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
The Gay West: From Drug Store Cowboys to Rodeo Queens
The masculine ideal represented by the American cowboy is variously interpreted by spectators, dancers, musicians, and contestants at gay rodeos and country western dances across the U.S. Examining embodied gender practices within these communities, this talk articulates the sonic, social, and geographical spaces of the gay American West.
The Cruelty of Jazz: Toward a Hemispheric Politics of Sound
Rooted in concepts of affect and Empire, this paper argues that jazz operated in various 20th century Latin American settings as a vital touchstone bearing the risks and benefits of urban modernization, hemispheric geopolitics, and transnational cultural production, “cruelly” echoing the United States’ cultural, political, and economic dominance in the hemisphere and beyond.
A Day in the Life of the Bosavi People
A 90 minute, 4K, 7.1 surround sound eco-rockumentary concert of a day in the life of the Bosavi people and their rainforest home in Papua New Guinea, directed and produced by Steven Feld and based on recordings and images from 1976-2018.