Catching up with former students came with an element of sadness for longtime Santa Fe music educator Marilyn Barnes as she found they lacked opportunities to showcase their talents in front of an audience after graduation. So she and her husband, Cris Barnes, did something about it. They created a musical theater company to give young adults the chance to retake the stage — and the result has been a hit. 

“We had the incentive, seeing our students on the street, and saying ‘What are you doing? Are you singing?’,” Marilyn Barnes said. “And they hadn’t opened their mouths except in their cars and in the shower since high school, and it just broke our hearts. That was our incentive to start Tri-M, but it has just grown way beyond that.”

In the latest episode of “Conversations Different,” Marilyn and Cris Barnes speak with host Inez Russell Gomez about how Tri-M (Millennial Music Makers) Productions has not just been a way for young adults to share their musical talents with the public but has also developed into somewhat of a social club that helps them form connections in the city. 

The pair talk about how they’ve prioritized paying the talent for productions, and the struggle with finding venues in Santa Fe.

They also discuss their upcoming production of Stephen Sondheim’s “Into the Woods,” which will run June 12-22 at the Santa Fe High School Performing Arts Center. For more information, visit trimsantafe.org.