Border CrosSing explores Latin American sacred tradition in 'Navidad Nuestra'

Border CrosSing is an award-winning choral music nonprofit based in Minnesota. The group’s Artistic Director Ahmed Anzaldúa and Executive Director Matthew Valverde recently joined host Tom Crann at YourClassical MPR’s headquarters for a conversation about the group’s upcoming holiday concerts: Navidad Nuestra (Our Christmas). Recorded at Maud Moon Weyerhaeuser Studio, the conversation offers listeners insight into the ensemble’s approach to historically informed performance using a Baroque ensemble with continuo and recorder. Listen now through the player above!

For more information on the event, and to purchase tickets, visit the choir’s official website.

The concert’s program explores the musical, historical and cultural context of two works rooted in Latin American sacred tradition: La Matutina Estrella (The Morning Star), a Bolivian Advent hymn from the late 17th century, and La Annunciation, which reflects on the story of the angel Gabriel’s message to Mary.

Anzaldúa and Valverde discuss how these pieces are connected thematically and musically, and how they are presented as part of a unified concert experience. As a conductor and pianist, Anzaldúa shares that his role in these concerts is to conduct and to lead the ensemble rather than perform at the keyboard, allowing the focus to remain on the collective sound and storytelling. Together, these works highlight Border CrosSing’s mission of bridging cultures through early music, inviting audiences into a reflective and immersive journey through Advent and sacred tradition.