World Artists Experiences and MCTA Present:
Natalia Arroyo Ensemble
World Artists Experiences (WAE), in
partnership with Mountain City Traditional Arts (MCTA), and the Embassy of
Mexico, will present the Natalia Arroyo Ensemble from Mexico on Thursday, April
25 at 7pm, at MCTA, 25 East Main Street, Frostburg, MD. The concert is free and open to the
public. No tickets are required, though
donations are greatly appreciated.
The
Natalia Arroyo Ensemble will include Natalia Arroyo on violin, Edwin Montes on guitar and José Luis Rodriquez on
double bass. The
group performs traditional music from northern Mexico, consolidating their own
sound in a fresh and innovative way. The original arrangements and compositions
of the Ensemble’s repertoire fuse the roots of Mexican music with chamber music
and jazz. The improvisation and creativity displayed by each musician is another
fundamental feature of the ensemble. The result is a blend of sounds that
captures the ensemble's rich knowledge of the Mexican traditional music and the
ever-changing rhythms of northern Baja California. Their performance has been
described as fresh, intense and innovative. Improvisation of the violin and a festive atmosphere are a
fundamental part of their world-wide performances.
Reconnecting Roots
(Reconectando Raíces) is the ensemble's first full-length album. It was supported
by the National Endowment for Culture and Arts of Mexico (FONCA). The ensemble
has performed in various venues including
Salisbury University and Allegany College of Maryland, the Mexican Cultural
Institute in Washington, D.C., USA, the Feria Internacional del Libro in
Mexico, the program Foro Once of television network Canal Once in Mexico, among
others.
Award-winning multi-instrumentalist
and composer Natalia Arroyo was born near the Mexican border, and began playing
the violin at age 7. Later, she studied classical violin at the Conservatory de las
Rosas in Morelia, Michoacán. Between 2003 and 2007, she went to Buenos Aires,
Argentina, to study Tango and Folklore. There, she was selected to be a member
of the Tango Orchestra of Maestro Rodolfo Mederos.
She has initiated and has been
involved in several music projects with different communities, such as the “Singing
we get to know each other” music workshops in Native Kumiai communities, the “Musical
nest” project with Native Mixtecan communities, and the “Cultural caravans for
peace” initiative in Atoyac, Guerrero Mexico.
Natalia
has contributed to environmental protection activities for many years. While
working for the Mexico-based NGO Ecological Group GECI, she composed a Songbook
to promote nature conservation in the Islands located off
the western coast of Mexico's Baja California Peninsula. She developed
music workshops with local communities and founded the “Isla Guadalupe fishing
community choir”.
As a creator she has composed three albums,
“La Vereda”, “Island’s songbook” and “Reconnecting with roots”. Her discography
as an arranger and performer includes five albums. She has performed in
important festivals around the world such as the Smithsonian Folk Festival in
Washington, D.C., the Music Festival in Pretoria, South Africa, the Autumn
Festival in Paris, France, the Verk&Verkhart festival in Austria, the Red
Rock Folk Festival in northwestern Ontario, Canada, the Music Festival in
Bogotá, Colombia, the Arts Festival in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic; the
International Festival of Music in Buenos Aires, Argentina, the International
Music Festival in San Jose, Costa Rica, and many more. She
was a resident at the OMI
International Artist Residence in New York, USA and a fellow of
the National Arts Fund (México) for traditional music creation.
Edwin Montes, an
award-winning guitarist, is a classical trained guitarist with a bachelor’s
degree in music from the Faculty of Arts of Universidad Autónoma de Baja California,
Mexico. He has won regional and international guitar
competitions. He was the first-place winner at a National Guitar Competition
during the Hispanic Guitar Festival in Tijuana, Mexico and he won the third-place
prize at an International Guitar Ensemble Festival in Taxco, Mexico.
He studied with internationally
renowned guitarists, like Giulio Tampalini at the Brescia Guitar Academy in
Italy, Freddie Bryant in New York City, and Thomas Muller and Pablo Garibai during
the Instumenta Festival in Oaxaca, Mexico.
His creativity and passion for music are also expressed
through his collaborations with other musicians. He has performed with various groups throughout Mexico, U.S.A., and
Italy. He has collaborated with different ensembles such as: The Jacky
Britton's band, Ruh Saahil (a Middle East music ensemble), the Ensenada Guitar Trio (classical
guitar music for three guitars). He is active with the Petit Comite (New Orleans
Jazz), the Ivan Trujillo Ensemble (contemporary jazz), the Trio Berimbau (Brazilian
Jazz), and the Wilfrido Terrazas Sea Quintet.
Edwin is a guitar teacher at the Center of
Musical Studies of the University of Baja California, Mexico, where he also
directs the Guitar Orchestra. He also teaches at the Instituto Contemporáneo de
Música de Baja California in Ensenada.
José Luis Rodríguez, native from Baja California, is a double bass player
who likes to make music in a variety of styles like jazz, contemporary popular
music and classical music.
He has a degree in Music with a specialty in double
bass from the Universidad Autónoma de Baja California, Mexico. He studied with the internationally
renowned double bass musician and composer Andres Martin and attended technical
and interpretive improvement music courses in Italy and Switzerland with Franco
Petracchi, Mirella Vedeva and Alain Raux.
As a double bassist he has collaborated with different
orchestras and ensembles such as: Natalia Arroyo Ensemble, Wilfrido Terrazas
Jazz Quintet, Ivan Trujillo Ensemble, The Jacky Britton's band, Trio Berimbau,
Baja California Orchestra, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California Symphony
Orchestra, and Ensenada Chamber Orchestra.
In addition to that, he has accompanied personalities
such as Andrea Bocelli, Il Divo, Nortec Collective, Los Tigres del Norte,
Fernando De la Mora, Mariachi Vargas, Mariachi Sol de México, Peter Ciegleris,
Silvia Navarrete, GianFranco Bortolatto, among others. He has collaborated in
the premieres of works by various composers such as José Pablo Moncayo, Leo
Brower, Andrés Martin, Wilfrido Terrazas, Ignacio Baca Lobera, Fabian Coronado,
Fernando Lomelí, Edgar Guzmán, among others. Likewise, he participated in the
recording of the film “Atardecer muriendo” by Amós Navarro and music for
different composers and bands like Natalia Arroyo, John Boyle, Bucéfalo, and Ivan
Trujillo.
José Luis is a Professor of Double Bass and Electric
Bass at the Universidad Autónoma de Baja California, the Instituto Contemporáneo
de Música de Baja California, and the Forjadores del Sauzal Orchestra.
WAE is a non-profit
organization established in 2003 that seeks to bridge international
understanding through cultural and citizen diplomacy in communities, colleges
and schools, using the international language of the arts and citizen diplomacy.
Located at 25 E. Main Street, Frostburg, Mountain City
Traditional Arts is a program of Frostburg State University and a founding
member of Maryland’s Folklife Network. It receives support from the Maryland
Traditions Program of the State Arts Council. For more information call
301-687-8040.
