In 2008, Smithsonian Folkways recorded a select group of some of the best joropo oriental musicians in Venezuela. These all-stars have again come together to present this distinctive regional variant of Venezuela's national music. The joropo oriental style of joropo music is centered on the region around the eastern city of Cumaná on Venezuela's Caribbean coast and nearby Margarita Island.

* Aquiles Báez, guitar
* Luis Beltrán Márquez, vocals
* Remigio Fuentes, bandolín, maracas
* Roberto Carlo Koch Fernández, bass
* Julián Laya, caja
* Hernán José Marín, vocals
* Mónico Márquez, cuereta, vocals
* José Dionision Martínez Jiménez, maracas
* Alfonso José Moreno Muñoz, cuatro
* Maríalejandra Orozco Veliz, dancer
* Jesús Enrique Rengel, bandola, bandolín
* Alberto José Valderrama Patiño, bandola

Maestros del Joropo Oriental presents a distinct regional variant of the joropo music anchored in the region around the eastern city of Cumaná on Venezuela’s Caribbean coast and nearby Margarita Island. Their string-driven, highly improvised, danceable music applies a rainbow of sounds - guitars unique to the region, button accordion, violin, maracas, bass and drums - to celebrate this musical tradition.

They will be performing at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival en Washington, DC:

(previous dates ommitted, sorry)

Cumaco   Presentación: Smithsonian Folklife Festival
Time:: 11am,   4:45pm

July 2
Maestro Joropo   Oriental Presentación: Smithsonian Folklife   Festival
Time:: 3:55am

July 3
Maestro Joropo   Oriental Presentación: Smithsonian Folklife   Festival
Time:: 1:25pm, Hora:   3:55pm

July 4
Maestro Joropo   Oriental Presentación: Smithsonian Folklife   Festival
Time::   3:05pm

July 5
Maestro Joropo Oriental   Presentación: Smithsonian Folklife Festival
Time:   11:00am, 2:15pm

FOR SCHEDULE OF PERFORMANCES:
http://www.festival.si.edu/visitor/schedule.aspx
http://www.festival.si.edu/2009/las_americas/cumaco.aspx
http://www.festival.si.edu/2009/las_americas/oriental.aspx

ADDITIONAL INFO:

Listen to one of their songs:

http://www.myspace.com/smithsonianfolkways

Their album is part of the Tradiciones/Traditions series from Smithsonian Folkways:

http://www.folkways.si.edu/find_recordings/Latino.aspx

Myrna Moreno: Messo Soprano has partipated in many festivals such as Bad-Ischl (Austria),Wexford (Ireland), Glyndebourne and Camden (England).She has performed at Wigmore Hall, St. John's Smith Square, Barbican Centre. Royal Albert Hall and Bolívar Hall in London, Fort-Kerk in Willemstad, Curaçao, as well as in many famous concert halls in Venezuela and other Latin American countries. Myrna has appeared as principal with the Glyndebourne Festival Company, Glyndebourne Touring Company; Northern Ireland Opera Trust and Wexford Festival; Opera West in Scotland, Chapel le Royale and International Congrescentrum of Ghent,
the Stadsshoburg of Amsterdam with the Dutch Opera Forum, Circolo delia Lirica di Padova, Victoria State Opera Company in Australia, Solís Theatre in Uruguay and Teresa Carreño Theatre and Metropolitan Opera in Caracas.

Luis Pares: Born in 1980, Venezuelan/Italian pianist Luis Parés is in much demand as a soloist and chamber musician having performed in many countries such as the USA, UK, Spain, Venezuela, Italy and Oman. He has performed at many prestigious venues such as the Queen Elizabeth Hall, Wigmore Hall, Cadogan Hall, Conway Hall, St Martin-in-the-Fields and St John's Smith Square in London, the Bridgewater Hall in Manchester, West Road Concert Hall in Cambridge and the Sheldonian Theatre in Oxford.  He has appeared in orchestras including the Caracas Symphony Orchestra and Maracaibo Symphony Orchestra (Venezuela), the Valles Symphony Orchestra, (Barcelona), Cambridge University Chamber Orchesra, Oxford University Orchestra, Charities Philharmonia and the Hallam Sinfonia in the UK.

Hi Friends, I hope you are all well. Just a quick invite for a show I am doing this Friday July 3rd @ 8 PM at The Knitting Factory in Hollywood with Human Life Index , a Rock/Middle eastern Fusion Band that you will enjoy for sure! It is a very energetic and fun show.

Come on down and have some fun!

My website will be up soon (next few weeks and I will send an email to announce the official launch and to share a bunch of news and developments going on right now,

I hope to see you all there!

Love and Peace,

Jesus Florido

An artist of exceptional sensitivity, the Venezuelan-born pianist Ana Karina Alamo has been acknowledged by critics and audiences for her ability to project a special sensibility and honesty on stage, while drawing upon her virtuosic abilities. Performing her first recital at the age of six for an audience of five hundred, Ms. Alamo gave her concerto debut at the age of nine with the Jovenes Arcos Orchestra performing "Pequeña Fantasía" (Little Fantasy), a work written for her by Alejandro Slobodianik. Shortly after, at the age of eleven, Ms. Alamo was invited to record the same work with the Venezuela Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Eduardo Marturet, and, in 1997, in recognition of her contribution to the enhancement of her country, she was awarded the "Jose Felix Ribas Prize" - the highest honor given out by the Family Minister of Venezuela to a young artist.

Event Info
July 2nd
7:00 pm
Bolivar Hall, 54 Grafton Way, London W1T 5 DL

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