Music

Join us for the sixth edition of the Acoustic Guitar Project Miami Concert for the season 2019/20

Listen live to five amazing songs written by each artist in just 7 days only with the guitar that has been in Miami for this project since 2014. Every artist will perform the song created for the project and two other songs of their choosing.

Found more about the project and all the songs created around the world at www.theacousticguitarproject.com

The region's most accomplished young artists come to Miami for special one-night-only performances. During the intensive, weeklong and all-inclusive program, artists across 10 disciplines participate in master classes and workshops with internationally recognized leaders, including visual artists Loni Johnson and Robert Chambers, jazz pianist and composer Emmet Cohen (2009 YoungArts Winner in Jazz), author and award-winning journalist Dr. Joan Morgan and cinematographer Rick Delgado (1992 YoungArts Winner in Film), among others. The accomplished young artists then have the opportunity to share their talents with the public through multidisciplinary performances, writers’ readings, film screenings and a visual arts exhibition.

Fearless front-woman Derina Harvey leads this Celtic rock group, who are recent winners of the People’s Choice Award at the 2018 Edmonton Music Awards​. The group offers a fresh take on traditional folk songs as well as an increasing amount of original material. The band has a rocky, rhythmic undertow; layered with guitars, fiddle, and topped by Derina’s powerful voice. dHb has been ​likened to a rockier version of Canada’s Great Big Sea​,​ if fronted by Adele​, and has earned a reputation as a ​high-energy live show​. The band has already covered a fair amount of Canada via the performing arts and festival circuits (​over 180 performances since starting 2016​), and is now poised to break into the United States, having been ​selected for three juried US showcases ​in the past year. The group’s showcase at the Arts Northwest Conference in Tacoma in 2017 garnered them the “Best Showcase” Award and resulted in numerous bookings in the Northwest. Their recent trips to showcase at the Western Arts Alliance conference in Las Vegas (August, 2018) and Performing Arts Exchange in Orlando (October, 2018) have already garnered interest across the US. The band has two full length recordings to their credit. Their self-titled debut album (2013) has garnered radio airplay across Canada, and their second album Rove and Go (2016) has become even more widespread, being added at over 30 stations across Canada and tracking at #65 on CKUA's top-played albums for 2016. The band is currently writing original material (latest single "The Fallen Man's Daughter" - release date October 19th, 2018) and will release a full-length album of primarily original material in 2019.

In the Tracing Legacies program, pianist Redi Llupa and violinist and composer Gregory Walker will explore the continuity of cultural and familial legacies. The program will center on the two sonatas for violin and piano by Pulitzer Prize-winning African-American composer George Walker (1922-2018). George Walker’s music has been hailed for its “powerful authenticity and dramatic expression,” (Classical New Jersey), “hushed beauty and passionate intensity” (American Record Guide), and “superb craftsmanship” (Classics Today); and yet, his works have been marginally heard and performed across the country during his lifetime. His two sonatas for violin and piano will be presented in the context of both the tradition that they built upon, as encapsulated by the work of Johannes Brahms and the tradition that they pass on to the next generations, as expressed in the work of Gregory Walker, George Walker’s son. Program: Johannes Brahms – Sonata for Violin and Piano in G major, Op. 78 George Walker – Violin and Piano Sonatas Nos. 1 and 2 Gregory Walker – Violin and Piano Sonata Performers: GREGORY WALKER (violin) REDI LLUPA (piano)

Performed by the Chicago-based Memoria Nova Ensemble, this program features compositions that reference musical and poetic traditions of the near and distant past, often as a way of escaping the confines of society. Edison Denisov’s Sonata for flute and piano daringly synthesizes the styles of several composers censored by the Soviet Union, while Charles Koechlin develops a similarly polystylistic approach by freely drawing upon music from every era dating back to the middle ages. Claude Debussy explores taboo subjects of lesbian sexuality through the lens of an ancient Greek courtesan’s poetry, while Salvatore Sciarrino quotes another of Debussy’s sensual masterpieces. The remaining composers all escape into the world of birds. Kaija Saariaho instructs the flutist to recite a poem about birds while depicting through solo flute melodies the shape their flight makes in the air. Olivier Messiaen quotes actual birdsong, while Tristan Murail, drawing inspiration from Messiaen’s aesthetic, offers a newer spectral approach to the birdsong genre. Program: Claude Debussy – Selections from Bilitis Edison Denisov – Sonata for flute and piano Charles Koechlin – Sonata for flute and piano, Op. 52 Olivier Messiaen – Le Merle Noir and Petite Esquisses Tristan Murail – Le fou à pattes bleues Kaija Saariaho – Laconisme de l’aile Salvatore Sciarrino – d’un faune Performers: SHANNA PRANAITIS (flute) ANDREW ROSENBLUM (piano)

This performance is funded in part by a grant from South Arts in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts and the Florida Department of State, Division of Cultural Affairs. Trey McLaughlin & The Sounds of Zamar present soul-stirring arrangements of contemporary gospel, musical theater, with their rich original compositions. Organized in 2009, the group has performed with gospel greats such as William McDowell, Kierra "Kiki" Sheard, Richard Smallwood, Pastor Charles Jenkins, Earnest Pugh, Damien Sneed, and James Fortune. With their expressive vocals and intricate arrangements of contemporary gospel, The Sounds of Zamar transcended cultural boundaries in their debut album Limitless in 2012. Back in the studio, the group is currently working on their sophomore album schedule for release this year. Add Pre-show "The Joy of Singing" Masterclass Perform with Trey McLaughlin & The Sounds of Zamar! Length of Masterclass: 60 minutes (starts at 3:30 PM) No music-reading experience or preparation necessary. From spiritual context to cultural, songs continue to be a powerful tool to transcend cultural boundaries and cause change. In this interactive singing workshop, Trey will teach his arrangements by rote, focusing on the nuances and intricate harmonies specific to the gospel music style. The end of the workshop is reserved for Q&A with Trey and members of the Sounds of Zamar. To top off the experience, workshop participants will be invited during the public performance to sing with Trey McLaughlin & The Sounds of Zamar. Don’t miss out on this incredible opportunity! Masterclass add-on is available at checkout when making your purchase through Ticketmaster.

The “Art of a Spiritual” concert highlights the technical complexity of the old “Negro Spiritual,” (also referenced in modern times as the “African-American Spiritual”) and celebrates the boldness of their ancestors while enlightening today’s generation. The concert features 15 songs performed by three of Miami’s Black opera singers: Kyaunnee Richardson (award-winning soprano). , Angel Refusé (baritone), Erica Williams (soprano), Isis Roberts (mezzo soprano and AHCAC Music Department Director), the Voices of Heritage (African Heritage Cultural Arts Center Apprenticeship), and Karl Richardson (pianist).

Madama Butterfly
by Giacomo Puccini

A love affair goes horribly wrong in a fateful meeting of East and West. Set in 1890’s Japan, Puccini’s heartbreaking story of betrayal portrays an American naval officer as he marries a young Japanese girl only to abandon her and force her to make the ultimate sacrifice. A devastating saga of devotion, tradition, and sacrifice—and one of the most beloved operas of all time.

Sung in Italian with English and Spanish projected translations

 

Join us for the Anniversary Gala Concert celebrating the 10th National Chopin Piano Competition and promoting the 18th International Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw. This special concert features Yulianna Avdeeva, First Prize-winner of the International Competition (2010). The Chopin Foundation of the United States presents the Tenth National Chopin Piano Competition in Miami, February 22 – March 1, 2020. Watch as highly-gifted pianists perform at the highest level and vie for the top prize of $100,000. Occurring every five years, this special competition is not to be missed!