Latin American Vacation
Latin American Vacation is a production which explores music from and inspired by Latin American musical styles and genres. It combines elements of classical music and theatre, emerging as an original storytelling performance. Our two main characters, one the straight-laced academic and the other a free-spirited adventurer, take a vacation to three Latin American countries. Along the way they create “Youtube” vlogs and meet talented pianists, other hotel guests (the audience), and a flight attendant. The plot thickens as their personalities and viewpoints clash - what makes a piece of music authentic to a particular country’s musical tradition?
During the development of this project we realized that we had a lot of easily accessible pieces that were influenced by Latin American cultures, musical traditions, and places to choose from, but struggled to find music by Latin American composers. We chose to integrate the debate of authenticity into the plot of the show, hoping to inspire our audience to have a conversation about the roots of the music they listen to.
Claire Kim-Shin, Tateuchi Hall Manager for CSMA approached us a few weeks after our performance of Concerto for Frenemies in June, and asked if we’d play another concert. At the time, we had some ideas of themes and music we wanted to explore but no completed programs. We gave Claire a list of our ideas, and she chose the Latin American Vacation theme.
A Very Special Thank You
William Wielgus, Oboist for the National Symphony Orchestra, has a wonderful YouTube channel collecting his performances of little-known works by living and 20th century Latin American composers. We found 3 of the pieces in this program on his channel, and he was instrumental in helping us obtain the music.