Music of the Americas: Start of the New Season

Monday, September 12, 7 pm

Mexican flutist-composer Wilfrido Terrazas returns to our stage to launch his latest CD, The Torres Cycle, which features his own compositions and structured improvisations alongside a group of stellar collaborators.

Wednesday, September 14, 10 am

La Manga (Andrea Chavarro, Katherine Ocampo, Dawn Drake, Lina Silva, Daniela Serna) is inspired by the spirit and ancestry of the great Caribbean musical diaspora where Colombia, Puerto Rico, and Venezuela meet and bond. Honoring black and indígena oral traditions; connecting with the power of tambores Afro-Colombianos, and celebrating life through storytelling and bailes cantados. 

From their home in Brooklyn, they sent us their version of "Adiós fulana," a traditional Afro-Colombian song. 

Thursday, September 15, 10 am

Chilean singer and composer Claudia Acuña moved to New York in 1995 after establishing herself in the Chilean jazz scene in her early 20s. She has collaborated with Jason Lindner, Harry Whitaker, Arturo O'Farrill, Guillermo Klein, and bassist Avishai Cohen, who co-produced her critically-acclaimed 2000 debut album, Wind From the South (Verve). Acuña's discography includes Rhythm of Life (Verve, 2002), Luna (MaxJazz, 2004), In These Shoes (Zoho Music, 2008), and En Este Momento (Marsalis Music, 2009).  Recent collaborators include Susie Ibarra, Billy Childs, Henry Threadgill, the Rodriguez Brothers, and Elio Villafranca. Acuña's latest project, Turning Pages, was co-produced with Juancho Herrera, who also co-wrote several songs. 

Friday, September 16, 10 am

Ana Gabriela Fernández was born in Cuba and now lives in Mexico City, where she completed a doctorate in piano at the Universidad Autónoma de México. She has participated in master classes with Sara Davis Buechner, Evelyne Brancart, Dang Thai Son, André Laplante, and André Watts. She made her debut with the Sinfónica Nacional de Cuba at age 10 and has received awards including the Havana International Music Competition, the Soloist Competition for the 85th Anniversary of the UNAM, and the Soloist Competition of the Philharmonic Orchestra of Mexico City. She has performed across North America as a recitalist, orchestral soloist, and with ensembles including Onix and Tambuco. In 2019 and 2022, she took classes with Maria João Pires in Lisbon.

From her home in Mexico City, Fernández sent us three pieces that have have been part of her work over the last year. Today we share "Tragedia en foma de rábano," written by Silvestre Revueltas in 1924. 

Sunday, September 18, 2 pm

Music of the Americas, in collaboration with Opera Hispánica and the National Museum of the American Indian presents the U.S. premiere of Diego Sánchez Haase’s Ñomongeta (Conversation), the first opera in Guaraní. Performed by José Mongelós and directed by Chía Patiño. 

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

The Fall 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.

Additional support for new music performances comes from the Alice M. Ditson Fund of Columbia University, The Amphion Foundation, the Aaron Copland Fund for Music, and New Music USA’s Organizational Development Fund. The presentation of “Lisette – Caribbean baroque music” is made possible, in part, by support from the National Endowment for the Arts. The presentation of Rita Indiana is made possible in part by a grant from the Association of Performing Arts Professionals’ ArtsForward program, made possible through support from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.