City College Center for the Arts proudly celebrates Hispanic Heritage Month with Flying South, a musical performance by Latin Grammy Award-winning percussionist, composer and arranger, Samuel Torres and his Latin Chamber Ensemble.
Torres will be joined by Bergamot Quartet and guest soloists Maria Raquel and Mauro Torres. Flying South will take us south of the border, integrating a mix of musical styles including llanera and cumbia from Colombian folklore, Venezuelan joropo, Peruvian festejo, Argentinian tango, Cuban bolero and New York salsa.
The concert takes place on Friday, October 4, at 7 p.m. at Aaron Davis Hall, 129 Convent Avenue at West 135th Street in Harlem. General admission tickets are $30 with discounts for seniors and students.
A celebrated percussionist, composer and arranger, Torres, a native of Colombia who now resides in Brooklyn, has worked with music giants including Tito Puente, Arturo Sandoval, Chick Corea, Cándido Camero, Angélique Kidjo, Ricky Martin, Marc Anthony, Shakira and Alejandro Sanz, among others. Torres’ most recent album, A Dance For Birds (2024), is a pivotal work in Torres’ career because it showcases his innovative approach to composition by merging the traditions of Afro-Latin rhythms, the improvisational elements of jazz and the rich complexities of contemporary classical music.
Performing with Samuel Torres Latin Chamber Ensemble are Samuel Torres (congas, percussion and maracas llanerase), Alejandro Berti (trumpet), John Ellis (tenor and soprano saxophone), Manuel Valera (piano), Alex “Apolo” Ayala (acoustic/electric bass), Jimmy Macbride (drums) and Felipe Fournier (percussion and vibraphone).
Bergamot Quartet is Ledah Finck (violin), Sarah Thomas (violin), Amy Tan (viola) and Irène Han (cello).
“Flying South is a very special concert, a journey to Latin America and its beautiful songbook through the lens of ‘Dance for Birds,’ my most recent Latin jazz project,” said Samuel Torres. “It is where the traditions of jazz, Afro Latin-American and contemporary classical music coexist in harmony with each other. You will experience the air of the streets of Buenos Aires; the plains of Colombia and Venezuela; the festive spirit of Peru; the Caribbean breeze of Havana, San Juan and Santo Domingo; together with the explosive energy of New York.”
“Samuel’s extraordinary tapestry of sounds and textures in his music is a joy to the mind and soul of any music lover, and we are delighted to again present him at Aaron Davis Hall,” said City College Center for the Arts Managing Director Gregory Shanck.
Tickets for Flying South are on sale now for $30 general admission and $20 for students and seniors with ID and can be purchased online at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/flying-south-featuring-samuel-torres-latin-chamber-ensemble-tickets-999329781277 or in person at the Aaron Davis Hall box office Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
The box office is closed on Wednesday. For more details, visit the CCCA site or call the Aaron Davis Hall box office at (212) 650-6900. City College Center for the Arts can be followed on Twitter at @ccnyarts.
Aaron Davis Hall is located on the campus of the City College of New York. For more information on City College Center for the Arts, visit: www.citycollegecenterforthearts.org.
Flying South is made possible with funding from The New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, The City University of New York and The City College of New York in Harlem, NY.
Samuel Torres
Originally from Bogotá, Colombia, based in Brooklyn, New York, celebrated Latin Grammy Award-winning percussionist and composer Samuel Torres thrives at the intersection of Afro-Latin rhythms, Latin jazz, and contemporary classical music. “…intelligent, sophisticated and explosive.” – JazzTimes Magazine
Torres has performed, arranged, produced and/or recorded with the “who’s who” of the jazz, Latin pop and the classical world, including such luminaries as Tito Puente, Paquito D’Rivera, Yo-Yo Ma, Chick Corea, Alejandro Sanz, Ricky Martin, Don Byron, Richard Bona, Arturo Sandoval, Lila Downs, Jeff “Tain” Watts, Angelique Kidjo, Marc Anthony, Rubén Blades, Fonseca, Andrés Cepeda, Thalía, Cecile McLorin Salvant, Bridget Kibbey, Los Angeles Philharmonic and the Nashville Symphony and his country’s own international superstar, Shakira.
He has been featured as a composer and soloist with classical orchestras such as Berlin Symphoniker, City of London Sinfonia, Bogotá Philharmonic, Medellín Philharmonic, Delaware University Orchestra, Berklee Composition Orchestra, Gainesville Chamber Orchestra and the Cali Philharmonic.
Torres won the Latin Grammy Award for the Best Classical Record with his album Regreso, a concerto for congas and symphony orchestra in 2019. He is a three-time recipient of the New Jazz Works Grant by Chamber Music America. Torres received second place at the Thelonious Monk Jazz Hand Percussion Competition in 2000.
In 2023, he earned his master’s degree in classical composition from the prestigious Manhattan School of Music, where he was honored with the Nicolas Flagello Award for his outstanding achievements as a composer. More information on the artist and his music can be found at www.samueltorres.com.
Maria Raquel
A versatile singer whose deep, dark velvet voice can bring the goosebumps to any ballad and can light the fire under an energetic pregón, Maria Raquel channels her upbringing in dance parties, displaying the killer instinct of a vocalist whose instrument speaks the language of percussion. She cites her mother’s taste in music as a principal influence, and her voice evokes the nostalgia of bygone eras and sepia tones.
Her upcoming release, Mucha Mujer presents a collection of songs united less by genre and more by the vintage treatment of each selection, with a large acoustic ensemble recorded live, her voice leading the listener seamlessly through the entire journey. In less than a decade in the big city, Maria Raquel has already become the lynchpin of New York’s Latin music scene, her new release making a bold statement of artistry and tradition.
Mauro Torres
Colombian singer-songwriter and sonero, with more than 25 years of experience in Afro-Caribbean rhythms, Mauro Torres has been recognized by great artists in the genre at a national and international level. Throughout his successful career he has been an element within prestigious orchestras in accompaniment to artists of the stature of Cano Estremera, Cheo Feliciano, Lalo Rodriguez, Ismael Miranda and Tony Vega.
Torres currently has a successful career also as a composer, having written songs for artists like Giseli, Tumbao Orquesta, Christian Fernandez and Cadencia Orquesta. His way of approaching salsa and soneo makes Torres an integral artist, with experience, a seal of guarantee, neatness and excellence.
Bergamot Quartet
Bergamot Quartet is fueled by a passion for exploring and advocating for the music of living composers, continually expanding the limits of the string quartet’s rich tradition in western classical music. With a priority given to music by women, they aim to place this new, genre-bending music in meaningful dialogue with the histories that precede it with creative programming, community-oriented audience building and frequent commissioning.
Bergamot values partnership and collaboration as a vital element of their creative work. Included in their 2023-24 season is the premiere of an evening-length work at Lincoln Center by percussionist Samuel Torres for Bergamot and Latin jazz sextet, collaborating with The Crossing Choir for a premiere of David T. Little’s SIN-EATER, premiering a new work by Robert Honstein for BalletCollective, an evening exploring Hildegard von Bingen with the New York Choral Society and a collaboration with composer/percussionist Susie Ibarra and her Talking Gong trio. Bergamot operates the monthly concert series “Bergamot Quartet Extended” at Sisters (Brooklyn) this spring, as a medium to showcase their many inspiring collaborators.
The City College Center for the Arts:
The award-winning City College Center for the Arts hosts an ambitious, year-round calendar of professional performances in the historic Aaron Davis Hall. Our mission is to provide a creative arts center and focal point for the City College of New York, building a sense of community within the College, elevating the profile of Aaron Davis Hall in the greater New York area, and connecting the College to the surrounding community through the arts.
Photo credit: Samuel Torres Flying South.
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