American Songbook presents: The Villalobos Brothers
Stanley H. Kaplan Penthouse
March 14th
In its 16th season, Lincoln Center’s acclaimed series American Songbook continued to expand its scope in celebrating the best in American singing and songwriting by including several prominent Latin artists. The Villalobos Brothers performed high-octane Mexican fiddling, blending the indigenous rhythms and melodies of their native Veracruz with the harmonies of both jazz and classical music.
American Songbook: Magos & Limón
Stanley H. Kaplan Penthouse
March 26th
Mexican Jazz singer Magos Herrera—dubbed “the Cassandra Wilson of Latin America” by Jazz Times—joined forces with composer and flamenco guitarist Javier Limón to produce an album of American and Latin jazz standards entitled Dawn. The duo performed songs from the 2014 album as well as some classics.
Spring Concert by Excelsis Percussion Ensemble
Octavio Paz Gallery (Consulate General of Mexico in New York)
April 21st
With its pageantry of marimbas, drums, cymbals, xylophones, and vibraphones, the concert by Excelsis was a celebration of percussion. From the four corners of the planet, the love of percussion and performance brought together: Marcelina Suchocka (Poland), Aya Kaminagucki (Japan), Clara Warnaar (Canada-United States), and Mariana Ramírez (Mexico). The women of Excelsis shared their knowledge and passion to the audience as they expressed their percussion story.
Meridionalis: Music of Francisco López Capillas
The Hispanic Society of America
April 27th
Americas Society's ensemble, Meridionalis, led by Sebastián Zubieta, presented a concert featuring sacred choral music by Mexican composer Francisco López Capillas. The concert was part of GEMAS, a project of Americas Society and Gotham Early Music Scene devoted to early music of the Americas with Nell Snaidas and Sebastián Zubieta as co-artistic directors.
Juan Pablo Contreras’ Silencio en Juárez CD Release Concert
Em Lee Concert Hall - Turtle Bay Music School
Apr 30th
Exploring the Metropolis and the Turtle Bay Music School presented Juan Pablo Contreras’ Silencio en Juárez CD Release Concert. Contreras is a Mexican award-winning composer that combines Mexican popular and folk music with classical music in his compositions. The CD Release Concert featured selections from his works Silencio en Juárez, La más remota prehistoria, and Ángel mestizo.
Chamber Choir of the University of the Americas Puebla
June 5th
Octavio Paz Gallery (Consulate General of Mexico in New York)
The Consulate General of Mexico in New York and The Mexican Cultural Institute of New York hosted a recital by the Chamber Choir of the University of Americas Puebla. Conducted by Gisela Crespo, with tenor Joaquín Cruz and guitarist Alfredo Picazo, the recital featured traditional Mexican music.
Klezmerson at Kulturefest NYC
Joe's Pub
June 19th
KulturfestNYC is an international festival of Jewish performing arts, celebrating the global impact of Jewish culture. The weeklong festivities commenced on June 14th and ran through June 21st all day and night jam-packed with incredible theatre, music, dance, film, cuisine, street performances, family programs, panels, lectures to inspire and entertain you. At Kulturfest, Klezmerson (brainchild of Mexican violist, pianist and composer Benjamin Shwartz) gracefully combined melodies and rhythms from Europe’s Jewish tradition with gypsy and Mexican influences, creating a peculiar fusion of rock, funk and jazz improvisations.
II Mexican Musicians Gathering
Octavio Paz Gallery (Consulate General of Mexico in New York)
July 21st
The II Mexican Musicians Gathering was an opportunity for Mexican Musicians and music professionals or enthusiasts to get together and discuss collaboration possibilities, common interests and future projects.
Nortec Collective: Bostich + Fussible
Lincoln Center Out of Doors / Damrosch Park
July 23rd
The two founders of Tijuana’s audio-visual collective meshed brassy live instrumentation, norteño sounds, and catchy techno dance beats with mesmerizing live-action and projected images in a show the Los Angeles Times called “visually stunning, rhythmically dense.”The ex-Kraftwerk icon Wolfgang Flür joined the duo for a cameo, while Jungle Fire fused break beats, Afro-Latin percussion, West African funk, cumbia, and LA grit.
Bard Music Festival 2015: Chavez and His World
Richard B. Fisher Center for the Performing Arts at Bard College
- Aug 7th –9th —Weekend One: The Musical Voice of Mexico
- Aug 13th –16th —Weekend Two: Mexico, Latin America, and Modernism
The 2015 Bard Music Festival showcased masterworks by Carlos Chávez and his contemporaries. Program themes included the relationship of the Latin American musical scene to that in the United States; the role of the European emigrés; the legacy and influence of Spain; Mexican musical traditions; and Chávez’s work as conductor and his place among the outstanding Latin composers of the 20th century. The work of Silvestre Revueltas, Alberto Ginastera, Heitor Villa-Lobos, and others were heard, as well as choral music from Mexico dating back to the 16th century.
Mexican Baroque Music by La Fontegara
Octavio Paz Gallery (Consulate General of Mexico in New York)
October 13th
The Mexican Cultural Institute of New York held the concert Mexican Baroque Music: 18th Century instrumental dances and sonatas, by La Fontegara, a Mexican ensemble dedicated to Renaissance, Baroque, and Gallant music of Colonial Mexico. This concert was part of the New York Early Music Celebration 2015: El nuevo mundo, a Service Project of the Early Music Foundation. With the sub-title, “El nuevo mundo” this 2015 edition defined its theme.
Tembembe Ensamble Continuo: Un Fandango Barroco
Americas Society
October 14th
During the concert “Un Fandango Barroco” at Americas Society, Tembembe Ensamble Continuo explored the similarities between the instruments and the practices of each of these traditions, presenting all aspects of performance including music, song, and dance that bring alive the festive spirits of both the Hispanic fandango of the 17th century and contemporary traditional fandango.
Magos & Limón: He for She CD release concert
National Sawdust
October 15th
Magos & Limón joined forces to record a new DVD to support the “He for She” United Nations campaign, a solidarity movement for gender equality. National Sawdust, a Williamsburg music venue that aims to support emerging artists, hosted the He for She CD release concert, with special guests Andrea Tierra, Grégoire Maret, Sachal Vasandani, Oran Etkin, Rogério Boccato and Reggie Regg Roc Roy.
Torreblanca and Ulalume & Carlo Nicolau
Lincoln Center
October 29th
The Celebrate Mexico Now festival presented Torreblanca, an indie rock/pop/alternative band that is lost and found in musical creation; and Ulalume & Carlo Nicolau, an avant-garde New York-based ensemble consisting of violin, keyboards and vocals.
La Internacional Sonora Balkanera
Barbès Brooklyn
October 30th
Mexico City based La Internacional Sonora Balkanera, a Mexican electronic, rock, world beat, and Balkan beat band, held a concert at Barbès Brooklyn. The band got notoriety after performing in 2011 at Glastonbury Festival in England, Vive Latino in Mexico City, and Cumbre Tajín, Veracruz, that same year.
Chicago Panamerican Ensemble CD Presentation: Voices of Mexico Past and Present
Flamboyán Theater
November 22nd
Sponsored by FONCA (National Foundation for the Arts and Culture in Mexico), the 10th Annual Latin American Cultural Week took place, with music from some of the key composers from the XX and XXI Centuries. Musicians included: Elena Snow, mezzo soprano; Alan Snow, violin; Andrew Snow, cello and Beatriz Helguera, piano.
Winter Chamber Music Concert
Octavio Paz Gallery (Consulate General of Mexico in New York)
December 16th
We celebrated the end of the season with a chamber music Winter concert conducted by Felipe Tristán, Assistant Conductor of the Brooklyn Symphony Orchestra, with music of Felix Mendelssohn, Samuel Barber, Georg Telemann and Wolfgang A. Mozart.
New World Christmas - Navidad en Latinoamérica
Cathedral of St. John the Divine
December 5th – 25th
Early Music New York Chamber Orchestra, conducted by Maestro Frederick Renz, presented the opening/keynote event of the fifth Citywide, New York Early Music Celebration 2015: El Nuevo Mundo in a festive, Ibero-American classical orchestra program. Religious vocal creations for Spain's and Mexico's ornate cathedrals were interwoven with instrumental and vocal chanzonetas, villancicos, coloquios and ensaladas, with guitar tablatures of lively dances by Santiago de Murcia.
Credits:
The Mexican Cultural Institute of New York