Cristina Pato Quartet to play Fermilab

From the Silk Road Ensemble, the Cristina Pato Quartet will take the stage at 8 p.m. Saturday, May 7, at Fermilab, off Wilson Street and Kirk Road, Batavia.

Internationally acclaimed as a gaita master, classical pianist and passionate educator, Cristina Pato enjoys an active professional career devoted to both Galician popular and classical music. Pato has already opened historical new paths for the gaita.

In 1998, she became the first female gaita player to release a solo album, and since then she has collaborated with world music, jazz, classical and experimental artists, including the Chicago Symphony, Yo-Yo Ma, Arturo O'Farril, New York Philharmonic and Paquito D'Rivera.

Pato fuses the influences of Latin music, jazz, pop and contemporary music, and uses her artistry and unprecedented virtuosic skill to bring her musical vision to life. She is a member of Yo-Yo Ma's Silk Road Ensemble.

Her dual careers have led to performances on major stages throughout the world, including in the U.S. at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, India at Kamani Auditorium, Jerusalem at Jerusalem Festival, Angola, China, Korea, Portugal at Festa do Avante, Brazil at Liszt Festival, U.K. at Celtic Connections, France, Italy at Etnofestival, Germany, Mexico at Palacio de Bellas Artes, and her native Spain.

An active recording artist and performer since age 12, Pato has released six solo gaita recordings and two as a pianist. She has also collaborated on more than 30 recordings as a guest artist, including the Grammy Award winner "Yo-Yo Ma and Friends: Songs of Joy and Peace," "Miles Espanol: New Sketches of Spain," and the Grammy-nominated Silk Road Ensemble album, "Off the Map."

She is featured in an upcoming documentary about Silk Road.

Tickets are $29 for adults and $15 for ages 18 and younger. For information or telephone reservations, call (630) 840-ARTS (2787) or visit www.fnal.gov/culture.