Sol y Canto and Melodic Vision Celebrate “Noche De Muertos: Welcoming Our Ancestors Home” at the Kimmel Center,
October 3, 2008
"Sublime ambassadors of Pan-Latin tradition…[Sol y Canto is] destined for international renown … Rosi has a voice like clean spring water: it's smooth, it's clear and, somehow, you come to believe that it's necessary for life."
Pan-Latin roots ensemble Sol y Canto performs with Melodic Vision a multi-media celebration of the Mexican holiday Noche de Muertos, "Day of the Dead," at the Kimmel Center’s Perelman Theater on Saturday, October 25, 2008 at 7:30pm. Three-time Boston Music Award winner Sol y Canto will interpret beloved Mexican classics as well as newer works from their album, Cada Día un Regalo (Each Day a Gift), scheduled for October 2008 release. Melodic Vision’s violist/violinist Rebecca Strauss joins Sol y Canto members on bass, piano, winds and the Peruvian cajón (percussion box) for a heartfelt homage to death, life and loved ones.
The "Day of the Dead" draws on Mexican and Pan-Latin philosophies that celebrate death, life and becoming more connected to one’s past. Projected on a full screen, imagery of traditional dancing skeletons, marigold bouquets, bustling market places, and faces of celebrants in the town of Pátzcuaro, the center of Day of the Dead, will evoke this most festive holiday in connection to music.
"With simplicity, tenderness and extraordinary professionalism, Sol y Canto renders a beautiful homage to Latin American music."
This is the fifth performance in the World & Pop Series scheduled for the Kimmel Center Presents 2008-09 season. The next concert in the series will be Tango Fire on Saturday, November 1, 2008 at 3pm.
Tickets for Sol y Canto and Melodic Vision "Noche de Muertos: Welcoming Our Ancestors Home" are $26 and $35 and can be purchased by calling 215-893-1999, online at www.kimmelcenter.org, or at the Kimmel Center box office open daily from 10am to 6pm and later on performance evenings. (Additional fees may apply.) For group sales call 215-790-5883.
A limited number of $10 tickets are available for every Kimmel Center Presents performance at the Kimmel Center. Tickets go on sale the day of the event and can be purchased at the Kimmel Center box office beginning 2.5 hours prior to evening curtain time and 11:30am for matinees. Limit one ticket per person.
Sol y Canto founders Brian Amador and his wife, Puerto Rican/Argentine vocalist Rosi Amador, have been composing, arranging and performing for nearly 25 years. As part of their core mission, their poetic lyrics and commitment to social change transcend barriers of language, making Latin music accessible to both newcomers and native-speakers.
"We make music that is authentic, that speaks to people and connects us," says Brian Amador, Music Director of Sol y Canto, referring to the Pan-Latin movement in the 60’s and 70’s reflected in their music. "It’s like when people turned on the radio in Chile and heard songs in English, and said 'That does not reflect our reality.' It’s about people taking up musical arms to express their own realities, not the reality being fed to us."
Since its inception in 1994, Sol y Canto has established a national reputation for its unique interpretations of Latin music, performing at such prestigious venues as the White House, the Kennedy Center, Boston’s Symphony Hall, and the Philadelphia Museum of Art. The ensemble has won numerous awards, including "Best of Boston" by Boston Magazine in 1996 and the Boston Music Awards’ "Outstanding Latin Act." In December of 2007, Brian and Rosi Amador were featured in People en Español magazine’s "Stars of 2007" issue. The ensemble’s current project, Sabor y Memoria, a suite for Sol y Canto and a string quartet, presents "a musical feast in seven courses" with themes of nostalgia, identity, pride, enjoyment of life, and food connecting the movements. The album is scheduled for release in Spring 2010.
Sol y Canto’s debut recording, Sancocho (1994), on Rounder Records, was chosen by the Boston Globe as one of the 10 best recordings of the year. Sendero del Sol (1996), produced by Panamanian jazz pianist Danilo Pérez, artistic advisor for the Kimmel Center’s Mellon Jazz Up Closes series, was chosen as "one of the best of the year" by Hispanic Magazine. Sol y Canto’s third album, En Todo Momento, was featured as one of the years "HITS" by People en Español in 2000; the bilingual children’s CD, Twice as Many Friends/El Doble de Amigos (2003), received a Parent’s Choice Award in Fall 2004. Brian Amador is a past winner of the Mass Cultural Council "Excellence in Composition" grant.
Melodic Vision’s dynamic duo—Artistic Director/Photographer Susan Wilson and Music Director/violinist Rebecca Strauss—weaves music, photography and history into evocative multimedia events, enlightening and educating audiences through art and storytelling. The duo’s highly acclaimed works include their debut project together, "Soul Survivor," a story of healing from childhood sexual abuse first produced in 2002 at Lesley University in Cambridge, Massachusetts; "Sacred Grounds, Sacred Sounds: A Journey through the History, Mystery and Music of Père Lachaise Cemetery" in Paris; and "Classic Black," a show highlighting the music and stories of select black classical composers. In 2008, Melodic Vision also began producing workshops, seminars and talks by other artists and colleagues, including political activist/performer Holly Near and Doreen Banaszak, author of the acclaimed Excuse Me, Your Life is Now!.
Kimmel Center Presents’ 2008/2009 Season is sponsored by Citi. The Great Orchestras On Tour Series is supported by ARCWheeler. Additional support is provided by the University of Pennsylvania Health System, American Express and Interpark. American Airlines is the Official Airline of Kimmel Center Presents. In-kind support is generously provided by Deloitte. NBC-10 is a media partner for Kimmel Center Presents.
Free in the Plaza programming and subsidized tickets offered to the community and social service groups for $10 are made possible through the Wachovia Gateway to the Arts Community Access Program, supported by a generous grant from the Wachovia Foundation.
The Kimmel Center is the recipient of partnership funding through the nationally recognized PNC “Grow Up Great” initiative, a ten-year, $100 million investment in preparing children for success in school and life. Funding gives support to the Kimmel Center’s early childhood program “Bop and Swing,” an arts program for children 1-5 years old, designed to promote an appreciation for American culture.
KIMMEL CENTER PRESENTS SPONSORED BY CITI
Saturday, October 25, 2008 | 7:30pm
Perelman Theater
World & Pop Series
Sol y Canto and Melodic Vision
"Noche de Muertos: Welcoming Our Ancestors Home"
Sol y Canto
Rosi Amador, lead vocal, bongos
Brian Amador, guitar, composer
Jorge Roeder, bass
Nando Michelin, piano
Renato Thoms, percussion
Bernardo Monk, sax, flute
Melodic Vision
Susan Wilson, photographer
Rebecca Strauss, viola, violin
Saturday, October 25, 2008 | 6pm
Innovation Studio | Free in the Plaza
Join us for a celebratory "Day of the Dead" performance presented in partnership with the Mexican Cultural Center prior to the ticketed performance by Sol y Canto in Perelman Theater.
> index of news releases
> For more information, and to request high resolution images for press use, please
send us a message online.