Tuesday, December 2, 2008

FW Symphony Orchestra brings Brazilian “Carnival” to DFW for NYE

By Pegasus News wire

Add some spice to your New Year’s Eve when the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra brings Brazil’s famous “Carnival” to Bass Performance Hall. This energetic all-new show captures the excitement of Rio’s elaborate carnival, featuring exquisitely costumed dancers, the fast rhythms of the samba and much more!

The concert includes popular works by several beloved Latin American composers: Brasil, Tico Tico, Venezuela’s unofficial national anthem Alma Llanera, El Cumbanchero, Mosaico Mexicano and many more. A variety of musical styles is represented including the vibrant choro, the folk rhythms of the joropo, the rumba and the powerful samba with drummers from the Acadêmicos da Ópera Samba School in Austin. You’ll have trouble sitting still at this lively concert event! Andres Franco conducts.

The Acadêmicos da Ópera Samba School is made up of a group of performers who love Brazilian music and dance, with a specific focus on samba. Historically the most popular of all the Brazilian rhythms, samba is played very fast with a powerful drive. Sambas are traditionally performed in Brazil by neighborhood Samba Schools (escolas de samba), many of which perform in the famous Sambadrome in Rio de Janeiro during the pre-lenten Brazilian Carnaval. Acadêmicos da Ópera was created and is led by Robert Patterson. A perennial Brazilian music student, Patterson has spent countless hours studying and performing with many Brazilian musicians, and travels yearly to Brazil in order to stay on top of all things samba. He also makes a yearly pilgrimage to the annual California Brazil Camp as part of the faculty.

A Texas Christian University graduate, Andres Franco is in his fifth season as music director of the Philharmonia of Kansas City and recently finished his one-year tenure as assistant conductor of the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra. During the 2008-09 season he will conduct the Texas Christian University Symphony Orchestra and the Youth Orchestra of Greater Fort Worth as well as take over the studio of Texas Christian University professor Germán Gutiérrez, who is on sabbatical. During the last four years Franco has been increasingly active in the U.S. and South America, appearing with several orchestras including the FWSO, Oregon Bach Festival Orchestra, Medellin Philharmonic, EAFIT University Symphony Orchestra, University of Kansas (KU) Opera and Symphony Orchestra and Texas Christian University Symphony Orchestra. He has also conducted several choral-orchestral masterworks with the Oregon Bach Festival Choir, Kansas City Symphony Chorus, TCU Concert Chorale, Texas Boys Choir and KU Opera Choir.

Source: FWSO

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