Wednesday | October 9 | 12:30 pm
Kavita Shah –
Cape Verdean Blues
Kavita Shah, a lifelong New Yorker of Indian origin, is an award-winning jazz vocalist, composer, and music researcher. In her latest project, Cape Verdean Blues, she explores the sounds and stories of São Vicente, one of the Cape Verde islands off West Africa, and the birthplace of world music legend Cesária Évora. This music’s language of longing struck a chord with Shah, herself a daughter of diaspora.
For this project she is teaming up with Évora’s longtime bandmates, including the master acoustic guitarist and multi-instrumentalist Bau (Évora's longtime musical director), to create her most personal work to date. This is music that makes you want to dance and cry at the same time. She will also be joined by two other masters of Cape Verdean music—guitarist Jorge Almeida and percussionist N'du Carlos.
Featuring
Kavita Shah – vocalist
Bau – acoustic guitar and ukelele
Jorge Almeida – acoustic guitar
N'du Carlos – drums, congas, percussion
Wednesday | November 6 | 12:30 pm
The Django Festival All-Stars
Celebrating 25 Years
This concert highlights the artistry of the renowned Dorado Schmitt and his sons, Samson and Amati, together with longtime collaborator, Ludovic Beier.
Dorado Schmitt is known far and wide as a deserving heir to the legendary Gypsy Jazz virtuoso, Django Reinhardt. Considered one of the leading voices in the Hot Jazz world, he has taught his sons well. All three regularly delight and amaze audiences throughout the world.
The New York Times says about Dorado Schmitt that he was “…clearly born to the style.”
Among his many compositions are Bossa Dorado and Natacha—both of which have become standards of the Jazz Manouche repertoire. Schmitt won his first Django Award at the Django Reinhardt Festival in Luttre-Liberchies, France, and many awards followed. He continues to represent the art form at its highest level.
For this very special concert, he will be joined by his sons, Samson and Amati, creating a veritable guitar dynasty on stage. Also appearing will be their long-time bandmate, the dazzling accordionist Ludovic Beier. The band will be rounded out by the brilliant rhythm guitarist Francko Mehrstein and noted Italian bassist, Gino Roman.
The group’s music transports listeners to Paris in the 1930's, when hot jazz filled the air and Django was king. They bring his music into the 21st century, honoring traditions and standards while adding their own interpretations, arrangements, and original compositions.
Featuring
Dorado Schmitt – violin, guitar
Samson Schmitt – guitar
Amati Schmitt – guitar
Ludovic Beier – accordion, accordina
Francko Mehrstein – rhythm guitar
Gino Roman – bass
Tuesday | November 19 | 12:30 pm
The Galvin Cello Quartet
This superb ensemble features award-winning musicians from Brazil, South Korea, and the United States. The Quartet burst onto the scene capturing the Silver Medal at the 2021 Fischoff Competition, followed by a win at the 2022 Concert Artists Guild Victor Elmaleh Competition.
The Galvin’s founding members - Sydney Lee, Haddon Kay, and Luiz Fernando Venturelli, met as students at Northwestern University’s Bienen School of Music in the studio of acclaimed teacher Hans Jørgen Jensen.
With its untamable desire to create, change, and ultimately bring joy through music, the Galvin Cello Quartet is more excited than ever to explore and expand the possibilities of the cello quartet. Taking advantage of the limitless range of four cellos playing together, the group’s mission is to bring together new works from diverse cultural backgrounds while seeking to establish the cello quartet as a core part of the classical music world.
Recent and upcoming schedule highlights include performances and residencies at Bravo! Vail, the Ravinia Festival, Ascent International Cello Festival, Newport Classical, NYC’s Merkin Concert Hall, and the Walton Arts Center.
Featuring
Sydney Lee
Haddon Kay
Luiz Fernando Venturelli
James Baik
Tuesday | December 17 | 12:30 pm
Gotham City Brass Quintet
The members of Gotham City Brass Quintet have been working together in myriad settings for nearly two decades.
Comfortable in a variety of genres, these versatile musicians have appeared with such ensembles as the New York Philharmonic, the American Symphony, and the American Classical Orchestra. Beyond the symphony orchestra, they have also performed with the Revive Big Band and Rodney Marsalis' Philadelphia Big Brass. Additionally, they are busy on Broadway holding chairs on SUFFS, Back to the Future, and Cabaret.
Featuring
Rebecca Steinberg – trumpet
Hugo Moreno – trumpet
Blair Hamrick – french horn
Mark Broschinsky – trombone
James Rogers – bass trombone
Wednesday| March 19 | 12:30 pm
The Prodigals
The Prodigals are an Iconic Celtic band led by button accordionist Gregory Grene. They have released ten albums and have headlined major venues across the United States and Ireland. Their music has been utilized on major film and television scores.
The band has played in venues large and small including Madison Square Garden, Lincoln Center, Webster Hall, the House of Blues in Las Vegas, Cleveland, and Boston, Whelan's in Dublin, and Dolan’s Warehouse in Limerick; festival appearances range from the Guinness Fleadh, to Music Midtown Atlanta, to the Dublin, Milwaukee, Austin, Chicago, Michigan and Montana Irish Festivals, and many more.
The Prodigals’ music retains authentic Irish traditional melodic roots, while embracing eclectic world rhythms. Their sound is influenced by the high energy that is only found in New York City, where so many Irish immigrants have found a welcoming home.
Featuring
Gregory Grene – button accordion, vocals
Michael Lewis – guitar, vocals
Sean Tierney – flute, dancer
Eamon Ellums – drums, percussion
Wednesday| April 2 | 12:30 pm
ArcoStrum
Lauded as a winner – and Audience Prize recipient – of the 2023 Concert Artists Guild(CAG) Elmaleh Competition in New York and the first-ever violin-guitar duo to win the competition in its 70+ year history, ArcoStrum consists of three-time international First Prize-winning violinist Strauss Shi and TY Zhang, the Grand Prize winner of the Guitar Foundation of America-International Concert Artist Competition (GFA-ICAC).
Upcoming highlights of ArcoStrum’s 2024-2025 season include debuts at Merkin Hall, Krannert Center, University of Nevada-Las Vegas, Howland Chamber Music Circle, Rancho La Puerta, and Harry Jacobs Chamber Music Society. Recent seasons have featured performances at Carnegie Hall Citywide, Strings Music Festival, Omni Foundation for the Performing Arts, Festival Cultural Zacatecas (Mexico), National Sawdust, Austin Chamber Music Festival, and Caramoor.
ArcoStrum captures the hearts of audiences through Strauss and TY’s charisma, dazzling virtuosity, and onstage chemistry. The duo champions unique concert programming through original transcriptions of beloved classical repertoire and traditional Chinese instrumental music infused with modern instrumentations, as well as virtuosic non-classical instrumental progressive rock. The group’s name is a portmanteau fusing a bowing technique for the violin and the motion used to create sound on a guitar.
TY and Strauss met at The Juilliard School and soon discovered their chemistry not only as friends but in music-making. ArcoStrum is committed to pushing boundaries and redefining the 21st-century violin-guitar art form, presenting a new chamber music that is mixed-genre, multi-cultural, and cross-era.
photos by Shervin Lainez
Featuring
TY Zhan – classical guitar, electric guitar
Strauss Sh – violin, erhu, dizi
