Music of the Americas: Acoustic and Electronic

Wednesday, April 15, 10 am

Anésio Neto is back with a new installment of The Drone Sessions pt. 2, a series of drone ambient compositions constructed from samples by sound artists and electroacoustic composers. Through processes of appropriation and sonic transformation, the project constructs immersive, continuous, and densely layered soundscapes, exploring memory, the materiality of sound, and spatial perception, and expanding upon the aesthetic and conceptual inquiries initiated in the first part of the series.

In this installment, Neto works with materials by François Bonnet, interwoven with sounds generated during his own experiments with analog and digital synthesizers.

Thursday, April 16, 10 am

Luciana Szeinfeld is a multi-instrumentalist and composer from Buenos Aires specializing in early and folk music from various parts of the world. She plays the hammered dulcimer, recorders, and flutes. In 2023, she was awarded a grant by the Fondo Nacional de las Artes to record Reflejos, her debut solo album featuring original compositions for the dulcimer. The tracks on the album—composed drawing upon the artist’s own musical journeys—give voice to a distinct local sensibility and the rich cultural blend that defines her.

From La Plata, she sent us this video of “Ciclos,” the final song on the album. The composer writes about it: "The piece evokes an intimate and introspective atmosphere that invites the listener to listen to—and contemplate—the beauty of subtle transformations through repetition. Throughout these cycles, we can draw closer to a realization: everything that begins and ends is part of something much larger and immeasurable."

Friday, April 17, 10 am

Founded in Panama in 2008, Paisaxe Ensamble is dedicated to chamber music with an emphasis on Latin American and contemporary repertoire. Since 2016, the ensemble has championed the preservation and dissemination of the work of chiricano composer Gonzalo Brenes. Paisaxe has performed at prominent festivals and venues throughout Panama and was recognized by Ibermúsicas in 2018, 2021, and 2023. The ensemble has collaborated with local and international and national composers. Alongside Argentine composer and producer Pablo Bas, it produced Panaclásica Podcast, the first podcast dedicated to the history of Panamanian music. 

From Panama, Paisaxe sent us several videos. Today we share "La dueña busca una doncella" (The Mistress Looks for a Maid), performed by clarinetist Alexis Fong, violinist Oryana Racines, violist José Pabuence, cellist Yumiko Tokumoto, and bassist Mar Alzamora. 

The title character, widow of Joaquín and mother of young Joaquín, owns a bull that knows her secret: she is pregnant with the Foreman's child. During the town's patron saint festival, the  bull is captured and, once in the bullring, recognizes the Foreman and wounds him. In the end, the Foreman is saved and everyone celebrates with singing and dancing.

The MetLife Foundation Music of the Americas concert series is made possible by the generous support of Presenting Sponsor MetLife Foundation.

The 2025–2026 series is also supported, in part, by the Howard Gilman Foundation, Ernst von Siemens Music Foundation, Fan Fox and Leslie R. Samuels Foundation, New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council, the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature, The Augustine Foundation, the Alice M. Ditson Fund of Columbia University, and The Amphion Foundation.