Download 2017 Lenten Concert Series Opens March 2 With

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1941 Dauphine Street, New Orleans, LA
(504) 227-3272
For More Information, Contact:
Rosemary James, [email protected]
(504) 586-1609
2017 Lenten Concert Series Opens March 2
With Music of Hispanic Inspiration
Performed by Javier Olondo and AsheSon
February 14, 2017, New Orleans, LA—The Bishop Perry Center will kick-off its annual musical
series, “A Musical Prelude to the Celebration of Easter,” at 6 p. m. on Thursday, March 2, 2017
(the day after Ash Wednesday) at St. Mary’s Catholic Church, 1100 Chartres Street. The 2017 series
will feature “Hispanic Music of the Americas,” ranging from Baroque classical to contemporary
Latin Jazz. The series is presented by the Center in cooperation with St. Louis Cathedral and the
Archdiocese of New Orleans and is partially funded by grants from the New Orleans Jazz and
Heritage Foundation, New Orleans Hispanic Heritage Foundation, and The Faulkner Society/
Words & Music. Each concert is free and open to the public. In addition to March 2, concerts are
scheduled for the five Thursdays following, each at St. Mary’s, each beginning at 6 p. m.
The opening concert on March 2 will begin with a brief talk by
historian and music scholar Alfred E. Lemmon, who will
discuss Spain’s influence on the music of the Americas.
Following his talk the renowned Cuban guitarist Javier Olondo
and his popular AsheSon ensemble will perform with an
eclectic program of music with roots in the Hispanic cultures
of the Americas.
Alfred Lemmon, director of The Williams Research Center of
The Historic New Orleans Collection, is a recognized
authority on the music of Spain and the Spanish Americas.
Lemmon has published and lectured throughout the United
States, Europe, and Latin America on the topic. His modern
editions of 18th century Spanish music have been widely
performed. Hehas served as a regional director for the
Diccionario de la Música Española e Hispanoamerica, a
Page Two, Bishop Perry Center Concert Series
12-volume work published by the Sociedad General de Autores Españoles and currently serves as
a Contributing Editor to the Handbook of Latin American Studies. In recognition of his efforts
on behalf of Spanish cultural history, he was awarded the Order of Isabel the Catholic, a civil order
granted by the King of Spain to individuals whose work has been of exceptional benefit to Spain.
Javier Olondo, shown here Center, with his AsheSon ensemble, will kick-off the Bishop Perry Center’s
annual Lenten concert series, this year dedicated to Hispanic inspired music, on Thursday, March 2.
Javier Adrian Olondo, born in Houston, TX, began his musical studies with Rosa Puertas in
Barcelona, Spain in 1977. In 1980 he moved to Havana, Cuba where he continued his studies in
guitar at the Conservatory Manuel Saumell. At the age of 13, he debuted as a soloist in a special
concert in Havana’s First International Guitar Festival. In 1988 he graduated top of his class from
the Escuela Nacional de Musica and was the recipient of the Titulo de Oro (Golden Title Award).
Upon completion of his higher level studies in 1991 from Instituto Superior de Arte in Havana, he
moved to Europe where followed an intense schedule of concerts and was awarded a scholarship
to attend the Hochscule Fur Musik and Darstellende Kunst Monzarteum, in Salzburg, Austria. There
he studied under the tutelage of Eliot Fisk, Joaquin Clerch, and harpsichordist Anthony Spiri. In
1998 he obtained the title of Magister in Arts specializing in guitar. Among other teachers, he has
been taught by Manuel Barrueco, David Rusell, Flavio Cucci, and Wolfgang Lendle. His recordings
for radio and television, along with his participation in important festivals and concerts throughout
Europe, North, and South America date began in his younger years. In addition to various
composers dedicating works to him, he has recorded three critically acclaimed albums. Olondo
teaches classical guitar at Tulane University in New Orleans, and tours the United States and Europe with his popular concert series. He also is director of the Cuban band AsheSon and host of
the popular TV show Que Pasa New Orleans. And he also happens to be among the most expert
salsa dance performers in the United States.
The remaining concerts are: March 9, Mariachi Jalisco; March 16, concert pianist Peter Collins; March 23, Brazilian jazz musicians, the Eduardo Tozzato quartet from Rio de Janiero;
March 30, classical guitarist Jay Kacherski; and April 6, Peter Weber and his Krewe de Voix
Chamber chorale group perforing Baroque Spanish music.
Page Three, Bishop Perry Center Concert Series
March 9:
Mariachi Jalisco
March 16:Peter Collins
Peter Collins is Professor of Music—
Piano and Coordinator of the Keyboard
Area—at Missouri State University. A
New Orleans native, he began formal
piano studies with Melvin Alford and
received his Bachelor and Master
of Music degrees from the Peabody
Conservatory under Lillian Freundlich.
He is winner of the Washington
International Piano Competition,
University of Maryland International
Piano Competition, American Chopin
Competition, and American Beethoven
Foundation Competition. His Doctorate
in Musical Arts is from The University of
Michigan where he studied with Louis
Nagel. He has taught at the Interlochen
Arts Academy, Missouri Fine Arts
Academy, and the Bösendorfer
International Piano Academy in Vienna.
His extensive performance repertoire
includes the complete piano sonatas
of Beethoven and Mozart as well as
contemporary music.He originated
the Missouri Chamber Players and
Mariachi Jalisco, shown,
here at Jazz Fest on the
Folklife Stage, will peform
traditional mariachi music of Mexico on March
9. This folk ensemble was
created in 2011 by Eider
Martinez and Ricardo
Matos in Baton Rouge with
a mission of promoting
Mexican culture and
supplying the increased
demand for entertainment
in Louisiana’s Hispanic
heritage community. The
band is composed of
trumpet, violins, vihuela,
guitar, and guitarron, led
by Matos, artistic director.
All band members are
graduates of prestigious
music schools, the
musicians write their own
compositions for the band.
Other band members
include Miguel Barrera,
Francisco Matos, and
Angel Esquival.
toured Scandinavia with the ensemble in concerts of
American music. European appearances also include
solo performances at the Chopin Academy of Music
(Warsaw) and the Liszt Academy of Music (Budapest). As
a concerto soloist he has collaborated with Polish State
Orchestra (Jelenia Góra), Florida State Orchestra, New
Orleans Symphony, Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra,
Springfield Symphony and Chamber Orchestra of the
Ozarks. He has nine CD albums whichfeature works of
living American composers, women composers, original
arrangements and transcriptions, and 19th Century
New Orleans piano music.
Page Four, Bishop Perry Center Concert Series
March 23:Eduardo Tozatto Quartet
Eduardo Tozzato, a Brazilian import from Rio de
Janiero, is a pianist, keyboardist, organist, marimba
player, and vocalist, who now makes his home in New
Orleans. He has appeared on such prestigious stages
as the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival and Que Pasa
Fest, as well as at numerous local clubs, as both a soloist
and as an integral member of groups which produce
a fusion of New Orleans rhythms and those of Brazil,
groups such as BrasiNOLA,; Chegadão, Otra, Gov’t
Majik, Mas Mamones, Ritmo Calypso, and Vivaz. Eduardo
came to New Orleans to study at the University of New
Orleans, where he graduated with a degree in music. In
addition to his career as a performance artist, he teaches
music. With three other musicians, he will present a
program of traditional Brazilian music, contemporary
piecespieces , and fusion music blending the
rhythms of Brazil with those of New Orleans.
March 30: Classical Guitarist Jay Katcherski
“Virtuosismo” and “technical dominance” are the words
used by the press to describe the American guitarist,
Jay Kacherski. A native of New York, Kacherski has
given solo and ensemble performances throughout the
United States and Mexico. In 2008, he was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship to research, perform, and promote contemporary classical
guitar music of Mexico and has since been premiering
many new works in the United States. Kacherski completed
his Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Classical Guitar
Performance from the University of Texas at Austin, a Master’s
Degree in Guitar Performance and Literature from the Eastman
School of Music in New York, and undergrad degrees
from Florida Southern College. Currently, he is an
Associate Editor for Soundboard Magazine, a reviewer for
the American String Teacher Journal, Assistant Artistic
Director of the Classical Minds International Guitar
Festival in Houston, TX, and a Visiting Lecturer of Music
Theory at McNeese State University in Lake Charles, LA. For more information, please visit his
website:
www.kacherskiguitar.com. Page Five, Bishop Perry Center Concert Series
April 6: Paul Weber & The Krewe de Voix Chamber Choir
Paul Weber is a conductor, organist, and composer living in New
Orleans, where he is Interim Organist & Choirmaster at Trinity Episcopal Church. As a concert organist, he has been heard throughout
the United States and in Europe and holds prizes from national and
international competitions, including the Erfurt (Germany) International Organ Competition and the Arthur Poister National Organ
Competition. Recent performances include concerts at the national
conventions of the Organ Historical Society and the Church Music
Association of America; at the cathedrals of St. Paul in Pittsburgh and
St. Paul, MN; and on the L’Organo concert series at the Piccolo-Spoleto Festival. Dr. Weber has also appeared as a conductor, lecturer,
and composer at the National Colloquium of the CMAA, and sacred
music conferences at Duquesne University and Nova Northeastern
University of Florida. His articles have been published in Sacred
Music and The American Organist. His choral works are published
by Choralife (click here). Previously he was Associate Professor of
music at Franciscan University of Steubenville, where he founded the Bachelor of Arts Program in Sacred Music and directed
the university ensembles. Dr. Weber is a graduate of Lawrence
For more on Paul Weber and
University and Yale University. Upon moving to New Orleans, he
the Krewe de Voix, visit:
founded the highly acclaimed Krewe de Voix Chamber Choir,
www.kreweduvoix.com
which he will lead in concert at St. Mary’s at 6 p. m. on Thursday,