ESO to perform Latin-influenced favorites
Submitted by ESO
Travel to warmer climates this weekend as the Elgin Symphony Orchestra performs a collection of Latin-influenced favorites including the “Cuban Overture” by Gershwin and selections from “Carmen” by Bizet. Matthew Kraemer, associate conductor of the Buffalo Philharmonic, will be the guest conductor.
The concerts on Friday, Oct. 19, and Sunday, Oct. 21, will feature violinist Isabella Lippi and trumpeter Ross Beacraft.
On Saturday, Oct. 20, the three-time Grammy-nominated Cuban music group, Tiempo Libre, will join the ESO to celebrate Cuba’s musical heritage in a concert including selections from Tiempo Libre’s Grammy-nominated “Bach in Havana,” which fuses Cuban music and Bach.
Tiempo Libre, now based in Miami, has become known around the world for its joyous, sophisticated, dance-inducing concerts of timba music — a high-energy combination of Latin jazz and traditional Cuban “son.” Their goal is to serve as ambassadors to their Cuban musical heritage, while celebrating their new American experience.
Tiempo Libre’s story is a true love story with music and America. The Cuban government forbade its citizens to listen to American radio when the members of Tiempo Libre were growing up in Cuba. But, like teenagers everywhere, that which was forbidden was what the members of Tiempo Libre most desired. The Cuban teenagers fashioned antennas out of salvaged aluminum foil and clothes hangers and climbed up on their rooftops secretly at night to tune into the music which pulsated from Miami airwaves. This music of the night fueled their dreams of living in America and ultimately gave them the strength to leave it all behind — families, friends, a country, a life — to pursue those dreams.
Tickets start at $18. Performances will be held at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 19, at Schaumburg’s Prairie Center for the Arts. Concerts on at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 20, and at 2:30 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 21, will be performed at Elgin’s Hemmens Cultural Center. For tickets, call the ESO box office at (847) 888-4000 or visit www.elginsymphony.org.