Take Five Concert for Musica Viva NY Features Aeolus Quartet and Alejandro Hernandez-Valdez

The Aeolus Quartet and Musica Viva NY Artistic Director and pianist Alejandro Hernandez-Valdez are featured in Take Five-a concert of piano quintets and string quartets to benefit Musica Viva NY's artistic and outreach endeavors-on Sunday, January 29 at 5:00 p.m. at All Souls Church (Lexington Avenue and 80th Street).

The program features a new arrangement of Paul Desmond's jazz standard Take Five for piano quintet by Alejandro Hernandez-Valdez, as well as Aaron Copland's Two Pieces for String Quartet, Samuel Barber's String Quartet, and Schumann's Piano Quintet in E-flat Major, Op. 44.

Founded in 1977, Musica Viva NY is driven by a desire to share the transcendent power of choral and instrumental music with audiences in New York City and beyond. Based in Manhattan's historic All Souls Church, Musica Viva NY's imaginative programming offers joy, solace, and renewal in a complex world. Presenting a broad repertoire of new compositions and classic masterworks, Musica Viva NY emphasizes artistic excellence and transformative interpretations to ennoble the human spirit.

Additional concerts in Musica Viva NY's 2016-17 season include Voices in Motion (Sunday, March 5 at 5:00 p.m.), and An Elegy for all Humanity: Brahms' Ein deutsches Requiem (Sunday, May 7 at 5:00 p.m.) at All Souls Church. Additionally, an intimate MUSICAnocturna concert, Forever Young: Great American Songs, is held at NY229-a private townhouse in midtown Manhattan-on Thursday, April 6 at 7:30 p.m.

Take Five is free and open to the public with a free-will donation at the door to benefit Musica Viva NY's artistic offerings and outreach endeavors.

Program Information

Take Five: A Musica Viva NY Fundraiser
Sunday, January 29 at 5:00 p.m.

All Souls Church
1157 Lexington Avenue (at 80th Street)
New York, NY 10075

Alejandro Hernandez-Valdez, piano

Aeolus String Quartet
Nicholas Tavani, violin
Rachel Shapiro, violin
Gregory Luce, viola
Alan Richardson, cello

Paul Desmond Take Five (arranged for Piano Quintet by Alejandro Hernandez-Valdez)
Aaron Copland Two Pieces for String Quartet
Samuel Barber String Quartet
SCHUMANN Piano Quintet in E-flat major, Op. 44
_______________________________________

About the Artists

About Alejandro Hernandez-Valdez
Hailed by The Washington Post as a conductor "with the incisive clarity of someone born to the idiom," Dr. Alejandro Hernandez-Valdez is an acclaimed conductor and pianist.

Since August 2015, Dr. Hernandez-Valdez has served as the Artistic Director of Musica Viva NY. Musica Viva NY is a choral ensemble founded in 1977 with a long tradition of top-caliber performances, innovative programing, and a strong dedication to the commissioning of new works. He also serves as the Director of Music at the historic Unitarian Church of All Souls in Manhattan. Founded in 1819, the Unitarian Church of All Souls is the most influential Unitarian Universalist congregation in the United States.

As Artistic Director, Co-Founder, and Conductor of the New Orchestra of Washington (NOW), he has collaborated with many International Artists and has premiered numerous new works.

Dr. Hernandez-Valdez's profile has been included in a book by the Mexican Ministry of Foreign Affairs entitled El mundo en las manos/Creadores mexicanos en el extranjero (The World in Their Hands/Creative Mexicans Abroad), which features successful Mexican nationals residing in various parts of the world who are leading figures in diverse artistic fields, including music.

In April, Dr. Hernandez-Valdez was presented with the Shenandoah Conservatory Alumni of Excellence Award for 2016, which is bestowed to alumni who have made exceptional contributions to their profession, attained a national level of prominence within their fields, and demonstrated exceptional integrity.

In September 2016, Dr. Hernandez-Valdez began his tenure as Artistic Director of the Victoria Bach Festival, replacing Grammy Award-winning conductor and composer Craig Hella Johnson who led the Festival as Artistic Director from 1992 to 2015.

About the Aeolus String Quartet
Praised by The Baltimore Sun for combining "smoothly meshed technique with a sense of spontaneity and discovery," the Aeolus Quartet is committed to presenting time-seasoned masterworks and new cutting-edge works to widely diverse audiences with equal freshness, dedication, and fervor. Violinists Nicholas Tavani and Rachel Shapiro, violist Gregory Luce, and cellist Alan Richardson formed the Aeolus Quartet in 2008 at the Cleveland Institute of Music. Since its inception, the all-American quartet has performed across the globe and been awarded prizes at nearly every major competition in the United States. The Aeolus Quartet was the 2013-2015 Graduate Resident String Quartet at the Juilliard School, and they currently make their home in New York City.

The Quartet has performed across North America, Europe, and Asia in venues such as Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, Reinberger Recital Hall at Severance Hall, Merkin Hall, The Library of Congress, Renwick Gallery, St. Martin-in-the-Fields, and the Shanghai Oriental Arts Center.

Dedicated to bringing music into the community, the Aeolus Quartet has been widely recognized for their highly innovative and engaging outreach programs. In the 2015-2016 season, the Quartet was the recipient of a CMA Residency Partnership Grant. Named the 2015-2016 Guarneri Quartet Residency in recognition of Aeolus' artistic achievement, the project involved extensive outreach and performance at Duke Ellington School for the Arts, the Sitar Arts Center, and George Washington University. The Fischoff National Chamber Music Association awarded the Aeolus Quartet its 2013 Educator Award in acknowledgment of the positive impact their educational efforts have had in diverse communities. Additionally, they were awarded the 2012 John Lad Prize which culminated in large-scale community engagement work, performing in the Stanford area, and a masterclass residency at Stanford University. The Aeolus Quartet has also served as teaching faculty at Stanford University's Education Program for Gifted Youth (EPGY), the Austin Chamber Music Workshop, and Da Camera of Houston's Music Encounters Program. Working in collaboration with the University of Texas through the Rural Chamber Music Outreach Initiative, the Quartet has presented educational programs and performances in communities throughout the state of Texas.

The Quartet is named for the Greek god Aeolus, who governed the four winds. This idea of a single spirit uniting four individual forces serves as an inspiration to the members of the Aeolus Quartet as they pursue their art.

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