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An immersive experience: Composer Nathan Felix to present 'Prophets, Pyramids & Paños' at NHCC
Nathan Felix directing immersive opera at the Blanton in Austin, Texas.
Nathan Felix’s mind is a creative hub.
It’s always been the way it has worked and over the course of his life, Felix has found ways to work with it.
The San Antonio, Texas-based artist is bringing a new performance to the National Hispanic Cultural Center.
Felix will present “Prophets, Pyramids & Paños” from 1-4 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 28, around the NHCC campus. Felix will also do a talk at 6 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 26, at the NHCC.
“It’s a three-hour event,” Felix says. “The first portion is my curation of local artists, and they will be performing in staggered times.”
Felix will have a cellist and a trumpet player playing through amplification around the NHCC campus. Inside the torreón, there will be choral music being performed. It all concludes with an immersive opera, “The Paños Prophecy,” featuring local opera singers.
“Each artist will repeat their set,” Felix says. “It’s really about the exploration of sound.”
Felix developed the immersive piece after viewing pieces from the NHCC’s current exhibit, “Into The Hourglass: Paño Arte From The Rudy Padilla Collection.”
Felix has been working on the piece for well over a year.
“I had to wait for images of the paños, and they were phenomenal,” Felix says. “The opera is about 30-40 minutes.”
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Felix has built a successful career creating immersive operas and experimental films.
He often focuses on telling Latinx-themed and minority stories that highlight border issues, underserved communities and his Hispanic heritage.
In 2013, Felix transitioned from leading indie-rock band, The Noise Revival Orchestra, to composing for orchestra by releasing his first symphony, “The Curse the Cross & the Lion.”
By 2015, Felix recorded and released his second symphony, “Neon Heaven,” a choral symphony sung in classical Latin.
In 2016, Felix was featured on PBS for work on his six-piano project in which he restored six pianos for a concert featuring two new compositions. After the concert, Felix donated the pianos to schools in lower income neighborhoods in Austin, Texas.
In 2020, Felix released “Öcalan,” a chamber opera inspired by Kurdish political activist, Abdullah Öcalan.
In 2021, Felix premiered his chamber opera, “Ribas-Dominicci,” on Texas Public Radio. “Ribas-Dominicci,” is inspired by the life of Major Fernando Luis Ribas-Dominicci, a pilot in the U.S. Air Force who was killed during Operation El Dorado Canyon in 1986.
In 2022, Felix premiered his third symphony, “Santa-Almada,” in Austin, Texas.
“Santa-Almada” is based on a true story sparked by a quest for answers about the composer’s absent father and Mexican ancestry, revealing the existence of a half brother and sister, also having been abandoned by their mutual father.
The same year, he premiered “La Malinche – Traitor|Savior” in Albuquerque.
“This is the first piece at the NHCC, and I’m so honored,” Felix says. “I’ve toured the campus and have so many ideas for future projects if they’ll have me.”
