ABOUT THE ARTISTS

Jamie Bernstein, narrator ~ Jamie Bernstein is a narrator, writer and broadcaster who has transformed a lifetime of loving music into a career of sharing her knowledge and enthusiasm with others.  She grew up in an atmosphere bursting with music, theatre and literature. Her father, composer-conductor Leonard Bernstein, together with her mother, the pianist and actress Felicia Montealegre, and their legions of friends in the arts, created a spontaneous, ebullient household that turned Jamie into a dyed-in-the-wool cultural enthusiast.

Jamie’s symphony concert, Bernstein on Broadway, produced with conductor Michael Barrett, which has enjoyed success with the Vancouver Symphony, the Hartford Symphony, the Springfield Symphony and the Toledo Symphony will be presented in 2007-2008 by the Minnesota Orchestra, the Phoenix Symphony and the San Antonio Symphony. 

Replicating her father’s lifelong compulsion to share and teach, Jamie has written and produced several concerts for families and young people on the music of Copland, Mozart, Bernstein and others.  The acclaimed program The Bernstein Beat, a family concert about her father modeled after his own groundbreaking Young People’s Concerts has been presented by Carnegie Hall Family Concerts, the Caramoor Festival and orchestras across the country. 

Jamie also travels the world as a concert narrator, appearing with orchestras from Philadelphia to Minnesota, Havana to Beijing. In addition to her own scripts, Jamie also performs standard concert narrations, such as Walton’s Facade, Copland’s A Lincoln Portrait and her father’s Symphony No. 3, Kaddish.  She is a frequent speaker on musical topics, including in-depth discussions of her father’s works.

In her role as a broadcaster, Jamie has produced and hosted numerous shows for radio stations in the United States and Great Britain. In addition to hosting several seasons of the New York Philharmonic’s live national radio broadcasts, Jamie has presented several series for New York’s classical station, 96.3 FM WQXR, including annual live broadcasts from Tanglewood. Most recently, Jamie presented a series for BBC Radio 3, Fast Machine, about the music scene in New York City.
In addition to writing her own scripts and narrations, Jamie writes articles and poetry, which have appeared in such publications as Symphony, DoubleTake and Gourmet.

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Marco Granados, flute ~ A native of Venezuela, Marco Granados maintains an active international career as a soloist, chamber musician, and teacher. His diverse repertoire spans from classical to folk, with an emphasis on Latin-American music as his specialty. He has been a member of many critically acclaimed ensembles, among them the Quintet of the Americas and Triangulo (Latin American Chamber Trio). As a founding member of the Amerigo Ensemble, The Camerata Latinoamericana and the Granados/Abend Duo, Mr. Granados’ collaborations also include those with The Cuarteto Latinoamericano, The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center and with such distinguished artists as Paquito D'Rivera, flutist Ransom Wilson, harpist Nancy Allen, oboist Heinz Holliger, flutist William Bennett, as well as with soprano Renee Fleming and baritone Dwayne Croft. Recent performances include recitals at Wigmore Hall in London, tours of the US, Slovenia and South Africa. He has also performed at many summer music festivals including Moab, Chautauqua and the Colorado Music Festival in addition to the Caramoor International Music Festival. Mr. Granados is Music Advisor to Caramoor’s Latin American Music Initiative: Sonidos Latinos.

In his native country, Mr. Granados has performed with many of the leading Symphony Orchestras premiering both the Jacques Ibert and Aram Khachaturian flute concerti with the Maracaibo and Venezuelan Symphony Orchestras, respectively. He also gave the South American premiere of the Concerto for F1ute and Orchestra by Mexican composer Samuel Zyman with the Philharmonic Orchestra of Lima in Peru. Past solo engagements have included a special invitation in 1986 by the Mayor of New York City to perform for Placido Domingo at Gracie Mansion. In recital, he made his New York debut at Carnegie Hall's Weill Recital Hall in 1991. Since then, he has performed recitals in the United States, Canada, South America and the Caribbean. The first musician to have appeared as soloist for three consecutive seasons with the New York City Symphony at Alice Tully Hall and Merkin Concert Hall in New York City, Mr. Granados has also appeared as soloist with Philharmonia Virtuosi of New York, members of the Cleveland Orchestra, The Juilliard Chamber Orchestra, the Haydn Festival Orchestra of Maine and L’Orchestra in the Berkshires, among others.

On radio broadcasts, Mr. Granados was featured nationwide in 1996 on National Public Radio's Performance Today with Camerata Latinoamericana, and recently presented a program of Venezuelan and Latin-American music on Around New York with host Fred Child of WNYC. Other radio appearances include live performances on WQXR in New York City. As a recording artist, he has appeared on such labels as CRI, Chesky Records, MMC Records, Koch World and XLNT Records. Mr. Granados has toured the United States on several occasions with the Quintet of the Americas, with performances at Carnegie Hall, The Bermuda International Music Festival, Chamber Music Northwest, Alice Tully Hall in New York City, and in many university concert series. As an artist-in-residence at Northwestern University in Chicago, he has given recitals and concerts with Elena Abend as well as with the Quintet of the Americas.

Mr. Granados currently plays with the acclaimed ensemble Un Mundo. Un Mundo is dedicated to bringing the passion and energy of Venezuelan music to the world, instilling in young people the love of music and bridging cultures through classical, folk and jazzy arrangements. Recordings by Mr. Granados include Luna, a romantic serenade of songs from Venezuela and South America for flute and guitar; Tango Dreams, a compilation of works by Astor Piazzolla, and Amanecer, a collection of Venezuelan flute favorites.

A devoted educator, he travels the world teaching children about the wonder of creation, through his composition workshops.

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Katie Kresek, violin ~  Katie Kresek maintains a varied and dynamic musical career that incorporates her eclectic mix of interests in the arts and academia. Born into an artistic family in Cooperstown, New York, she was raised in Ossining, New York and obtained her undergraduate degrees summa cum laude in both Music and English Literature from the State University of New York at Purchase, studying violin in the studios of Daniel Phillips and Laurie Smukler and in master classes with Elmar Oliviera and Donald Weilerstein.

Ms Kresek holds a Masters degree from The Mannes College of Music, where she studied violin with Lucie Robert and chamber music with Felix Galimir, Diane Walsh, and David Krakauer.  As a recitalist, Ms. Kresek has performed at the National Arts Club, Weill Recital Hall, Caramoor, Merkin Hall, and the New York Public Library and has been featured on WQXR's McGraw-Hill Young Artists Showcase and WNYC's program Sound Check.  An avid chamber musician, Ms. Kresek was a founding member of the Arabella Piano Trio, with whom she made her Carnegie Hall debut in 2002.  As an orchestral musician, Ms. Kresek frequently performs with the Harrisburg, Albany, Princeton, and Key West Symphony Orchestras, The Philadelphia Virtuosi, The Westchester and Brooklyn Philharmonics, The American Composers Orchestra, and was a member of the Spoleto Festival Orchestra in Italy in 2000 and 2001.  She has performed as principal of numerous classical ensembles in the tri-state area at Carnegie, Avery Fisher, and Alice Tully Halls and on the popular music circuit with Jay-Z, Beyonce Knowles, Alicia Keys, Kanye West, Shakira, Lenny Kravitz, KD Lang, Adam Levine, Clay Aiken, Il Divo, LeAnn Rhimes, Chris Martin of Coldplay, Gwyneth Paltrow, Nas, Memphis Bleek, and many others.

Strongly committed to the education of young people in the arts, Ms. Kresek also holds a Masters of Education from Teachers College, Columbia University where her focus was music and aesthetic education. She is currently the Head Teaching Artist for the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, and a teaching artist for The Lincoln Center Institute, The New York Philharmonic, Caramoor, and The 92nd Street Y.  She also serves as a violin instructor for Fordham and Columbia Universities in addition to frequently devoting her time to artist residencies in various settings.   Ms. Kresek has also collaborated with members of the Paul Taylor Dance Company and Thomas/Ortiz Dance at the Joyce Theater and Merce Cunningham Studios, and more recently became a member of Hector del Curto's Eternal Tango Orchestra with whom she has performed as both violinist and violist at Lincoln Center's Midsummer Night Swing Series, The Stowe TangoFest in Vermont, and the Hudson River Park Trust Moon Dance Series.  Highlights of the 2005-06  season included a solo appearance with the Westchester Philharmonic as well as appearances on Saturday Night Live on NBC with Kanye West and on ABC's The View with Il Divo.  She plays on a violin made in 1748 in Florence, Italy by Lorenzo and Tomaso Carcassi.

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Pablo Aslan, bass ~ Argentine-born bassist and composer Pablo Aslan has resided in the U.S. since 1980. Director of Avantango, he is also a founder and codirector of New York Buenos Aires Connection and New York Tango Trio with bandoneonist Raul Jaurena.  With these groups he has recorded several CDs and toured throughout the Americas, Europe and Russia. He participated in the 2nd and 3rd Tango Summits in Spain and Uruguay and recently toured the US and Japan with cellist Yo-Yo Ma and members of the Astor Piazzolla Quintet, appearing also on PBS and ABC. He is a member of BMG artist Pablo Ziegler’s Quintet for New Tango, with whom he recorded and toured extensively in the U.S., Europe and Japan. He appeared at Carnegie Hall and on PBS with Tango Magic and directed the New York Tango Quartet in the 2000 JVC Jazz Festival also at Carnegie Hall. Aslan performed and recorded in 1999-2000 with clarinetist David Krakauer’s Klezmer Madness in the U.S. and Europe.

Pablo has worked with artists as varied as film composer Lalo Shiffrin, Grammy-winning singer Shakira, Grammy-winning and Academy Award nominated Jorge Calandrelli, Grammy nominated Argentine pianist Adrian Iaies, Grammy-winning Argentine composer Carlos Franzetti, Osvaldo Golijov, Klezmer radical Frank London, and the Philadelphia Orchestra. In addition to writing and arranging for his own groups, Aslan has written music for the New York-based Tango Mujer and was arranger and musical director of Jenny Levison’s Shtil, Mayn Corazon – a Yiddish Tango Cabaret.

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After a Carnegie Hall concert in April 1999 with the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra and outstanding artists such as Gary Burton, Joe Lovano, Pablo Ziegler, famous tango singers José Angel Trelles and Maria Graña, the New York Times highlighted Mr. Del Curto´s artistry, making special mention of his "wistful, piercing solos on the bandoneón."

This was no new discovery. In Argentina, Mr. Del Curto won the title of "Best Bandoneón Player under 25" when he was only 17 years of age. This award led Osvaldo Pugliese to invite him to play in his legendary orchestra, which made him the youngest bandoneónist in the history of Pugliese's Orchestra.

In 1999, Héctor Del Curto received the Golden Note Award from the Italian-American Network in recognition of his artistic achievements. As conductor, he directed the spectacular show Forever Tango on Broadway and founded the Eternal Tango Orchestra a ten piece ensemble.

Since 2003, Eternal Tango Trio, Quintet and Orchestra have performed at Lincoln Center Summer Festival, Hudson River Park Trust Moon Dance Series, Levitt Pavilion for the Performing Arts, Stowe Tangofest in Vermont, NY Tango Festival, Resonance-World Music Festival in Cleveland, Embajada Argentina in Washington D.C., Festival Iberoamericano de las Artes in Puerto Rico and Le Carrefour Mondial de l'accordion in Quebec among other festivals and venues. He has produced a new critically acclaimed CD, Héctor Del Curto´s Eternal Tango on Green Parrot Records and it was successfully released at Jazz Standard on June 18, 2007.

Besides his own projects, Héctor Del Curto is an active member of Pablo Ziegler Trio and Quintet for the New Tango, Fernando Otero´s X-Tango and Paquito D´Rivera´s Panamericana Ensemble.

Héctor Del Curto´s recordings include performances with Osvaldo Pugliese and his orchestra and Astor Piazzolla and the New Tango Sextet on Finally Together (Lucho Records), Pablo Ziegler on the albums Asphalt and Quintet for the New Tango (BMG), "Tango Magic" (Sony Music-USA) on video and DVD and Tango and All That Jazz (Kind of Blue Records), Fernando Otero X-Tango on the album Plan and Luis Borda Cuarteto on Linea de Tango (Jazz and Fusion Records).  Mr. Del Curto was a guest artist in numerous recordings such as Latin music legend, Tito Puente and Eddie Palmieri´s Grammy Award-winning collaboration Masterpiece (RMM), renowned mezzo-soprano, Denyce Graves´ The Lost Days (BMG), Paquito D´Rivera´s Funk Tango, Manhattan Transfer´s Vibrate (Telarc), Roy Nathanson´s Fire at the Keaton´s Bar and Grill (featuring Elvis Costello, Cyrus Chestnut and Deborah Harry, on the label Six Degrees), Ricardo Arjona´s Santo Pecado (Sony International), and Shakira´s Laundry Services.

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Raul Jaurena, bandoneon ~ Raul Jaurena, master of the Tango, is among today’s most prominent bandoneon players. His music plays a very personal tribute to the influences of his native South America and his adopted hometown of New York. It combines the traditional roots of the tango and the style of the “Tango Nuevo” influenced by Astor Piazzolla.

The bandoneon has influenced Jaurena’s life right from the cradle. He was raised in Uruguay and his father taught him how to play the bandoneon - at the age of eight he already joined a tango orchestra. The fascination for this highly emotional music grabbed him and has not let go of him ever since. As a member of and adaptor for various renowed tango-ensembles in the nineteensixties and seventies in Uruguay, Argentina ,Brasil, Chile, Ecuador and Venezuela, Raul Jaurena lays the tracks for his career. A performance together with Astor Piazzolla at the Montreal Jazz Festival turns out be guiding for his musical development. The conservation of the musical spirit of Astor Piazzolla becomes his personal vocation: Jaurena’s tango interpretations which are enriched by influences of jazz, his own arrangements and spontaneous improvisations fascinate a new generation of listeners and dancers.

Besides, his activities remain as many-faceted as the artist himself. His arrangements and his skills as a composer and a solo player make him equally popular both in the USA and in Europe. The ballet suite he composes in 1995 for the Irene Hultman Dance Company debuts in New York and is shortly after awarded the “Bessie”. During the same year he was invited to the White House and received a Grammy nomination for his CD Tango Bar. Over the years he takes charge of the musical direction of many other stage projects and among other things plays guest performances at the Thalia Spanish Theatre in New York. He has played with Cuban Jazz saxophone player Paquito D'Rivera, Yo Yo Ma, Giora Feidman, Tango Five and others. As a soloist he plays with prominent ensembles and  orchestras including: American Composer Orchestra at Carnegie Hall (Conductor Denis Rusell Davis), Pan American Symphony Orchestra Washington DC (Conductor Sergio Busle), Symphony Orchestra of Oficial Radio of Vienna (Conductor Bernd Ruf), Hollywood Bowl Orchestra California (Conductor  Joan Maucceri), Symphony Orchestra of Richmond Virginia (Conductor Gerardo Edelstein), Orquesta filarmonica de Montevideo Uruguay (Conductor Federico GarciaVigil), Philharmonic Orchestra of Stuttgart Germany (Conductor Bern Ruf), The Bronx Arts Ensemble Orchestra (Conductor Pablo Zinger), Philharmonie Sudwestfalen (Conductor Rusell Harris), Kultur Plus Kaiserslautern SWR Rundfunkochester (Conductor Grzegorz Nowak), The Gotan Orquesta Filarmonica of Montevideo (Conductor Federico Garcia Vigil), Colonial Symphony Orchestra (Conductor Gisele Ben Dor), Israel Chamber Orchestra (Double Concerto For Bandoneon and Guitar) Conductor (Noam Sheriff and Guitar Victor  Villadangos), Berlin Philarmonie Deutches Kammerorchester Berlin (Conductor Markus Poschner), Classical Music Concerts in Millennium Park, Chicago (Conductor Carlos Miguel Prieto) National Gallery Orchestra Wasington DC (Conductor Jose Serebrier), Santa Barbara Symphony Orchestra (Conductor Gisele Ben  dor), Werzgebirgisches Sinfonie Orchester Aue (Conductor Richard Vardigans), TODO TANGO in Washington DC. with the Pan American Sinfonic Orquesta,The Sinfonie orchester Aachen (Conductor Enrique Batiz), and Philharmonie Sudwestfalen (Conductor Rusell Harris).

Along with Maestro Giora Feidman he has toured throughout Europe performing a series of programs including Klezmer and Tango Music. He has performed at different Universities and Schools with Tango Music Symposium in Hannover, Halle , Kassel, Hamburg, Lubeck, Munter, Lingen, Landshut, Muhigorf, Heidelberg, Bonn, Kiel, Celle, Wurzburg, and Bremen. Raul Jaurena also participated in the 35th Anniversary of the Symphony Orchestra of Fort Worth conduted by German Gutierrez and the Butler Symphony Orchestra (Conducted byl Stanley De Rusha). He was invited as a special guest to the Internacional Accordeon Festival in San Antonio, Texas and his show Tango & Tango has great success at the Ravinia Festival in Chicago.

He toured through Europe with Tango Five and singer Marga Mitchell with the program Amando a Buenos Aires in 2001. He has been invited to at the Merkin Concert Hall  in New York with Russian violinist Nina Bellina, the Cleveland Museum of Art en World Music and Dance Series, the Orchestra Concertante of Chicago conducted by  Hilel Kagan, and at the Fiedrichsbau Theatre in Stuttgart, Germany along with Tango Five and Marga Mitchell.

As the result of a continuing search for new experiences, Jaurena’s music has turned into something truly unique. It reflects the influences of different cultures as well as one hundred years of tango history with all its contradicting emotions. Raul Jaurena - the man that Astor Piazolla once called one of the greatest bandoneon players ever - has established a unique connection to his instrument: Genuine, open, touching, with stunning technical brilliance his play has enriched and added an important facet to modern tango interpretation.

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