Dear Friends;

This next Friday and Saturday October 18th and 19th I will be performing the concerto for guitar and orchestra by Heitor Villa-lobos; This Giant of the Americas -a very relevant presence in today’s world- speaks directly to the heart and to the deepest feelings. I have always been exposed to his music, his guitar work is the bible of our “guitar religion”. Later, as I wanted to dive deeper into the mysteries of his compositions, I discovered, as he put it, “the song of the birds and the swift fury of the rivers of our Amazonia” in master symphonic works like his Bachianas Brasilieras number 4, or the 7th, or the 2nd with its “Trenzinho do Caipira” (peasant’s train), a work that depicts the beauty of the Brazilian landscape and its indigenous people, or his Choro number 10 that caused a musical revolution in Paris, etc… that’s how I learned more about this man, dedicated to making the world a better place through music, with a very strong and defined personality and powerful Indigenous warrior courage. Villa-lobos, the man who institutionalized free and mandatory music education in all of Brazil’s elementary schools, Villa-lobos the man who made the french dance and eat “Feijoada” when they heard his symphonic poem “Amazonas”, Villa-lobos who gathered over 30,000 children to sing in unison at a soccer field, Villa-lobos that man who changed the musical history of Latin America portraying in his work, in his Bachianas, Choros, Symphonies, concertos, etc… all the ancestral power of America so that it would be rightly recognized and that we could discover and understand that in the power of nature, lies perhaps our only hope for salvation.

 

Having the opportunity of performing his music is also a great responsibility, one that I will deliver, together with Maestro, Chris Whittaker and the WHC Orchestra. It's not the fist time that I perform this concerto (Teatro Municipal do Rio de Janeiro, Brasil, with the M. Iacovino orchestra), but it will be, without a doubt, the first time that I do it with the intention of contributing to the awareness of the enormous legacy -now more relevant than ever before- of the forceful and transformative power of our America.

 

When: Friday October 18th 2019

Where: George Washington Educational campus

Address: 549 Audubon Ave. NY, NY 10040

Time: 7 PM

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When: Saturday October 19th 2019

Where: Fort Washington Collegiate Church

Address: 729 W 181st st. NY, NY 10033

Time: 3PM

FOR TICKETS CLICK HERE

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Nilko Andreas Guarin
C:  917-292-9555 

E: contact@nilkoandreas.com

Hector Villa-lobos Guitar concerto, Nilko Andreas Soloist, Chris Whittaker, Conductor Washington Heights Chamber Orchestra. 

WHCO Brings together musicians from all over the world using music to promote friendship, community, passion and unity

October 13th, 2019 WHCO and Azlo Productions proudly present

What Keeps Me Awake

Rise above fear of the unknown. 

From the power of the Amazon rainforest in Brazilian Heitor Villa-lobos’ guitar concerto to Angélica Negrón’s probing and wandering soundscape and the simmering and questioning phrases of Brahms’ 4th symphony, the opening concert takes us on a journey to overcome anxiety, as we explore what keeps us awake

The Villa-lobos guitar concerto, (Nilko Andreas, soloist) is a grand representation of the music of Brazilian giant Heitor Villa-lobos, and shows how he brings together the traditions of Latin-american folk music with elements of the European traditional classical music. This concerto was written for the Spanish guitarist Andrés Segovia, to whom the score is dedicated. It was first performed on 6 February, 1956 in Houston, Texas, by Andrés Segovia and the Houston Symphony Orchestra, conducted by the composer. A reduction for guitar and piano was published in Paris by Max Esching, who also published the full score in 1971.

Join us for our Season 5 kick-off. Friends of WHCO join us Saturday after the concert for a post-concert reception featuring a neighborhood coffee tasting.

 

When: Friday October 18th, 2019

Where: George Washington Educational campus 

Address: 549 Audubon Ave. NY, NY 10040

Time: 7 PM 

 

When: Saturday October 19th, 2019

Where: Fort Washington Collegiate Church

Address: 729 W 181st st. NY, NY 10033

Time: 3 PM

 

FOR TICKETS CLICK HERE

The Washington Heights Chamber Orchestra was founded in August 2015 by composer/conductor Chris Whittaker, violinist Amos Fayette, and Jacob Kallman to serve the communities of Washington Heights and Upper Manhattan. We envision an affordable, outstanding neighborhood concert experience where new listeners and seasoned concert-goers alike feel welcomed and inspired.

Over the past four years, the WHCO has produced an average of ten concerts per year plus special events. From chamber music, solo recitals, jazz, dance, to orchestra concerts, WHCO strives to be a place that connects great art across genres and cultures and reconnects people in community. We hope to create an experience that celebrates diversity, inspires civic engagement, and enriches your life. We want you to fall in love with our music and be inspired by the positive energy that makes it possible.

The Washington Heights Chamber Orchestra is comprised of local, professional musicians who make uptown their home. While most of our audience consists of neighborhood residents, WHCO attracts listeners from all over the city and New Jersey, and has helped to generate new economic activity in the Heights. Among other outlets, we have been listed in the New York Times’ "Today," TimeOut NY's “Critics Pick,” and Gothamist's "Best Things to Do in NYC this Weekend." Our programming has been hailed as “consistently fresh.” We regularly collaborate with other local arts organizations, and in its short life WHCO has become a welcome addition to uptown’s cultural life.

 

Azlo Productions was created by artistic director, Nilko Andreas Guarin, to promote Latin American music and musicians abroad, and for the purpose of fostering unity in the Americas through the arts. Since its foundation in 2000, Azlo has been sponsoring and producing independent artists around the world and presenting them in some of the most renowned concert halls including Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in NYC; The Strathmore and Cathedral of Saint Matthew the Apostle in Washington DC; The Hobby Center in Houston, Texas as well as Cite Universitaire in Paris, Palacio Foz and Museum Nogueira da Silva in Portugal; Salle Gandhi in Geneva, among other prestigious halls in France, Germany, Brazil, and Colombia. “Amazonas”, its beloved and renowned concert series been presented around the world and featured  the Azlo Orchestra, guest artists, and soloists. These concerts raise awareness on the increasing level of environmental destruction of our planet and draw inspiration from nature and the ancestral power of the Amazon, as has been done by our composers and artists, from time immemorial. For more information visit https://nilkoandreas.com/amazonas

 

Program

Angélica Negrón: What Keeps Me Awake

Heitor Villa-Lobos: Guitar Concerto featuring Nilko Andreas Guarin

Johannes Brahms: Symphony No. 4 in E minor, Op. 98

 

Washington Heights Chamber Orchestra

Chris Whittaker, Music Director 

Niko Andreas Guarin, Guitar

  

 


 

   

 

 

 

 

 

 

1. Image concert 1                    

2. Villa-lobos conducting  

3. Segovia and Villa-Lobos        

4. Image Concert 2