In the fall of 2018, Alejandro Tomás Rodriguez—actor, musician and member of the internationally recognized trio Engine, and currently a visiting professor at UNM—introduced a series of singing encounters called Coming Alive through Song, which he described this way in an invitation: “Coming Alive through Song is a cycle of singing sessions open to all. . . . In these encounters, we will dive into a fluid interaction of song, movement, and rhythms rooted in Afro–Latin American traditions, as well as spirituals and shouts from the Deep South of the United States. Part of the day will be dedicated to physical work: exercises of synchronization and reaction contained within a structure that unfolds through different rhythms and games.”

These encounters have continued, and with his return to Albuquerque for the spring semester, they are about to begin again. Rodriguez, who will colead the sessions with collaborator Lloyd Bricken, shared his thoughts about the nature of these encounters, their objective, and their provenance in an interview reproduced here in an edited version, along with a promotional video, details about the upcoming sessions, and a brief profile of Rodriguez’s professional background.