Sheena Gutierrez, Karen Lord Powell, Michael Andrews and Angela Kratchmer, of the South Beach Chamber Ensemble at a performance at The Betsy Hotel. (Photo courtesy of South Beach Chamber Ensemble)
The South Beach Chamber Ensemble, just back from its first international cultural exchange in Mexico, will perform its "Music in Motion: Mexico City" at the Betsy Hotel in Miami Beach and at the Coral Gables Museum.
Mexican pianist Carlos Salmerón, piano and chamber music instructor at the College of Music of the National Institute of Fine Arts and at the Fine Arts Department of Panamericana University, will join the South Beach Chamber for the program, which features Manuel María Ponce Cuéllar's "Trio romántico for violin, cello and piano"(1926)," Paul Schoenfield, "Café Music" (1985), and Jose Luis Hernandez, "Azulín" (2022).
Pianist Carlos Salmeron joins the South Beach Chamber Ensemble for two performances on April 1 and 2. (Photo courtesy of South Beach Chamber Ensemble)
Music in Motion: Mexico City will be performed at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, April 1 in The Gallery at the Betsy Hotel, 1433 Collins Ave., Miami Beach, and at 6 p.m., Sunday, April 2 at the Coral Gables Museum, 285 Aragon Ave., Coral Gables.
Schoenfield says about his piece: “The idea to compose Café Music first came to me in 1985 after sitting in one night for the pianist at Murray’s Restaurant in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Murray’s employs a house trio which plays entertaining dinner music in a wide variety of styles. My intention was to write a kind of high-class dinner music — music which could be played at a restaurant, but might also (just barely) find its way into a concert hall."
The work draws on many of the types of music — early 20th century American, Viennese, light classical, gypsy, and Broadway styles are all represented. A paraphrase of a beautiful Chassidic melody is incorporated in the second movement. Café Music was commissioned by the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra (SPCO) and received its premiere during a SPCO chamber concert in January 1987. (Art of the States)
Also on the program is a work the South Beach Chamber
Ensemble commissioned, "Azulin."
According to Hernandez, "It was inspired by people who
made an impression in my life with their happy souls, humble characters and
hopes for the future. This piece for piano, violin and cello is dedicated to my
family, to my father (who passed away due to COVID-19 in 2021), and to
humanity. The word 'Azulin' is a nickname that my father would use to call a
bluejay that used to visit our backyard."
Sheena Gutierrez is one of the resident musicians of the South Beach Chamber Ensemble shown here with the ensemble's founder Michael Andrews. (Photo courtesy of South Beach Chamber Ensemble)
Hernandez says that the composition was influenced by different styles of Brazilian music; particularly Bossa Nova, Samba, Choro, and High Partido among others. He earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of Florida-New World School of the Arts, studying composition with Susan Epstein Garcia, and is currently working on his master’s degree at Berklee College of Music, Boston.
Karen Lord Powell, Sheena Gutierrez, Michael Andrews and Eric Eakes in The Gallery @ The Betsy Hotel. (Photo by Mitchell Zachs)
On Easter Sunday, the South Beach Chamber Ensemble will perform its annual site specific collaboration with Dance Now Miami at the Miami Beach Botanical Garden entitled "Ekphrasis in the Garden."
Music in Motion: Mexico City will be performed at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, April 1 in The Gallery at the Betsy Hotel, 1433 Collins Ave., Miami Beach, and at 6 p.m., Sunday, April 2 at the Coral Gables Museum, 285 Aragon Ave., Coral Gables. Tickets are $30 and $20 for students and seniors.
To buy tickets, www.artsticketing.com/sbce/music-in-motion:-mexico-city-/28645.
For information, sobechamberensemble.org
