Oakland East Bay Symphony to Perform NOTES FROM MEXICO, 3/27

Oakland, CA, January 5 - Oakland East Bay Symphony and Music Director Michael Morgan continue their popular and insightful annual "Notes from . . ." series this season with Notes from Mexico, featuring composer/performer Diana Gameros, pianist Llewellyn Sanchez-Werner and Ballet Folklorico Mexicano de Carlos Moreno Friday, March 27, at 8 pm at the Paramount Theatre in Oakland. The Symphony's "Notes from . . ." series has become a popular mainstay of the Bay Area music scene and annually explores symphonic music both new and traditional from cultures that may be less well known to audiences. Past "Notes from . . ." programs have focused on music fromPersia, the Philippines, China and the Middle East. This concert is sponsored by Mueller Nicholls Builders and The Grubb Co. Realtors. Llewellyn Sanchez-Werner's performance is supported by a grant from The Ross McKee Foundation. Tickets are priced $20-$70 and a pre-concert talk will be given at 7 pm and is free to ticket-holders. For tickets and information, visit www.oebs.org .

Notes from Mexico will feature Carlos Chavez' Piano Concerto, Jose Pablo Moncayo's Huapango, Silvestre Revueltas' Sensemaya and Diana Gameros performing her own work En Juarez plus Rubén Fuentes' Hay Unos Ojos and a medley of traditional Mexican folksongs arranged by Ms. Gameros including Felipe Valdéz Leal's Mi Ranchito, José López Alvarez' Canción Mixteca and Agustin Lara's Farolito

About the Artists

Diana Gameros is a Latin singer/songwriter who performs songs of love, longing, and hope. Originally from Ciudad Juarez, Mexico and now living in San Francisco, Gameros creates authentic, inspiring music that reflects the 21st century experiences of a young indie artist at the borderlands between cultures, languages, and genres. Whether teasing every ounce of expression from her acoustic guitar in an intimate cafe or bringing people to their feet in a club with her dynamic full band, Gameros transfixes listeners with her soaring vocals, impressive playing and captivating stage presence.

Gameros was born to a musical family where she was surrounded by traditional Mexican songs of love and revolution. The first of her family to receive formal music lessons, Gameros left Mexico as a teenager to study piano and recording technology in Michigan. During those formative years, she soaked up the sounds of classical music, underground rock, the avant-garde, world music, and jazz, forever influencing her own deeply diverse style. Indeed, Gameros' music has been likened in its subtlety, beauty, and nuance to Rosa Passos, Beirut, Johanna Newsom, and Charlotte Gainsbourg. Her Latin American influences - including contemporary artists like Bebel Gilberto, Fabulosos Cadillacs and Cafe Tacvba - are woven into her musical DNA.

After just a few years in San Francisco, Gameros' talent and versatility as a performer have brought her a steady stream of high profile gigs at such notable venues as Herbst Theatre, Brava Theater, Yoshi's Lounge, The Independent, The Red Poppy Art House, The New Parish, Fox Theater, and dozens of other venues small and large. She has opened concerts for Cecilia Bastida, LoCura, Latin Grammy-nominee Ximena Sariñana, Torreblanca, and Bebel Gilberto.

Even as she continues her musical journey, Gameros inspires her community as an activist promoting social justice and global awareness through her support to organizations like ALIADI (Alianza Latinoamericana por los Derechos de los Inmigrantes), Biosafety Alliance, Urban Sprouts, SF Living Wage Coalition and 16 Days of ARTivism.

At just 18 years-old, Llewellyn Sanchez-Werner was named the 2014 Gilmore Young Artist, an honor awarded every two years singling out the most promising American pianists of the new generation. He received the Atlantic Council's 2014 Young Global Citizen Award, along with fellow recipients Robert De Niro, Prime Ministers Shimon Peres and Lee Kuan Yew, and Presidents Enrique Pena Nieto and Petro Poroshenko.

Llewellyn made Juilliard history at age 14 as the youngest-ever admittee to the College Division. In 2009, he performed solo at the White House for President Obama; and in 2013, for the Presidential Inauguration concert at the Kennedy Center.

In 2010, he was the first American soloist to perform in Iraq with the Iraqi National Symphony Orchestra for an international audience of diplomats, US soldiers, and Iraqis of all ages (Gershwin and Grieg Concerti). The concert raised funds to support the Children's Cancer Hospital and celebrated World Day for Cultural Diversity.
In Rwanda, Llewellyn performed for President Kagame and for humanitarian and economic leaders, hosted by US Ambassador Symington, to help Rwandans continue rebuilding from the 1994 genocide. CNN International featured him on "Connect the World" as the Connector of the Day on May 31, 2010.

General David Petraeus recognized Llewellyn "for his courageous humanitarian contributions through the arts" and for "strengthening the ties that unite our nations," in a Pentagon performance. To excite more youth about classical music, Llewellyn performed 16 concerts for 20,000 North American students; for an anti-bullying campaign, he performed "Beethoven and the Bully" for 6,000 students.

He has had hundreds of solo recitals and over fifty performances as soloist with orchestras on 4 continents, including at Smetana Hall, Prague, Czech Republic; Louvre Museum, Paris, France; Gijon International Piano Festival, Spain; Ashford Castle, Ireland; Banff Summer Arts Festival, Canada; the Kennedy Center, Washington, D.C.; and Lincoln Center, New York.

For a WDR-Arte Documentary, Hilan Warshaw's "Wagner's Jews" (which explores the ongoing controversy over performing Wagner's music in Israel), Llewellyn was filmed in New York performing works of Tausig, Wagner, and Liszt. Llewellyn has also collaborated with the Gershwin Family on a concert and biographical tribute to the Gershwin brothers.

As part of Beyond the Machine, he performed modern multimedia works in collaboration with Juilliard's Technology Center, Dance, and Drama Divisions. Featured in the Miami International Piano Festival's "Prodigies and Masters ofTomorrow," at 7, he was selected the youngest-ever Discovery Artist of the New West Symphony, and at 12, he was the Artist-in-Residence at the Canandaigua LakeMusic Festival in New York.

Juilliard is Llewellyn's second college experience. He became a full-time student at Ventura College at age 5, where he completed 170 college credits toward degrees in Music and International Relations. Born in California, Llewellyn studies with Yoheved Kaplinsky and Ilya Itin in New York.

Founded in 1967 by Carlos Moreno Samaniego, the Ballet Folklorico Mexicano has achieved recognition both in the United States and in Mexico. In 1980, the Mexican consulate in San Francisco named the company the official ambassador for ongoing cultural activities with Mexico. It has held that distinction for over twenty years during which time it regularly conducts tours in Mexican cities such as Guadalajara, Oaxaca, Aguascalientes, and Durango.

Drawing on the artistic variety of Mexico's different regions, the Ballet Folklorico Mexicano has a dance repertory of 120 pieces. Many of these are presented in their traditional form while others have been restaged to include artistic elements from more contemporary choreography. In this way, the indigenous rhythms of Tarascan Indian dances from central Mexico stand in sharp contrast to the Spanish military; and courtship dances from that region. Similarly the African influences that characterize dances from the Gulf of Mexico are juxtaposed by Mexican polkas that mark the influence of eastern European from the north. In her review of the company, Jennifer Fisher, the celebrated dance critic for the Los Angeles Times, noted that the Ballet "has much appeal. They are tightly rehearsed and (their) choreography is inventive."

The Ballet Folklorico Mexicano maintains an active performance agenda. The company's yearly "Navidad en Mexico" show at Chabot College in Hayward is a highlight for the entire Bay Area Community. The troupe also tours regularly in the western and southwestern United States.

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