FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Dazzling Cuban pianist Aldo López-Gavilán, Northwest Sinfonietta present ‘Archipelago’ Apr. 29, May 1
By Zachary C. Person
TACOMA, Wash. – The Northwest Sinfonietta presents “Archipelago” featuring acclaimed Cuban crossover pianist and composer Aldo López-Gavilán and a string quartet from the sinfonietta in a program of classical, Latin and jazz music.
The first performance, presented in collaboration with the University of Puget Sound School of Music and including students from the university orchestra, takes place at 7:30 p.m. Friday, April 29 at Schneebeck Concert Hall in Tacoma (1567-1625 N. Union Ave.). The second performance is at 2:00 p.m. Sunday, May 1 at Pioneer Park Pavilion in Puyallup (330 S. Meridian).
Both concerts include works from López-Gavilán’s “Talking to the Universe,” “Ciernes de Ciudad,” “Pan con Timba,” “Aegean” and more.
Tickets $30. Student, military and group discounts available. Tickets may be purchased at: ups.universitytickets.com (April 29) and at www.nwsinfonietta.org (May 1)
Aldo López-Gavilán was born in Cuba to a family of internationally acclaimed musicians. By the age of five, he had written his first musical composition and by age seven had begun formal piano studies. He has been called “a formidable virtuoso” by the London Times and praised for his “dazzling technique and rhythmic fire” by the Seattle Times. He has been a Northwest Sinfonietta audience favorite for many years and has previously performed with the orchestra in 2015 and 2017.
Since winning the Danny Kaye International Children’s Award at age 11, López-Gavilán has embarked on a wide-ranging international performance career including concerts with the National Symphonic Orchestra of Cuba, Venezuela’s acclaimed Simón Bolívar Youth Orchestra, Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City, the Harlem String Quartet, with legendary jazz musician Chucho Valdés at the Havana Jazz Festival and many others.
López-Gavilán’s extensive discography includes 10 albums of original compositions and major classical works. Highlights as a composer include music for the award-winning documentary “The Poet of Havana,” a trumpet concerto premiered by Cuban virtuoso Arturo Sandoval and the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra and his own dazzling concerto for piano and orchestra.
Other local events surrounding the “Archipelago” performances include two screenings of “Los Hermanos,” a film about Aldo and his brother Ilmar, at Tacoma’s The Grand Cinema (more information at: www.grandcinema.com) at 1:30 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. Tuesday, April 19 and López-Gavilán performing his own piano concerto with the University of Puget Sound symphony orchestra on Saturday, April 30 (more information at www.pugetsound.edu).
The Northwest Sinfonietta 2021-2022 season concludes May 21-22 with “In Place and Time” featuring flute soloist Demarre McGill and conductor Mei-Ann Chen in a program of works by Esmail, Rodrigo and Mozart.
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About the Northwest Sinfonietta: The Northwest Sinfonietta was founded in 1991 by harpsichordist Kathryn Habedank and conductor Christophe Chagnard. The 35-member ensemble is the premiere chamber orchestra in the Puget Sound region and blends the intimacy of chamber music with the power of a full orchestra. In 2015, the Northwest Sinfonietta became one of the few orchestras in the world to move to an Artistic Partner model of operations, giving the musicians of the ensemble a larger role in the programming and vision for the ensemble. Learn more about the orchestra at: www.northwestsinfonietta.org.