| Festival of Four - Wednesday, March 14, 2011 7:30 p.m. |
Celebrate world music with Festival of Four on the eve of the Ides of March. Festival of Four will perform a Student Outreach concert at a local school prior to their evening performance at the Rabobank Theater.
Pre-concert music will be performed by the Norris Middle School Emerald Ensemble under the direction of Ms. Amanda Isaac.
Festival of Four is a group of four musicians playing flamenco guitar, flute, mandolin, and guitar. Viviana Guzman is on flutes, Richard Patterson on guitar, Radim Zenkl on mandolin and Guillermo Rios on flamenco guitar. From the fiery Rumbas of Spain to the sultry Afro-Cuban rhythms of the Caribbean, Festival of Four offers a musical journey throughout exotic world cultures. "Almost all of the music on the program was folk or traditional music from some spot on the globe. The only thing the works had in common was that they were all delightful...The performance never lacked a sense of joy and a genuine love for the music. They proved that classical guitar recitals do not have to be grimly serious to be good." - Ft. Worth Star-Telegram Festival of Four Bios VIVIANA GUZMAN flutes, dance Described by the New York Times as “an imaginative artist,” Chilean-born flutist, Viviana Guzmán (http://www.VivianaGuzman.com) has been featured on programs for PBS, NPR and NBC, seen on the cover of Latina Style Magazine, and in COSMOPOLITAN en Español, and has played in 118 countries including China, Japan, Singapore, UK, South Africa, South America, Italy, Germany, Turkey, Egypt, Tahiti, Bali, Greece, Peru, Brazil, Argentina, Chile. Her music video was aired on UNIVISION in 30 countries. She has played as soloist with orchestras in Russia, Chile, Vermont, New York, Wisconsin, California, Texas, Montana, in such halls as in Carnegie Hall, and Avery Fisher Hall in Lincoln Center, and other prominent stages with such artists as Mikhail Baryshnikov, Placido Domingo, and Glenn Close. By the age of 15, Viviana played as a soloist with orchestra, studied with Jean-Pierre Rampal, and was featured on a John Denver nationally televised NBC special. Ms. Guzmán studied with James Galway, and Albert Tipton and graduated from the Juilliard School in New York. Viviana has fans worldwide, one of whom, Kate Winslet (Titanic) said, “I LOVE your music. It is truly beautiful!” and Isabel Allende wrote, “Your music is celestial!” Read an article about Ms. Guzman from The Stockton Record RADIM ZENKL mandolins, ethnic flutes, digeridoo Radim Zenkl was born in Opava, Czech Republic. While studying classical music, Radim discovered bluegrass by listening to records that were smuggled in to his communist country. The sound of a bluegrass mandolin initiated the spark that subsequently led Zenkl beyond bluegrass to an eclectic array of styles. Zenkl escaped from Czechoslovakia in 1989 for political freedom and to be closer to his musical influ¬ences. Two years later, he was invited to perform for the newly elected president of Czech Republic, Vaclav Havel. In America, Zenkl has made a name for himself becoming the U.S. National Mandolin Champion (1992) and one of the world’s premier mandolin virtuosos. Zenkl’s performance features his own innovative playing technique, the “duo-style”, which sounds remarkably like two instruments simultaneously. Zenkl has recorded five CDs, the latest one is called Restless Joy. GUILLERMO RIOS flamenco guitar The brilliant, flamenco virtuoso, Guillermo Rios has returned to the United States after seventeen years of performing and touring throughout the world with Spain’s leading flamenco artists. His highly acclaimed instructional video has been released world-wide by Mel Bay Publications. Mr. Rios was the first flamenco artist ever to be awarded the Ford Foundation Composition Grant. Now based in Los Angeles, Mr. Rios has appeared as soloist with orchestras, as a recitalist in prestigious halls, including New York’s Carnegie Re¬cital Hall, and on radio and television stations throughout the United States. His recording, “Soul of Spain”, epitomizes the new style of flamenco composition which Rios has developed on his own and as a student of the renowned flamenco master, Sabicas. RICHARD PATTERSON guitar Richard Patterson enjoys an active musical career as a collaborative artist and has performed with his groups in North and South America, Europe, and Asia. As a student, Mr. Patterson lived in Spain, studying the guitar in the land of its creation with maestro Jose Tomas. Returning to the United States, he was signed by the world’s largest classical music management, Columbia Artists, for six seasons of critically acclaimed national tours as a member of the Ware-Patterson Duo. During the same period he was touring internationally with the Russian mandolin and balalaika virtuoso Emanuel Sheynkman as the duo Dvoika! under the direction of David Lieberman Artists in Los Angeles. He then formed the virtuoso quartet, Festival of Four with whom he performs on University campuses and in major concert halls throughout North America. Richard Patterson is also an active recording artist and has been a featured performer on more than thirty recordings. Mr. Patterson studied composition with John Adams and Pulitzer Prize winner Wayne Peterson. Patterson’s compositions and arrangements are heard in feature films and on television and radio in over 30 countries. Sample sections from a CD of Festival of Four at cdbaby.com.
Sample a CD by Festival of Fourat
amazon.com.
Welcome to the Rabobank Theater Festival of Four for a delightful evening of world music.
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