited to be on the jury of the USA IHC, a competition in which you won fourth prize in 1998. Describe what it meant to you to return to that competition as the first Mexican jury member.

BJ: Being on the jury was very nice. First of all, it was great to be back in Indiana and to see my friends, like you and Dan Yu and Ann Yeung and everybody, together in the jury. But I think it was also a valuable experience to see the competition from the other side.

HC: And you felt at home as well.

BJ: Yes, also to feel at home. It was also enriching to see so many other ways of playing from the new generation of harpists. I think the level is getting higher. I loved the whole experience, even though it was also very tiring. It’s a lot of hours and a big responsibility.

HC: You’ve collaborated with other world renowned harpists on projects like your recording with Isabelle Perrin in 2008 and your double concerto performance with Nicholas Tulliez at the World Harp Congress in Hong Kong last summer. What do you enjoy about those kinds of collaborations? Do you have anything new in the works?

BJ: I’m going to play together with Isabelle again this fall as a duo. I really enjoy playing with Isabelle because I enjoy her company—I enjoy her as a person. I learn, of course, I learn from my friends.

HC: Is that going to be in Mexico or elsewhere?

BJ: It’s going to be in Madrid, Spain, at the Tierra 47 Harp Festival. I also enjoy working with Nicholas because he’s very nice to be with and a very fun person. Making music with him is easy and fluent. It’s rewarding on both a personal and professional level.

HC: How do you balance traveling for international performances with your position as principal harpist of the National Symphony Orchestra of Mexico?

BJ: It’s very hard, but fortunately I get along very well with the orchestra management. The artistic director has to give me permission every time I have to travel. Sometimes I’ll get lucky and there won’t be a harp part on the program that week, but often there is. The artistic director has been very supportive.

HC: What about teaching? Where do you teach?

BJ: I teach at three schools.

HC: That’s a lot! You were telling me earlier that there’s a lot of commuting to your teaching.

BJ: Yes, a lot. Somehow I can get it done. When I’m away, I try to get my higher-level students to help me with the younger ones. That way, they get experience teaching, and the younger students aren’t lost while I’m gone.

HC: If you didn’t play the harp, what would you like to do for a living?

BJ: I don’t know. I like cooking. Maybe a chef?

HC: You’d be a chef? Really?

BJ: Maybe.

HC: You’ve never cooked for me. You need to cook for me. I’m going to test you on that. When I come to Mexico, you’ll have to cook for me.

BJ: Yes, for sure! I enjoy cooking. Of course I enjoy eating too. That’s why I gain weight.

HC: But also being a chef is like being a musician. It’s very artistic, right?

BJ: Yes, yes.

HC: And it’s demanding. You have to be constantly performing, getting your timing just right…

BJ: …and the ingredients and amounts just right. Exactly. I love it.

HC: What do you see for the future of classical harp in Mexico?

BJ: I see a nice future. As I mentioned before, our students are growing into young professional harpists and making their own careers. There are a couple in particular that I can imagine having very bright and promising futures. At the same time, it’s a good moment for them because in Mexico, we do not have many harpists. And most of what’s going on is centered in Mexico City. In other areas outside of the city, there is practically nothing. There’s still a lot of room for development.

HC: Baltazar, I really enjoyed interviewing you and I wish you a lot of success with the competition. I’m sure it will be beautiful. And I know it’s hectic for you, but you also enjoy the process.

BJ: Thank you so much.