Bagpiper Cristina Pato Performs Tonight at the Ware Center

Bagpiper, pianist and composer Cristina Pato will perform at the Ware Center of Millersville University tonight, Jan. 28, at 7:30 p.m., as part of the performing arts center's World Music and Festivals series. The concert is made possible by an ArtsConnect grant from the Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation.

Called "one of the living masters of the gaita" by The Wall Street Journal, Pato has devoted her career to Galician popular, jazz and classical music, and is the first female gaita (Galician bagpipe) player to have released a solo album. She has collaborated on world stages with Yo-Yo Ma, Arturo O'Farril, Paquito D'Rivera, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and the Osvaldo Golijov World Orchestra, performing throughout the United States, Europe, India, Africa and China-and now brings her virtuosity to Lancaster.

A pop star of the gaita in her native Spain, Pato moved to New York where she earned her Doctorate of Musical Arts at Rutgers University and began to push her career in new directions. A member of Yo-Yo Ma's Silk Road Ensemble and a founding member of its leadership council, she has collaborated in tours and planning residencies, including the multi-year partnership between The Silk Road Project and Harvard University, combining her touring life with a passionate commitment to education and cultural exchange. At home, she is the founder and artistic director of Galician Connection, a world music forum celebrated annually in Galicia.

Tickets, $18 general admission, $15 seniors, $5 students, can be purchased at www.ArtsMU.com or by calling 717- 871-7600. Tickets may also be purchased at the Millersville University Ticket Office, located in the Student Memorial Center on campus, or at the Ware Center, 42 N. Prince St., Lancaster. Discount parking vouchers for the Prince Street Garage (North Prince and West Orange streets) are available at the front desk of the Ware Center for the evening of the performance.

The Millersville University Visual and Performing Arts season is made possible by a partnership with Season Partner Rodgers & Associates and Season Sponsors: Aussie and the Fox, Clipper Magazine, Hagelgans & Veronis, The Hotel Lancaster, 12:34 Micro Technologies, Ann B. Barshinger, Peggy Neff, Mary S. Burton & Laurent Horne, Linda Holman Marcks, and Mary Kearns & Jon Walker. Media Sponsors are Fig Lancaster Magazine and Fine Living Lancaster. The film series is sponsored by Carmen & David's Creamery.

To post a comment, you must register and login.