Flutist Nestor Torres to perform at Ancient Spanish Monastery in North Miami Beach
Written By Deborah Ramirez December 8, 2020 at 6:46 PM
A versatile performer who moves between Latin jazz, classical music and other genres, Nestor Torres will perform with his trio on Dec. 13 at The Ancient Spanish Monastery in North Miami Beach. (Photo courtesy of Wm. S. Haynes Co.)
A 12th-century monastery near the hustle and bustle of Biscayne Boulevard may seem an unusual sacred spot. But it’s one that Nestor Torres, a practicing Buddhist, finds most inspiring.
“I’ve always been enchanted by the environment and the space,” said the Latin Grammy-winning flutist and composer, who first performed at the North Miami Beach landmark after moving to South Florida in the early ’80s.
Torres returns to The Ancient Spanish Monastery on Dec. 13 for an annual fundraising concert. This year, the outdoor event will require social distancing and mask-wearing, and will also be livestreamed for those who prefer to watch from home.
Torres and his trio – Jorge Luis Sosa on keyboards, Agustin Conti on bass, and Rey Monroig on drums – will perform a mix of Latin jazz standards, Christmas favorites and some of Torres’ original compositions.
“Guests are excited about the combination of Nestor’s rhythmic and melodious music featured in our beautiful natural environment,” said Janie Greenleaf, president of The Ancient Spanish Monastery Foundation, which supports the historic site.
St. Bernard de Clairvaux is a medieval monastery that arrived from Spain in boxes and, thanks to a local philanthropist, found a home off North Dixie Highway in the mid-1960s. The 20-acre property includes an open courtyard, cloisters, lush gardens, and an Episcopal church and museum.
Torres, who practices Nichiren Buddhism and sees a mentor in Buddhist philosopher-educator Daisaku Ikeda, is drawn to a space where Cistercian monks once prayed and chanted.
“In these times that we’re living, we are in great need of sacred spaces – and not just a church or a house of worship,” he said. “For me, the significance of a sacred space is the space that we create between each other based on fundamental mutual respect and appreciation for each person.”
Torres has encountered sacred spaces throughout his career.
Born and raised in a musical family in Mayagüez, Puerto Rico, Torres, who is 63, moved to New York as a college freshman, spending several years performing with Cuban charanga bands and completing his education. He is a classically trained flutist who studied at New York City’s Mannes School of Music and the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston.
After moving to Miami in 1982, Torres became a soloist focused on jazz, but also incorporating classical music, Latin rhythms, hip hop and reggaeton. He has released 18 albums to date and performed with artists ranging from Herbie Hancock and Tito Puente to Gloria Estefan and Israel “Cachao” López.
“It is natural for me to go from one genre to another,” he said. “It is who I am.”
At his core, Torres is about the bond between music and spirituality.
He was a practicing Buddhist in 1990 when he suffered a boating accident that left him with 19 fractures, a collapsed lung and other injuries. “It was from the accident that I experienced what Buddhism really is,” he said.
At the time, Torres’ career as a jazz soloist was taking off. He had just released his first label album, “Morning Ride,” which made it to the Top 10 on Billboard’s contemporary jazz charts.
But his career went south during his long recovery. At the time, he had no health insurance, and it was questionable if he would perform again. It was during this period he discovered something that has now become popular: the value of frontline health-care workers.
“The ones who were always there were the nurses … they were so caring and loving and giving,” Torres recalled. “It was because of them I was able to recover.
“It also dawned on me that here I was, a celebrity with a career that was taking off. I came to realize they were the real celebrities.”
Torres was struck by another moment of enlightenment on the day his album, “This Side of Paradise,” was to receive a Latin Grammy Award as “Best Latin Pop Instrumental Album.” The date was Sept. 11, 2001.
The musician was in Los Angeles, on his way to a Buddhist Center for morning meditations, when he heard the news about the terrorist attacks.
Up to then, an ecstatic Torres had viewed winning a Latin Grammy as a crowning moment in his career.
“Something so important to me in a moment became meaningless,” he reflected. “Because my feeling at the time was that if my work as an artist could not contribute to transforming people’s hearts, so that something like that would not happen again, then what was it worth?”
He was determined to find out. Focused on New York, Torres embarked on what he now calls a spiritual musical pilgrimage, visiting churches and houses of worship from different faith traditions, near Ground Zero. He played wherever he was allowed to bring his flute and his portable recording equipment.
The list included St. Peter’s Catholic Church in Manhattan’s Financial District, which had been used as a staging ground for rescue workers and recovery operations. There, within its sanctuary, he improvised.
“I was hoping to capture something about the spirit of the city, what was going on at the time,” he recalled. “I wanted to be an agent of change.”
It took Torres about two years to edit and transcribe his New York improvisations. In 2004, Florida International University asked him to compose and perform a piece for the Dalai Lama, who was visiting the campus for a lecture on world peace.
The commissioned work and his Sept. 11 compositions became the foundation for “Dances, Prayers & Meditations for Peace.” The seminal 2006 recording included “Saint Peter’s Prayer,” an ode to his improvised performance at the lower Manhattan church.
“What keeps me going is my Buddhist practice,” said Torres, commenting on the struggles of the past year.
He has stayed busy, completing his second classical album, recording a single with Dominican urban artist-producer Maffio, and working as an artist-in-residence with the Florida Youth Orchestra. He is about to release a Latin-style Christmas single that he recorded with young musicians he mentored.
“So as challenging and difficult as this pandemic has turned out to be for so many of us, this is an opportunity to transform any situation to value,” he said. “It’s about making a determination – as long as we never give up, we will never be defeated.”
WHAT: “Jazz Holiday at the Monastery,” featuring Nestor Torres
WHEN: 7-9:30 p.m. Dec. 13
WHERE: The Ancient Spanish Monastery, 16711 W. Dixie Highway, North Miami Beach
COST: $100 VIP tickets with open bar, food, outdoor seating (limited); $25 virtual tickets.
IlluminArts bringing together chamber music, visual arts and social justice
Written By Sean Erwin November 27, 2020 at 5:15 PM
Miami-based mezzo-soprano Amanda Crider has been the driving force behind IlluminArts. (Photo courtesy of Francisco Moraga)
Seven years ago, Miami-based mezzo-soprano Amanda Crider settled in to enjoy a chamber music program in Washington, D.C., that featured art song (poetry set to music) – a genre of music she adores – when something unusual happened.
“There I was at a performance with a soloist and pianist I liked and respected in this traditional hall looking over the traditional printed program and I found myself … bored,” she said.
From that experience came the idea for IlluminArts, a musical series that bridges two often-completely different audiences: classical music lovers and contemporary visual arts enthusiasts.
IlluminArts performances originally took place in residences, specifically of Miami private art collectors.
“I hosted the first concert in the home of a friend with a terrific collection,” Crider recalled. “She invited everyone in the art world. I sang and planned the music around her art collection.”
Trained as a concert pianist before attending the Manhattan School of Music for voice, Crider had an extensive network of music colleagues to draw from, but her links to the visual arts were fewer. For help, she turned to Miami art collector and filmmaker Dennis Scholl, who was also vice president for arts at the Knight Foundation at the time.
“I probably would hear, when I was at the Knight Foundation, several thousand grant ideas a year. There were one or two that I immediately thought, ‘I’m doing this,’ and Amanda’s idea for IlluminArts was one of those,” said Scholl, who is now president and CEO of Oolite Arts in Miami Beach.
What sold Scholl on IlluminArts was Crider herself, and her strength as both an in-demand concert vocalist and an artistic director with a knack for programming classical music.
“The thing that’s special about IlluminArts is that Amanda takes risks,” Scholl added. “She did a massive program at the De la Cruz Art Collection that packed the house, and it was a risk that she took. It was a work that had a ton of moving parts, lots of artists, a number of disciplines and unfamiliar material. Much could have gone wrong, but the audience was open to the experimentation and embraced it.”
Since 2013, her deepening encounter with the visual arts has shifted Crider’s programming increasingly toward social justice issues. This year’s IlluminArts season highlights themes from the empowerment of young women to the effects of climate change.
For example, the Dec. 2 program, “Unmasked,” will bring together the Institute of Contemporary Art, Miami and the nonprofit Girl Power, which helps “at-promise girls ages 11 – 17.” The virtually streamed performance will present masks created by the girls – set to music from composers such as Barbara Strozzi and B.E. Boykin and performed by tenor Karim Sulayman, sopranos Susan Hellman Spatafora, Michelle Trainor and Jaylyn Simmons, male soprano Elijah McCormack, and mezzo-soprano Chrystal Williams.
Dennis Scholl, president and CEO of Oolite Arts in Miami Beach, said: “The thing that’s special about IlluminArts is that Amanda Crider takes risks.” (Photo courtesy of Maribeth Koeth)
“As I got into the arts and visual arts, I found myself drawn more to those artists who had social justice issues evident,” she said. “I like when audiences go to concerts and enjoy them, but I would also want them to leave with thoughts of what it meant to them.”
For the Jan. 31 program, IlluminArts and Oolite Arts will co-present “Rising” at the North Beach Bandshell in a (safety permitting) live performance centered on the work of film artist Sasha Wortzel. A South Florida native, Wortzel’s works frequently investigate the stories of the marginalized.
“I had already been invited to do a show for Oolite about the environment and climate crisis when the pandemic hit,” Wortzel said. “I was struggling to figure out what to do with the grief, since it was such a time of loss, with people losing their lives and their livelihoods. And the show became about creating a place of mourning and a place of hope.”
Set to music by Pulitzer-prize winning composer Caroline Shaw and performed by the Grammy-award winning Attacca Quartet, “Rising” centers on segments of videos from Wortzel’s upcoming art installation at Oolite, titled “Dreams of Unknown Islands.”
“In those film segments, I take inspiration from the cycles of the Earth – the breeding season of sea turtles and the cycles of the sun – to cope with the pandemic’s disruption of time,” she explained.
In March, IlluminArts will unite Philadelphia-based vocal sextet Variant 6 and neo-classical dance company Dimensions Dance Theatre of Miami plus six contemporary composers coming together in a program of all-new works.
Variant 6 mezzo-soprano Elisa Sutherland recalled the inspiration behind the IlluminArts program.
“We asked ourselves, ‘What about vocal music can lend itself well to dance?’” she said. “Having a strong concept of rhythm is good when you are trying to have people also choreograph the work. The composer can also obscure the rhythm intentionally for the same reason …
“We then gave the word ‘transform’ to the composers in July. They could do whatever they wanted.”
A South Florida native, Sasha Wortzel’s works frequently investigate the stories of the marginalized. (Photo courtesy of Jessica Rivas)
For tenor James Reese, the theme took its bearings from the pandemic’s effect on live performance.
“Singing in the way we sing in Variant 6 and dancing are both in-person experiences, and the pandemic canceled that,” he said. “So much of my life is tied up singing with other people. This is why we have asked composers to write about this idea of transformation.”
Another Variant 6 member, soprano Rebecca Myers, said she connected with Crider while performing in Seraphic Fire.
“I just really look up to her as an entrepreneur and as a really intelligent person,” Myers said. “We love and respect what she is doing.”
Reese added: “She totally embodies being a bada** singer but also a sharp, savvy entrepreneur, and someone who is tuned in not only to their own singing but also to the music scene at large.”
The IlluminArts season opener, “Unmasked,” featuring ICA Miami and Girl Power, will be available online at 8 p.m. Dec. 2. For more information and to purchase tickets for this and other IlluminArts events, go to Illuminarts.org/events.
Area Stage Company presents ‘The Ballad of Janis Matthews’ as podcast series
Written By Mike Hamersly November 25, 2020 at 9:33 PM
Written, directed and designed by Giancarlo Rodaz, “The Ballad of Janis Matthews and the Dodo Scouts” is a coming-of-age story set in the 1960s about a young girl running away to escape her broken home. (Photo courtesy of Area Stage Company)
Theater director Giancarlo Rodaz is known for producing children’s classics including “The Wizard of Oz,” “The Little Mermaid” and “Matilda the Musical.”
His latest project, “The Ballad of Janis Matthews and the Dodo Scouts,” embraces all the wonder and sense of adventure common to these stories. Still, it bears a heaviness that elevates it beyond what would be considered kids’ fodder.
“It is a family musical, but I think there are a lot of really intense themes that we try to tackle,” says Rodaz, who is associate artistic director at Miami’s Area Stage Company. “Kids love it when we’ve done it, and people get hooked on the music, but when it comes to the actual themes of family and division and unity and community, there’s really a lot for adults to chew on.
“I really did not write it to be a kids’ show – it’s really not that, although there are kids in it.”
“Janis Matthews,” which was also directed and designed by Rodaz, will be presented by Area Stage Company as a free series of four old-time, radio-style podcast episodes beginning Nov. 28. It is a coming-of-age story, set in a small Colorado town in the 1960s, about a young girl running away to escape her broken home.
Giancarlo Rodaz worked on the show’s soundtrack with Rachel Dean, a musician and songwriter who is a rehearsal pianist for Broadway’s “Hamilton” and “Moulin Rouge.” (Photo courtesy of Area Stage Company)
“What really inspired me was, I teach kids at the Area Stage Company theater, and I realized that a lot of kids don’t have complete families,” says Rodaz. “I was very lucky to grow up in a family that was – we were a very happy family. But I started teaching a lot of kids, and I realized that for most people, the households themselves are like battlegrounds. I wanted to write a story that got to the core of why that is, and what kind of hope a kid has growing up in that kind of environment.”
Rodaz has always loved tunes from the ’60s (“That’s all I really listen to in my spare time,” he says), so he jumped at the chance to base a musical around typical thematic elements of those songs.
“‘The Ballad of Janis Matthews’ became this musical about family and community and responsibility to your family and the people around you,” he says. “And I think the folk music that fills the soundtrack reflects that, because all the American folk rock is all about bringing people together.”
Rodaz had plenty of help with his show’s soundtrack, courtesy of Rachel Dean, a musician and songwriter who is a rehearsal pianist for Broadway’s “Hamilton” and “Moulin Rouge.” They met in 2014, when Dean was an intern at Area Stage, and hit it off immediately.
“She’s just an amazing pianist,” says Rodaz. “And we just talked at first, to air out ideas, and then when she sent me the first song for this show – it’s called ‘Better On My Own,’ that’s the first song she ever wrote – I heard it on my phone, and I was like, ‘Oh my God, we have to keep working together.’ It sounds like something real! And that blew my mind. But mostly, above everything, she’s a really lovely person.”
Rodaz wrote a couple songs for the show, but says Dean is its true creative force: “She’s really the musical maestro behind the show,” he says. “She’s the one that gives the show its musical soul.”
Ironically, Dean might have been voted “Least Likely to Write ’60s Folk Tunes For a Musical” among her songwriting peers.
Staci Marie Stout is the main singer on the “Janis Matthews” soundtrack. (Photo courtesy of Area Stage Company)
“I had a really interesting musical upbringing. I grew up in a really conservative family, so the only music I was really exposed to was Christian worship music until about high school. And as I went to school for music at the University of Miami, I started to be more exposed to it,” she recalls. “I had a Pop Composition class where we would study Michael Jackson and The Beatles, and everyone was like, ‘Yeah, yeah, yeah,’ and I was like, ‘Oh, I’ve never actually listened to most of their music,’ and I had to pretend that I knew it and then listen to it overnight and then come back with the knowledge that everyone already had for years [laughs].”
“People who like ’60s music are gonna hear a lot of references,” says Rodaz. “When the cast came in to read this version, there were people like, ‘Oh my God – that’s like a reference to The Beatles!’ and ‘Oh, this is a reference to Bob Dylan!’ – you’re gonna hear a lot of those influences, and we have a lot of fun with that.”
Note the spelling of the main character’s name: Yes, it was inspired by iconic ’60s vocalist Janis Joplin, who died in 1970 at age 27.
The main singer on the “Janis Matthews” soundtrack, Staci Marie Stout, naturally embodies Joplin’s style.
“She’s just so good,” says Rodaz. “She makes you cry. She has that kind of grit and earthiness that you don’t really hear. When you play her songs, they really don’t sound like musical theater songs, and they really stand on their own, like folk songs.”
Adds Dean: “She’s a tiny bit Janis Joplin, but she has a sweetness, too, and can do the Joni Mitchell thing. It’s really versatile … Once I heard her and knew what her capabilities were, I kind of threw a really difficult song at her, and she knocked it out of the park. I’m so excited for everybody to hear it – she’s amazing.”
WHAT: Area Stage Company’s Mainstage podcast production of “The Ballad of Janis Matthews and the Dodo Scouts”
WHEN: Episodes released every Saturday, from Nov. 28 through Dec. 19
WHERE:areastage.org/janis; downloads will be available via Spotify, Apple Music and YouTube
Historic Hampton House launching live music, film series
Written By Deborah Ramirez November 10, 2020 at 6:11 PM
From left, Ja’Nia Harden, Toddra Brunson, Sarah Gracel Anderson and Deana Butler-Rahming will pay tribute to the late, great singer Nina Simone. (Photo courtesy of Ladies of Simone)
The Historic Hampton House is getting its soul back.
Not that the 1953 segregation-era motel and lounge ever lost its soul. But like most events venues, COVID-19 has kept Miami’s unique cultural gem mostly dimmed. Plans to turn Hampton House’s lights back on are underway this month, with mandatory mask wearing, social distancing and sanitizing protocols in place.
This former motel-turned-cultural-center is launching a live music series on Nov. 13 and a film series on Nov. 19 – both celebrating African-American culture and pride.
“This is a beautiful facility with an amazing history, and we see the chance to push it forward,” said Historic Hampton House interim CEO Imani Warren, talking about these and other plans. “We’re trying to let the community and Miami know that we’re open, that you can come enjoy yourself, and you can be safe.”
Warren said the cultural center will limit the amount of in-house tickets sold and is working on providing livestreaming for the concerts.
In its heyday, the Hampton House, located in the Brownsville neighborhood near Liberty City, was a place where Black visitors felt safe in the Jim Crow era. With its midcentury style, plus a jazz club, restaurant and swimming pool, the motel was a crown jewel of the “Green Book,” the guide for African-American travelers during segregation.
The Hampton House welcomed Black celebrities who performed at Miami Beach hotels but could not spend the night there. It was like a second home for many civil rights leaders. Martin Luther King Jr. is said to have tried out his famous “I Have A Dream” speech at the motel a few years before delivering it during the 1963 March on Washington. Malcolm X and then Cassius Clay ate ice cream together in the Hampton House cafeteria to celebrate the young boxer’s 1964 victory over heavyweight champion Sonny Liston. Shortly after winning the title fight in Miami, Clay changed his name to Muhammad Ali.
White performers like Frank Sinatra and Vic Damone trekked to the Hampton House to visit or perform at its jazz lounge. The motel was also a place for community weddings, anniversaries, beauty contests and other events.
“It’s always been a symbol of human dignity and inclusion,” said Keith Clarke, curator of Hampton House’s jazz and film series. “It was a place for people to build bridges, go out and seek equality.”
Clarke grew up in Brownsville and remembers attending a Hampton House music program for youngsters. Now, Clarke is trying to build his own bridges, hoping to attract people who have never heard about the historic venue.
The music series kicks off on Nov. 13 and 14 with Ladies of Simone and The Simone Band, a tribute to the high priestess of soul, Nina Simone. Local singers and actresses Sarah Gracel Anderson, Ja’Nia Harden, Toddra Brunson and Deana Butler-Rahming will perform from Simone’s rich catalog, which includes protest classics such as “Mississippi Goddam,” and “To Be Young, Gifted and Black.”
The Historic Hampton House features framed photos of famous people who visited through the years, including jazz great Duke Ellington. (Photo courtesy of Historic Hampton House)
The Simone tribute, which was performed at the Hampton House and at downtown Miami’s Olympia Theater in 2019 brought the house down each time, said Clarke, who is president of the Miami Jazz and Film Society.
“People are really fulfilled by the truth that Nina speaks in her songs, but also by the performances, how the four singers synchronize and harmonize,” Clarke said. “It’s a great experience.”
Among plans for the new year, the Hampton House is working on guided audio tours, where visitors can see, among other things, the suite where King Jr. stayed and listen to one of his speeches. Warren also hopes to organize an event celebrating “One Night In Miami,” a new motion picture based on a fictionized encounter between Malcom X, Cassius Clay, Jim Brown and Sam Cooke that takes place at the famed Miami motel. The film, Regina King’s directorial debut, is scheduled for a limited theater release on Christmas Day and a Jan. 15 release on Amazon Prime.
The concerts are from 7 to 10 p.m., with doors opening at 6:30 p.m., and ticket intake starting at 6 p.m. Tickets are $15 and can be purchased through Eventbrite or at Historichamptonhouse.org.
The lineup includes:
Nov. 13-14: Ladies of Simone and The Simone Band, a tribute to the high priestess of soul, Nina Simone
Dec. 11: Divas & Divo 1, featuring about 10 of South Florida’s leading jazz vocalists and musicians will coming together in two separate shows for an evening of jazz and pop music. The lineup includes jazz singers and musicians Carole Ann Taylor, Aniye Strachan, Leesa Richards, Brenda Alford, Nikki Kidd, Nicole Yarling and Wendy Pedersen, along with vocalist LeNard Rutledge and saxophonist and singer Jesse Jones Jr.
Jan. 9 – Divas & Divo 2. Details to be announced.
Jan. 18 – A Martin Luther King Jr. celebration will feature Junkanoo bands for a carnival atmosphere. If conditions allow, “there will be dancing, whistles, percussion, call and response – a joyful experience,” said Keith Clarke, curator of Hampton House’s jazz and film series.
FILM SERIES
An eclectic mix of documentaries and feature films on a wide range of topics and characters will run from Nov. 19 through Jan. 21. Two films will be shown per night, starting at 6:30 p.m., with doors opening at 6 p.m. Admission is $10, and tickets can be purchased through Eventbrite or at Historichamptonhouse.org.
The lineup includes:
Nov. 19
“(In)Visible Portraits” by director Oge Egbuonu, who looks at the experience of Black women in America.
“Music is My Life, Politics My Mistress,” on the life of poet, singer, musician and activist Oscar Brown Jr.
Dec. 3
“And Still I Rise,” which explores the life of poet and activist Maya Angelou.
“Moolaadé” by Senegalese writer and director Ousmane Sembène, who tackles the subject of female genital mutilation.
Dec. 17
“Edge of the City,” a 1957 film-noir drama with John Cassavetes and Sidney Poitier.
“Nothing But A Man,” a 1964 film on the theme of racial discrimination, starring jazz singer-actress Abbey Lincoln.
Jan. 21
“Muhammad Ali – Beyond the Ropes,” on the life of the legendary boxer. The program also includes a speech by Ali and a testimonial on why he became a Muslim.
“The Journey of the African-American Athlete,” on the history of Black athletes in U.S. sports.
Seraphic Fire’s ‘Still. Here.’ explores music written during past pandemics
Written By Michelle F. Solomon November 3, 2020 at 6:03 PM
Founder and conductor Patrick Dupré Quigley, front, seen with members of the vocal ensemble Seraphic Fire. (Photo courtesy of Southern Land Films)
Seraphic Fire is “Still. Here.”
The renowned, Miami-based professional choral ensemble is opening its 2020-21, 19th-anniversary season on Nov. 8 with a virtual program designed to be reassuring and reflective.
The program – entitled “Still. Here.” and available via Vimeo – will feature a compilation of secular music, both known and unknown, written in times of plague and pandemic. A heavy focus, to be sure, but presented “from the angle of what happens when art survives,” says conductor Patrick Dupré Quigley, the ensemble’s founder and artistic director.
“That’s the lesson that art can tell us that doctors and politicians can’t – that things like this have happened before and we can look back to the art that was created in these times and see what they felt and realize that we’re not alone, that coronavirus has many precedents.”
Quigley’s Seraphic Fire is known for its difficult and varied repertoire – pieces that are rarely heard or that are recast with a different approach, ranging from medieval chant and Baroque music to Brahms and Mahler. It is known, too, for its recordings. A past Grammy Award nominee, the ensemble saw its self-released album of Monteverdi’s “Vespers of 1610” hit No. 1 on the iTunes classical chart in 2010.
The path to “Still. Here.” began after Quigley was “sent home” in March while in the midst of a stint with the San Francisco Symphony. A member of the symphony’s conducting staff under Michael Tilson Thomas, Quigley was getting ready for two weeks of concerts in San Francisco and two weeks in Europe.
“I often find solace in reading history because it’s very hard to see into the future, but it’s easy to look into the past,” Quigley says.
Scouring through literature about pandemics, he discovered one in particular that struck him: “Plague and Music in the Renaissance” by Remi Chiu.
There, he found a score by whom he calls the patron saint of secular music, Italian Renaissance composer Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina. The piece, “Sicut cervus,” is a motet for four voices that was published in 1604 and is now the centerpiece of the upcoming “Still.Here.” program.
“Sicut cervus desiderat ad fontes aquarum, ita desiderat anima mea ad te Deus.” (“As the deer long for the springs of water, so my soul longs for you, oh God.”)
“I cried and cried while listening to the piece, because it expressed these sort of shifting sands and longing,” Quigley says.
“Looking at the emotions that it boils down to are that they were concerned about losing their friends, they were longing for human contact and company, and longing for loves that had gone away,” he adds. “There is an incredible sense of longing for emotions that comes through in every piece.”
Quigley put together a program in which members of the ensemble individually recorded their parts, as he says, in bedrooms, bathrooms and closets everywhere from Los Angeles to London.
It begins with an anonymous chant dating to the 1400s, “after the onset of the plague of the 14th century,” Quigley says.
“Heaven’s star, nurturer of the Prime god, uproot this death plague, planted by our first parents.”
“A lot of what we found in the 14th century through the 19th century was that people thought that plagues were sent by God or by supernatural powers or a conjunction of planets,” he says. “So, the idea of the emotional tool that was going on with people at the time is not necessarily expressed explicitly. Since they thought it was a sacred thing to be solved by sacred means, you said another Mass or you set an historic text that dealt with plague to music, that was how they dealt with it.”
The pieces are not dolorous, Quigley says, but more about wistful longing, nostalgia, sometimes anger and, above all, love – romantic love, or love of friends, or love of life.
There is music to text attributed to Henry VIII of England. “It’s part of a set we have [in the program] from the early Tudor Dynasty with composers who were dealing with the mysterious Tudor plague, the sweating sickness,” he says.
“This music, that offers both comfort and perspective, was written during a time when what we were experiencing was going on except without electricity, running water and Amazon delivery.”
WHAT: Seraphic Fire season opener, “Still. Here.”
WHEN: 4 p.m. Nov. 8
WHERE: Streamed via Vimeo; a link for the performance will be emailed to viewers
INFORMATION: The program will include a pre-talk by Patrick Dupré Quigley and be followed by a question-and-answer session with performers. Call 305-285-9060 or visit Seraphicfire.org.
‘People: A Love Letter to Humanity’ – a concept album meant to uplift, unite
Written By Rebekah Lanae Lengel October 15, 2020 at 12:04 AM
Having painstakingly worked on this album, “People: A Love Letter to Humanity,” for the past five years, composer Juraj Kojš said the past months of social distancing led him to believe this is the time to share the work about humanity with humanity. (Photo courtesy of the artist)
The idea for the album, “People: A Love Letter to Humanity,” came to composer Juraj Kojš in 2015, as a rumination after the terrorist attack at the Bataclan Concert Hall in Paris.
“For us musicians, it just became really apparent that there’s no safe place, that what we thought - that music was sacred and had its own domain, so to speak – was hugely violated,” says Kojš, who is director of the Miami-based Foundation for Emerging Technologies and Arts (FETA).
What followed was the development of a concept album, his fourth solo album, dedicated to uplifting and bringing people together, with music and lyrics by Kojš.
“I was thinking about something that would remind us that we are not alone, even though we are different,” Kojš explains. “I had this song, and the song had a voice, a vocal part, drums, base, harmonies, andI took each of these elements of the song and made another song out of it, like a little baby, that way each of these voices inside of the original song became a voice by itself, and it kind ofshowcased what a great variety we are as humanity.”
Featuring vocals by his longtime collaborator, singer Jennifer Beattie, the album has 13 tracks, which are diverse and lush, spanning pop, dance, opera and experimental sounds.
“People’s Song,” for example, is a group chant of the word “people” sung in 70 languages, presented as a house remix by Kojš’ brother, Milan Kojš. “Voice More: Aria” is a haunting track, featuring mezzo-soprano Beattie’s soaring vocals layered over at times disparate melodies, to sound like both a party and a prayer.
The album also includes snippets of interviews with three of Kojš’ friends – composers and culturalists Dorothy Hindman, Clotilde Luce and Betzaida Ferrer – on the topic of humanity.
The combination of sounds is nothing new for Kojš, whose artistry is inherently multidisciplinary and collaborative.
Originally from Slovakia, Kojš moved to the United States in 1997 at age 23. He received a Ph.D. in music from the University of Virginia, and is currently an assistant professor at the University of Miami’s Frost School of Music. He has had his sound-based installation and performance work commissioned and presented by, among others, the Quiet Music Ensemble, Miami Light Project, Miami Theater Center, MDC Live Arts, Deering Estate and Vizcaya Museum & Gardens.
“Somehow it’s easier for us to understand art when it has a frame, but there are multiple dimensions to an artist,” he shares. “For music, this is kind of a big breakthrough for me. I’m not sure whether there is anything that connects different genres and styles and moods into a single album.”
Having painstakingly worked on his album for the past five years, Kojš said the past six months of social distancing led him to believe this is the time to share the work about humanity with humanity- and he offers it as a salve and a way for people to connect.
“We all want one thing, and that is to connect,” Kojš says. “I’m a hugger, and every time I meet people, even new people, I like to hug people, I like that physical contact and the intimacy that you can extrapolate very quickly, even with a stranger, and that is completely taken away from me, and from all of us right now. We live in a time where connection is as valuable as gold. We want to be connected, and we are meeting with this incredible resistance of physical distancing, and boundaries that are presented to us. So I’m ready for the people to hear this project, dance to it, and really connect …
“You know, we called this a love letter, but maybe it’s a love hug to humanity. This project is about people and for people,” he adds. “I have this image that this project only exists when it is among the listeners, and I’m hoping that it will inspire people to find their own ways to use and find their humanity and connect.”
To order the “People: A Love Letter to Humanity”album, go to Peoplealbum.club. A collector’s edition vinyl LP is available for $43; a digital album costs $7.
New World Symphony to take its WALLCAST to the drive-in
Written By Michelle F. Solomon October 14, 2020 at 4:02 PM
The Dezerland Park WALLCAST concert will feature the best of the New World Symphony in a drive-in setting on Oct 17. (Photo courtesy of New World Symphony)
When it can be in full performance mode, the New World Symphony typically has two audiences for its classical concerts.
There are those wishing to be indoors – in the 756-seat, Frank Gehry-designed concert hall – to take in the live music, and those who savor the experience while relaxing in SoundScape Park, on the lawn of the sprawling, two-block symphony campus at 500 17th St. in Miami Beach. The latter bring blankets and lawn chairs to see and hear the WALLCAST broadcast on a 7,000-square-foot projection wall on the side of the New World Center.
“When we began WALLCAST, we were creating a drive-in movie theater of sorts,” says NWS president and CEO Howard Herring. “Now we’re taking classical music to the drive-in.”
NWS will open its 33rd season at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 17 with a special WALLCAST Concert at North Miami’s Dezerland Park Drive-In Theater.
This will be the symphony’s first in-person event since the pandemic began, Herring says, and it is planned as a celebration of the communal concertgoing experience ̶ a “Best Of WALLCAST” program ̶ to be shown on Dezerland’s 40-foot LED screen. Music will be simulcast via a channel available through car radios.
“We have done 106 WALLCASTS since we started the project in January of 2011 and, from that archive, we have put together a 68-minute program of some of the most dynamic of those performances,” Herring says.
Past WALLCAST concerts at SoundScape Park have drawn 300 to 400 people, according to NWS president and CEO Howard Herring. (File photo courtesy of Rui Dias-Aidos)
The program will include highlights from concerts led by NWS co-founder and artistic director Michael Tilson Thomas and French conductor Stéphane Denève. Herring says the pièce de résistance of the evening will be one of the best of the best concerts, from Venezuelan pianist Gabriela Montero in 2018.
There also are plans for a small chamber group of NWS fellows to perform live at Dezerland. Food trucks will be on-site.
In planning the new season, the NWS team didn’t feel the lawn – with the large gatherings that WALLCAST typically draws – was feasible.
“We’ve had 300 to 400 people there,” Herring says. “We know that 80 percent of that audience comes in groups of five or more, which is to say it is a community event.”
Despite the pandemic, NWS hasn’t missed a beat, Herring says. “We are up and running.”
He adds: “We have 35 independent projects that will be online, which are conceived and executed by the fellows. For us, it was a quick move to say, ‘Well, if we can’t play live in the hall, we can do plenty of other performances.
“We will do every bit as much of public performance this year as we usually do in a year that is not governed by a pandemic, just in other ways.”
The symphony was founded in 1987 by Tilson Thomas, along with philanthropists Lin Arison and the late Ted Arison. It is made up of advanced orchestral fellows who have competed from across the globe to participate in three years of intensive training. There are only 35 spots per year, and 87 of those musicians comprise the orchestra.
Like most everyone, NWS is eager to return to business as usual – that is to get people back in the concert hall and in the park.
“We will get to December and we will evaluate and see what’s possible [regarding live performances],” Herring says. “We’re just going to take this as it comes, but the essence of this is that we are still vibrant.”
WHAT: NWS at Dezerland Park, a WALLCAST concert season opener
WHEN: Oct. 17; gates open at 6 p.m. and showing starts at 7:30 p.m.
WHERE: Dezerland Park, 14401 NE 19th Ave., North Miami
COST: $40 per carload; tickets must be purchased in advance by 4 p.m. Oct. 17
Pair pay tribute to their childhood & Havana neighborhood with ‘Viento y Tiempo’
Written By Deborah Ramirez October 12, 2020 at 5:06 PM
The album “Viento y Tiempo,” by singer Aymée Nuviola and jazz pianist Gonzalo Rubalcaba, was recorded before a live audience at the Blue Note Tokyo club in August 2019. (Photo courtesy of Blue Note Tokyo)
As music prodigies growing up in Havana, Gonzalo Rubalcaba and Aymée Nuviola studied the classical masters, like Beethoven and Bach.
They were children when they entered Cuba’s competitive Manuel Saumell Conservatory, where they trained to become classical pianists.
But in Centro Habana, where the two schoolmates were born and raised, they were exposed to a different playlist. Their neighborhood provided a constant mix of boleros, ballads, guarachas, danzonetes, son montunos and other tropical rhythms that blared from radios, television sets, record players and local bars.
Through the years, Nuviola, an acclaimed Afro-Cuban singer, songwriter, bandleader and actress, and Rubalcaba, a virtuoso jazz pianist, have talked about one day recording a tribute to their childhood, their mothers – who became close friends – and the musical environment that shaped them as young aspiring artists.
That day is now.
The two Grammy winners, who live in South Florida, are promoting their first album together, “Viento y Tiempo” (“Wind and Time”), recorded before a live audience at the Blue Note Tokyo club in August 2019. Released earlier this year on the Top Stop Music label, the album is their love letter to a shared musical past.
“Viento y Tiempo” (“Wind and Time”) is their love letter to a shared musical past.
“Our biggest dream was to work together on a project that would showcase the music, the songs we grew up with, the soundtrack of our neighborhood and our youth,” said Nuviola, who won her first Grammy Award for “Best Tropical Latin Album” this year and had earned a 2018 Latin Grammy. She is also known for portraying the adult Celia Cruz in a 2015 television series.
The new album “goes back to a time when we were children developing our art and dreaming about becoming musicians,” she added.
The Coronavirus pandemic forced the cancellation of a “Viento y Tiempo” concert tour that had included Miami, San Francisco and Los Angeles. The virus also struck Nuviola and her husband and manager, Paulo Simeon, who have since recovered and are awaiting new concert dates.
“We’re hoping it will be this summer,” said the singer from their Miami home.
Rubalcaba, the recipient of two Grammys and two Latin Grammys, is enjoying his first album in decades dedicated entirely to popular Cuban music.
“It’s a debt that Aymée and I had, not only for ourselves but also for our families,” said Rubalcaba, who lives in Coral Springs with wife Maria Gonzalez and has three children, now adults. “It’s important to return to one’s roots.”
The two performers have their roots in central Havana, where they studied classical piano, but they carry Afro-Cuban rhythms in their DNA.
Rubalcaba played percussion is his father’s band, starting at age 5. Guillermo Rubalcaba was a popular pianist, composer and bandleader, and several family members were also musicians.
Nuviola started playing piano at age 3, encouraged by her mother, Adelaida Elisa Suárez, a piano teacher.
“We both came from homes where it was common to see rehearsals, jam sessions and long conversations about music and art,” Rubalcaba said.
Aymée Nuviola, known for her improvisational vocal skills, portrayed the legendary Celia Cruz in a 2015 series. (Photo courtesy of Blue Note Tokyo)
Nuviola recalled meeting Rubalcaba when she was 7, on the day she auditioned at the conservatory. A few years older, Rubalcaba was at a more advanced level. She became his biggest admirer.
“Whenever I heard he was jamming with his friends, I would be there. Even then, I saw his talent, the speed with which his fingers moved over the keys. I would say to myself, ‘Oh, my God.’”
The two performers also view “Viento y Tiempo” as a tribute to their mothers, who bonded over their musically gifted children and pushed them toward excellence.
“We couldn’t play popular music at school, so it was my mother who taught me to play all the Cuban songs,” Nuviola said. “And Gonzalo’s mom convinced him to study piano when he wanted to become a percussionist.”
Rubalcaba said his mother, Yolanda “Chiquitica” Fonseca, didn’t have to do much convincing: “I did it to please her. We always had a special relationship.”
Midtown Havana in the mid-1970s and early ’80s – when they were growing up – was a hub of live and recorded music.
Rubalcaba said the environment helped launch a new wave of Cuban musicians, among them Juan Formell – his longtime neighbor – who created the iconic dance band Los Van Van, and Chucho Valdes’ internationally acclaimed Afro-Cuban jazz group Irakere. Both Cuban bands rose to fame in the early ’70s.
“When you’re transitioning from childhood to adolescence, the songs you hear stay with you throughout your life … they become part of who you are,” Rubalcaba said.
Part of who Rubalcaba and Nuviola are can be heard on “Viento y Tiempo.”
The album includes “El Guararey de Pastora,” an early Van Van hit, along with Cuban standards “El Manicero” and “Lagrimas Negras” – all infused with Rubalcaba’s jazz arrangements and Nuviola’s fiery improvisations.
The danzonete “Rompiendo La Rutina” is a nod to Rubalcaba’s father, who performed the song with his band La Charanga Tipica de Concierto. Rubalcaba calls the piece “a gem of an encounter between European music and Afro-Cuban music.”
“Bemba Colora” is the album’s one song that wasn’t played in Cuba when the two were growing up. The song was associated with Celia Cruz, whose music was banned in Cuba after she defected.
Considered one of the most gifted jazz pianists of his generation, Gonzalo Rubalcaba was born into a musical family in Cuba. (Photo courtesy of Yuka Yamaji)
“It’s one of Aymée’s best interpretations from Celia’s repertoire,” Rubalcaba said. It’s also, he added, one of Cuba’s first songs to mix two genres: rumba and son.
The opening track, “Rumba Callejera,” written by Nuviola, is a duet with her sister and former band member, Lourdes.
“If Aymée hadn’t lived in the neighborhood and experienced everything she did, she would not have been able to write a song like that,” Rubalcaba added.
The album’s only non-Cuban song is “El Ciego,” a haunting bolero by Mexican composer Armando Manzanero, who was popular in Cuba. The song gives Nuviola a chance to show a different side as a vocalist – that of a jazz singer.
“Aymée can do a lot more than she’s known for,” said Rubalcaba. “She saw an opportunity to go beyond a bolero … it wasn’t something we talked about, it happened naturally.”
Working together brought back memories, but it also made them realize something: Both are survivors of a totalitarian regime where lack of freedom and resources makes it hard for any artist to grow.
“We have lived similar experiences, we have the same emotional baggage,” said Nuviola, who arrived in Miami in 2004 via Mexico. “We have a certain chemistry, and that was important for what we sought to achieve [in ‘Viento y Tiempo’].”
Rubalcaba agreed. “We fully lived the Cuban reality, where it’s difficult to achieve a space as an artist because everything is so politicized and full of ideology, which you may or may not agree with.”
Their shared experience impacted their work together “spiritually, emotionally and intellectually,” Rubalcaba added. “We understand each other, we speak about the same things – and musically, this has strengthened us.”
“Viento y Tiempo” is available on all digital platforms. For more information on Gonzalo Rubalcaba, go to G-rubalcaba.com. For more information on Aymée Nuviola, go to Aymeenuviola.com.
Jon Secada to kick off star-packed Pinecrest Gardens jazz series
Written By Tracy Fields October 7, 2020 at 7:56 PM
Miami’s own Jon Secada has sold 20 million records and won two Grammy Awards. (Photo courtesy of Michael Raveney)
While some arts presenters have pulled back this season because of the pandemic, Pinecrest Gardens is charging ahead: Its annual jazz series will go on, without a live audience but with a new charitable component.
Renamed JazzAid Live at the Banyan Bowl, the concert series is in its 11th year. This season, its world-renowned stars will still perform at the gardens’ amphitheater, but the audience will be at the other end of a livestream, and a portion of the proceeds will benefit Chef Jose Andres’ World Central Kitchen.
According to Pinecrest Gardens executive director Alana Perez, the decision to proceed with the concerts during these uncertain times was based on twin desires: “to save the music and support the great jazz musicians that make it happen, and to offer something wonderful to the audience we have worked so hard to build in a year when great live entertainment is so very scarce.”
The eight-show series, which runs Oct. 17 through April 10, is meant to satisfy a wide variety of musical tastes, with a mix of beloved veterans and young lions; nearly all are Grammy Award winners.
First up, on Oct. 17, is Miami’s own Jon Secada, who has sold 20 million records and won a couple of Grammys with songs like “Just Another Day” and “Do You Believe in Us.” The Hialeah High grad has a bachelor degree in music and a master degree in jazz vocal performance from the University of Miami.
“It’s always a humbling honor to perform for my community at times when we need to come together,” he said. “The Pinecrest JazzAid concert is doing just that.”
Grace Kelly has appeared on “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.” (Photo courtesy of Taso Papadakis)
The concert series launches the day after World Hunger Day.
“It was serendipitous. World Central Kitchen uses the power of food to heal and strengthen communities through times of crisis, and we hope our music, our beloved jazz series, will do the same,” Perez said.
In addition to the disaster relief efforts for which it is famous, World Central Kitchen has been feeding people during the COVID-19 pandemic, a time when traditional food safety nets, like school meals and community programs for homebound seniors, have frayed. The nonprofit says it has provided more than 25 million meals in 400-plus cities around the country since the start of the pandemic.
The remainder of the schedule is as follows:
Nov. 14 – Dee Dee Bridgewater, a Grammy and Tony award singer, songwriter and actress who for more than two decades hosted NPR’s “JazzSet.” In the 1970s, she was part of the cast of the Broadway musical, “The Wiz.”
Dec. 12– Kurt Elling, also a Grammy winner. He has topped the DownBeat Critics Poll for male vocalists more than a dozen times, receiving similar honors from the Jazz Journalists Association on eight occasions.
Jan. 16 – Glenn Miller Orchestra, back by popular demand after being part of the series in 2019. The founder of the orchestra, one of the most popular of the Swing Era, died during World War II. But the band thrives, still playing the sounds he made famous.
Feb. 13– Wycliffe Gordon with the University of Miami’s Frost Concert Jazz Band. Both the DownBeat Critics Poll and Jazz Journalists Association have repeatedly honored Gordon for his work on trombone. Leading the band will be drummer Dafnis Prieto, winner of a MacArthur Fellowship “genius grant.” Prieto’s 2018 big band recording, “Back to the Sunset,” took the Grammy for “Best Latin Jazz Album.”
Also among the performers is The Manhattan Transfer, a quartet that is in The Vocal Group Hall of Fame. (Photo courtesy of John Abbott)
Feb. 27 – Saxophonist, singer and composer Grace Kelly, who has won the John Lennon Songwriting Contest. Fans of “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” may know her from her appearances with Jon Batiste’s house band, Stay Human.
March 13–Joey Alexander, the first Indonesian musician to reach the Billboard 200 in 2015 with his debut album, “My Favorite Things,” recorded when he was age 11. Now 17 and with five albums as a leader, the pianist, composer and bandleader brings his trio to the Banyan Bowl.
April 10 – The Manhattan Transfer, the vocal quartet that has won eight Grammys, harmonizing jazz, pop, rock, R&B and more. Founded in 1972, the group is known for songs including “Trickle Trickle” and “Birdland.” The Manhattan Transfer belong to The Vocal Group Hall of Fame.
“Our lineup is stunning,” Perez said. “It’s an awesome season.”
While she and her staff are experienced at presenting such stars in their amphitheater, this year’s effort is very different.
“Even though we are livestreaming on internet-based devices and smart TVs, our mentality is world-class broadcast,” she said, adding that each concert will be a five-camera production. “The show will look and sound like anything you would see on network television. The only difference is the no-audience factor.”
WHAT: JazzAid Live at the Banyan Bowl
WHEN: Starts 8 p.m. Oct. 17, then continues monthly – with two in February – through April 10
WHERE: Via livestream
COST: $15 for individual concerts; $100 for the full series
Florida Grand Opera honors its past and plans for the future
Written By Michelle F. Solomon September 29, 2020 at 9:55 PM
Susan Danis has been general director and CEO of Florida Grand Opera since 2012. (Photo courtesy of Nick Garcia)
Florida Grand Opera spent years planning for its 2020-2021 season.
The idea was to host galas and fundraisers in tribute to its 80th anniversary – and to its standing as one of the oldest performing arts organizations in Florida.
But this season won’t be how anyone would have been imagined even a year ago, says Susan Danis, Florida Grand Opera’s general director and CEO.
The season will be smaller in scope but large in its vision.
Its resident home, the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts, is closed. But even if it were to open, seating would have to be reduced because of social distancing guidelines.
“It would be hard to put on a full opera with only so many hundred people in the audience. It’s a formula to the bottom line going extremely red,” she said.
The solution: Give fans their opera fix by presenting works that can be done in more “creative spaces.” That means smaller venues such as Florida Grand Opera’s Doral rehearsal facility and the Coral Gables Museum.
“We’re a performance organization. We want to perform,” she says.
“There are some giant upsides to this. This time is going to forge some partnerships that I am 100 percent sure will continue into the future and will be good for both sides of the equations, because we may end up in neighborhoods that we are not usually in.”
The season kicks off in October, with the Studio Artist Concerts series and the SongFest Recitals series, featuring studio members Stephanie Doche (mezzo-soprano); Dylan Elza (tenor); Shaina Martinez (soprano); Michael Miller (baritone); and Andrew Simpson (bass-baritone).
Studio artist Jessica Jones performs in Florida Grand Opera’s SongFest series during the 2018-2019 season. (Photo courtesy of Florida Grand Opera)
“The Concert Series will be three different concerts in our rehearsal hall in Doral. We know how much square footage we can set up with the social distancing,” she says. “Then the SongFest series will have two concerts at the Coral Gables Museum – we’ve worked with them before – [and] two in Broward County will be at Fort Lauderdale’s Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church, an amazing facility with a sanctuary and two other performance spaces.”
One of Danis’ goals during this time of reshaping out of necessity is to establish opera as a means of inclusion: “To have people experience art that they usually do not, because we are going outside of our box.”
With all the bells and whistles of opera – the elaborate costumes, the grand sets, the big orchestra, the mystique of the lyrics in Italian, German and French – Danis wants the audience to never forget that no matter where you experience it, whether it is in a mega theater like the Arsht or in the middle of a museum, opera is about voice.
“What really moves you is the power of the human voice,” she says. “You can get away with not having such an elaborate production and you can present something wonderful amid a different kind of landscape, one where you have to have the considerations of protecting people – your audience and your singers, too – from COVID,” she says.
Danis took charge of the opera’s destiny when the coronavirus hit. “I made some draconian decisions early on,” she confesses.
In March, she had thought life would return to normal by July: “Didn’t most people?” she asks.
Still, she had to make some hard choices. She furloughed staff, cutting back to less than half.
“I know some people had a different approach than I did, and they thought, ‘Well, let’s see what’s going to happen.’ And that’s great. My approach was: Let’s deal with this right away,” Danis says. “I don’t get paid to make popular decisions. I get paid to keep [Florida Grand Opera] moving forward, and to make sure we’re going to be here for another 80 years.”
University of Miami music professor Arturo di Filippi in 1941 founded the Greater Miami Opera, which was the precursor to Florida Grand Opera. (Photo courtesy of University of Miami Historical Photograph Collection)
The roots of what is now Florida Grand Opera can be traced back to June 1941, with the founding of the Greater Miami Opera by University of Miami music professor Arturo di Filippi. It debuted with “Pagliacci,” performed in English at Miami Senior High School with di Filippi singing the tenor role of Canio. Just four years later, The Opera Guild Inc. was formed in Fort Lauderdale, paving the way for the 1994 merger of the two opera organizations that would become Florida Grand Opera.
“So, technically, 2021 is our 80th year,” Danis says. “We’re going to use that opportunity to start the celebration toward the end of the 80th year into 2022, in hopes that the world is back to normal vs. having this small or virtual anniversary now.”
Has it ever crossed her mind that the pandemic could be a death knell for Florida Grand Opera, or for the classical performing arts in general?
“People have been talking about all of us disappearing since the 1800s and we are all still kicking …
“I’m happy to see this company through its 80th anniversary,” she adds. “Not many companies turn 80.”
WHAT: Studio Artist Concerts series
WHEN: “First Sing” on Oct. 24; “Opera’s Greatest Hits” on Nov. 14; and “Holiday Pops” on Dec. 5. All shows start at 7:30 p.m.
WHERE: Florida Grand Opera Doral Center, 8390 NW 25th St.
COST: $25 per person; or $60 for all three shows. (Virtual options will be available, but details have not been set yet.)
SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS: All events will take place in accordance with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control guidelines for social distancing. Masks are required.
INFORMATION: Call 800-741-1010; email sales@fgo.org; or visit Fgo.org
WHAT: SongFest Recitals series
WHEN/WHERE: “The Music of Victor Herbert,” 7:30 p.m. Nov. 4, Coral Gables Museum, 285 Aragon Ave.; and 4 p.m. Nov. 8, Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church, 5555 N. Federal Highway, Fort Lauderdale
“20th and 21st Century Opera and Musical Theater,” 7:30 pm. Nov. 10 at Coral Gables Museum; and 4 p.m. Nov. 15 at Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church
COST: $10; subscribers eligible for one free ticket for each subscription purchased. (Virtual options will be available, but details have not been set yet.)
SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS: All events will take place in accordance with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control guidelines for social distancing. Masks are required.
INFORMATION: Call 800-741-1010; email sales@fgo.org; or visit Fgo.org
Once a music student at the downtown Miami school, Contessa Bryant never envisioned she would one day return to serve as its leader.
“When I got the call that I was chosen to be the principal, the only thing that was playing in my head was ‘Home’ from ‘The Wiz,’ because that’s what it felt like,” said Bryant, who is originally from South Miami Heights. “Home represents a place where you learn and try out new things.”
It’s also a place that fosters creativity. The school has been an epicenter of artistically driven education since 1984. As a joint partnership between Miami-Dade County Public Schools, Miami Dade College, and the University of Florida, it focuses on several disciplines including dance, music, theater and visual arts.
The arts have always played an important role in Bryant’s life. Her father played bass, her mother sang, and she had the support of a closeknit group of friends – all propelling her on a path that ultimately led to the front doors of her alma mater.
“I come from a family of musicians,” she said. “I was always a singer.”
As a child, Bryant found a captive audience at The Bethel Baptist Church in nearby Richmond Heights. Her passion for singing blossomed there and, when she heard that New World catered to students with similar interests, she eagerly applied.
Once accepted, Bryant recalled being thrilled, though she acknowledged it was quite an adjustment.
“My mom was terrified of me coming to downtown Miami as a 14-year-old student who was coming from way south and having to catch a Metrorail. We didn’t even do that on a typical day,” she said.
But Bryant’s mother quickly realized the benefits far outweighed her concerns.
“I’m just so grateful that [she felt the magic] of New World at the very first meeting, and said, ‘I will let you experience something that I’ve not yet experienced myself because I feel like this is going to be worth it.’”
Her mother was right.
Bryant graduated from New World’s music division in 1992 and received a full music scholarship from Florida State University, she said. While there, she eventually changed her major and received a bachelor degree in communication.
Of course, the journey did not end there. Getting married led her to consider a whole new world of professional possibilities.
“I had a very young family and made the decision to move into education. I was always teaching,” she said. “I was teaching at Sunday school and, no matter what business I was working at, I happened to be the one in charge of professional development, so it seemed like a natural move.”
Bryant solidified her dedication to the field by obtaining advanced degrees from Nova Southeastern University, including a master of science degree in reading, an education specialist degree in educational leadership, and a doctorate in organizational leadership.
Bryant taught English and became a reading coach and a curriculum support specialist. She held several administration roles, including that of assistant principal at Campbell Drive Elementary, Campbell Drive Middle and Homestead Senior High. She also served as principal at Lenora B. Smith Elementary and Homestead Middle School, where she launched a series of extracurricular activities, clubs and community initiatives that included music, dance and drama classes.
“Most of my work has been done in our more fragile schools, where I’ve spent the majority of my career,” Bryant said. “My latest [position] was at Homestead Middle School. It was closer to my community, and I really enjoyed the work.”
Now at New World, Bryant wants to ensure that her students receive the same amount of nurturing that she did, so they can live up to their fullest potential – especially during these difficult times with the COVID-19 pandemic and remote learning.
“I’ve had the opportunity to observe art classes, and they are just as rich and robust,” said Bryant, of the school’s online sessions. “I have seen and sat in on dance classes with students rehearsing together all in different screens.”
Despite the reliance on technology, Bryant wants her administration to focus on tradition.
“I graduated in ’92. So I was here pretty early in the school’s creation. I hope to bring back to everybody some of the traditions and the reasons for founding such a great institution,” she said.
As she looks ahead, Bryant is excited to answer to her true calling.
“I am super blessed and proud to be a product of public schools and I want to make sure every child gets the opportunity to feel that this is a special place,” she said. “[The students] get such a rich experience in the arts from practicing professionals, which is amazing, but they also get love, and they get nurtured. They [bring forth] other skills that are there that may not be on the surface.
“I was a singer on the surface, but I was a leader at the root.”
A tribute concert to Latin music ambassador Tito Puente
Written By Deborah Ramirez September 2, 2020 at 4:43 PM
Tito Puente Jr. has developed a career preserving his father’s legacy and songs. (Photo courtesy of Tito Puente Jr.)
In 1971, Carlos Santana’s rock version of “Oye Como Va” made its author, Tito Puente, an international star. Yet when Puente wrote the original cha-cha-chá version, released by Tico Records on the 1963 album, “El Rey Bravo,” the recording barely registered on the charts.
Puente’s “Ran Kan Kan” was a different story. He started composing the catchy mambo while serving on the escort carrier, USS Santee, during World War II. The ship’s young bugle player wrote the song as an ode to the symphonic timpani drum and its derivative, the timbales – the instrument that would later make him famous. After the war, Puente polished the composition at The Juilliard School, where he studied music theory, orchestration and piano, with the help of the G.I. Bill.
“Ran Kan Kan” became Puente’s signature song during the 1950s mambo craze and, along with “Oye Como Va,” remains one of his greatest hits to this day.
Fans can hear these stories and more when they tune into a 90-minute livestreamed tribute to the Latin Jazz master on Sept. 6, courtesy of the Global Arts Project and the Collins Park Neighborhood Association.
Broadcast at 6 p.m. from the Miami Beach Woman’s Club as part of Artscape’s free “Safe and Sound” series, the concert will commemorate the 20th anniversary of Puente’s death, in 2000 at age 77. The event headliner will be son Tito Puente Jr. and his Latin Jazz Ensemble, with special guest artist Melina Almodovar in the role of salsa queen Celia Cruz.
“My father was one of the first orchestra leaders to present a female singer leading the band, and they worked together a long time,” said Puente Jr. from his Fort Lauderdale home.
The bandleader and percussionist has developed his career as a kind of musical curator of his father’s vast catalog, performing timeless classics such as “Ran Kan Kan,” “Oye Como Va,” “El Cayuco,” and “Mambo Gozón.”
For this show, he plans to perform songs from different periods in his father’s 50-year career, while sharing how his father created a certain piece and other notable tidbits. He also will present photos from the family album, showing the elder Puente’s trajectory from a young street musician who grew up in Spanish Harlem – the son of Puerto Rican parents – to his days in the Navy to his reign as a Mambo King in New York’s Palladium Ballroom in the 1950s and his later status as the white-haired legend who appeared on TV shows like “Sesame Street” later in life.
The timeline will show “how my father rose from humble beginnings to become an icon, a worldwide Latin music ambassador. It’s going to be quite something to see.”
The event promises to be more than a trip down memory lane. Lately, the world has taken a new look at Puente’s work, including academics, filmmakers and urban music artists digging deeper into his impact on Latin dance music and American pop culture.
Puente is considered the first Latin musician to integrate mambo music in a big band format and to introduce it to an American mass audience, later taking it around the world. He is also credited as the first bandleader to put the percussion section – congas, bongos and timbales – up in the front of the orchestra, giving the instruments greater prominence. Drums had always been in the back of the band.
Born Ernesto Antonio Puente in New York on April 20, 1923, he gave more than 10,000 live performances, recorded more than 100 albums and won seven Grammy Awards, including a Lifetime Achievement Award. Besides the timbales and piano, he played the vibraphone and saxophone.
As part of preserving Puente’s legacy, his family is working with actor Edward James Olmos, who has purchased the rights to his life story and earlier this year announced plans for a series of projects including a television documentary series, a feature film and a tribute album with contemporary artists playing his music.
“We’re very excited about this project … we’re hoping the docuseries comes out in the fall of 2021,” said Puente Jr., who will serve as a consultant on the project. “I think that it’s really important that young people today, especially young musicians, remember the music of ‘El Rey del Timbal’ (The King of the Timbal).”
About three years ago, Puente Jr. was invited to a first-ever, three-day retrospective on Puente’s impact on Latin music at New York’s Hunter’s College. He witnessed young musicians learning about his father’s contributions to preserving African rhythms that emerged in the Caribbean and migrated into American culture. He is encouraged by young urban artists like Ozuna, who recorded a 2017 remix of “Oye Como Va”.
“I think it’s important that young people recognize that my dad opened doors for all the Latin music you hear today, like reggaeton and bachata,” he said. “Although you don’t hear Tito Puente on the radio, his influence is there. It’s a percussive instrument that he played – it brings forth people to dance, and he should be remembered as being an ambassador of Latin music.”
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