MUSIC FROM THE AMERICAS CONCERT SERIES Presents
VERSUS 8 Percussion Ensemble
Percussion music in the Americas is one of the most exotic, visually attractive, and antique forms of expression since pre-hispanic times. Preserving, promoting and creating music for the percussion family of instruments is at the core of Versus 8’s mission through international collaboration with composers, performers, students, and cultural centers that contribute with their resources to the cycle of music, namely: creation, performance, and listening..
Versus 8 Percussion Ensemble offers a fresh perspective on modern and traditional percussion music. In its 16th anniversary Versus 8 has performed in numerous stages around Mexico and internationally in countries such as Paraguay, Cuba, and Luxembourg, USA and Spain.
Travesías is the title of Versus 8’s latest show, which is well-balanced in terms of form, style, and aesthetics of contemporary percussion music, including some of the most symbolic sounds of the beautiful traditional Mexican marimba.
PHOBIA I – BUATUCATTA (2015) Hugo Morales (1979)
THE EXERTING FORCES OF THEIA AND GAIA (2018) José-Luis Hurtado (Mexico, 1975)
DANZA ISORRÍTMICA (1996) Mario Lavista (Mexico, 1943)
RHYTHMIC STRUCTURE OF THE WIND IV (2007) Raúl Tudón (Mexico, 1965)
SON BULERÍAS (2002) Miguel Cruz (Mexico, 1976)
VERSUS 8
Carlos Barrón Valadez Andrés Gómez Jaimes Enrique Eldon Sterling García
Pedro Salvador Velasco artistic director
An Americanish Songbook: Linda Ronstadt’s “other” Country
This talk will consider performances and recordings by singer Linda Ronstadt to propose what I refer to as her Americanish musical songbook. The suffix “ish” here intends to accentuate the “somewhat” or “to some extent” of “American” that Ronstadt—Tucson born and raised—lived and sonically imagined through her extraordinary musical career.
Arab Musicking on the U.S.–Mexico Border
This talk explores the relationship between trauma and identity by examining Arab music performance on the U.S.–Mexico border. Drawing on the musicking of Syrian and Mexican migrant communities, I interrogate theories of cultural and psychological trauma and borderland epistemologies to explore how border tensions influence the often-fraught views of identity.
Music from the Americas presents The Low Frequency Trio
Formed by Antonio Rosales (bass clarinet), Juan José García (doublebass), and José Luis Hurtado (piano), LOW FREQUENCY TRIO is one of the few ensembles in the world that plays music that was exclusively composed for them.