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Date and Time

Saturday, February 26th, 2011

6:30pm

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All Ages

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On February 26, Philadelphia’s Magic Gardens Music & Mosaic Concert Series presents Ethnic Hybrids: a night of Latin American music intermingled with Asian compositions. This spectacular night will feature a mix of musical styles including solo classical guitarist Keith Calmes, Avant-garde string ensemble Momenta Quartet, and Latin-American ensemble Tres Compadres.

Guitarist Keith Calmes brings a plethora of experience to this wonderful event, having performed as a soloist at renowned venues, such as Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, Alice Tully Hall, the St. Louis Art Museum, Musician's Institute, American Institute of Guitar, and California Institute of Technology. He has also performed with a wide variety of groups, including L.A. Camerata, Monmouth Symphony, Juilliard Symphony, Downey Symphony, and L.A. Musica Viva. As a graduate of The Juilliard School, California State University at Northridge, the University of Southern California, and summer programs at Berklee College of Music and Musica en Compostela (Spain), Calmes brings an extremely high caliber of musicianship to his performances. His latest CD, Still Life and Simple Dreams, was produced in collaboration with Steve Jankowski of Blood, Sweat, and Tears and has received a multitude of rave reviews. As a member of Sun Guitar Quartet in the late 1980's, Keith played in Japan and gave premieres of works by Frank Campo, Stepan Rak, and Carlos Barbosa-Lima. As a composer, his recent activity includes a suite written for the California State University Bakersfield Guitar Ensemble, funded by a grant from Meet the Composer. Keith is currently on the Board of Directors of the N.J. American String Teachers Association, where he directs the state string competition and regularly contributes to their journal NJ Strings.

Momenta Quartet, hailed by Time Out New York as “an outstanding ensemble prone to innovation and exploration”, performs an eclectic mix of Avant-garde compositions. Inspired by the mesmerizing and multicultural mosaics of Philadelphia’s Magic Gardens, the program features works written especially for Momenta by two of Philadelphia’s own emerging contemporary composers: Instantes (2005) by Manena Contreras (Venezuela/USA) and Traveler’s Song (2010) by Kento Watanabe (Japan/USA). The program also includes the Buddhist-inspired The Flag Project (2009) by Chinese-American composer Huang Ruo and Momenta’s second and last installment from its project to premiere, the notoriously complex Uma Faca Só Lámina (“A Knife All Blade,” 1998) by self-professed Brazilian-American “madman” Arthur Kampela.

Tres Compadres is a modern flamenco ensemble that combines latin and jazz influences with Spanish flamenco. As the seductive sounds captivate the audience, the magnificent Inez del Mar will enchant all with dances of Gypsy origins. Tres Compadres made it to the top ten in the 2008 “OurStage” competition in the “World Music” and “Solo Guitar” categories and received a nomination for best flamenco song from the international JPF music awards in 2009. Appearing with Tres Compadres will be renowned jazz flutist Tim Shay.

The Music & Mosaics Concert Series is Philadelphia’s Magic Gardens’ BYOB concert series held every fourth Saturday of the month. Concerts feature local artists of every style, from bossa nova to bluegrass. Admission is $10/adults and $7/members and students