Music of the Americas: From Mexico to Argentina

Monday, February 7, 10 a.m.

Ecuadoran singer-songwriter Nicky Stefan started her musical training at Gnessin College in Moscow, where she lived for seven years, appearing on television and live shows in Russia and Lithuania. Now based in the United States, she launched her "Que te vaya bien," her debut single, in 2019, which was followed by "A paso lento" and "Ni sumisa ni devota."

From Ecuador, she sent us "ET Acoustic Version," in which she is joined by Lion Herris and Peter Troya.

Tuesday, February 8, 10 a.m.

Colombian singer, songwriter, accordionist, and big band leader Gregorio Uribe was born in Bogotá and is currently based in New York City. Emerging as a graduate from the Berklee College of Music in Boston, Uribe has made a name for himself in the Latin music scene of both New York City and Boston. Uribe released Cumbia Universal (Zoho Music) featuring Latin music icon Rubén Blades in October 2015. Upon its release the debut album for the big band hit the Billboard charts and received widespread critical acclaim with performances at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York, Villa Victoria Center for the Arts in Boston, and Teatro Colón in Bogotá. Uribe has been a guest artist with Carlos Vives on several occasions, most recently at the Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York. The government of Colombia named him one of the 100 Most Successful Colombians Abroad. He has been an artist-in-residence at Dartmouth College and a commissioned composer for Arturo O’Farrill and the Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra.

In 2019, Uribe and his big band were in our series in 2019 with Nueva York, a show that highlighted Latin American musicians living in New York and was part of Carnegie Hall's Migrations Festival.

Wednesday, February 9, 10 a.m.

Mexican singer-songwriter Andrea Acosta was born in Cancún. In 2021, she released two albums inspired by the 1990s New York feminist scene, titled Cartitas Pt. 1 and 2. Acosta has collaborated with artists including Vanessa Zamora, Noa Sainz, Javier Blake, Tessa Ia, Isla Centeno, MusicalizamesteDEPA!, Torreblanca, and Vera Pedro.

From Cartitas Pt. 1, she sent us a new solo version of "Expiraría." With this project, Acosta says she wants to "share and magnify the sounds and ideas that live in my imagination and make people feel, even in this cold world."

Thursday, February 10, 10 a.m.

Argentine composer and saxophonist Fernando Lerman was on En Casa last year. His latest album, Tuyo, mío, nuestro (2016), features guitarists Juan Falú, Obi Homer, and Claudio Ceccoli. He teaches at Conservatorio Manuel de Falla in Buenos Aires and the Universidad Nacional de las Artes. Lerman studied at the Conservatorio Nacional and received a master's in Latin American music from the Universidad Nacional de Cuyo. He has taught master classes in Latin America and Europe.

For his second participation in our virtual series, he again collaborated with saxophonist Estefanía Schanton and pianist Lucas Urdampilleta on this version of "Preludio chayero," a piece that evokes the folk music of northern Argentina. This piece is off of Lerman's Cuatro preludios y fugas para cuarteto de saxofones, which premiered in Paris in 2011.

The MetLife Foundation Music of the Americas concert series is made possible by the generous support of Presenting Sponsor MetLife Foundation. The Spring 2022 Music program is also supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council, by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature, and by the Howard Gilman Foundation.