Connecticut Virtuosi Welcomes Award-winning Alturas Duo For 'We The People V' Concert Programs

Connecticut Virtuosi Chamber Orchestra, under the artistic direction of Maestro Adrian Sylveen, welcomes the accomplished Alturas Duo to the fifth installment of the orchestra's ongoing We the People series of concerts celebrating the American Immigrant experience. The We the People V concert program featuring works by Haydn and Farias and a world premiere by Ferreri will be performed in the beautiful Seaverns Room at The Bushnell in Hartford on Sunday, May 28 at 3pm and at the New Britain Museum of American Art on Sunday, June 11 at 3pm.

The performance will feature the Alturas Duo performing Haydn's moving and dramatic Symphony No. 49 in F Minor ("La Passione"); composer/guitarist Javier Farias' El. Vuelo de tu Alma, a 2006 chamber work commissioned for the duo; and the world premiere of Verlangen, Op. 28 by Ernesto Ferreri, a composer whose work has been performed by the Virtuosi on previous programs.

Maestro Sylveen states, "The We The People concert series highlights the contributions of immigrants like myself. The Alturas Duo are immigrants - one from Canada and one from Chile - and they use their artistry to highlight South American musical forms. They will be performing a lovely work by Chilean immigrant Javier Farias. We will be premiering a work by composer Ernesto Ferreri, himself an Italian immigrant. Even Franz Joseph Haydn, whose 'La Passione' Symphony features on the concert program, migrated from his home in Austria to work in London, Czechoslovakia, and Hungary. It is our hope that the program will illustrate that music is the universal language that connects us across borders and breaks down boundaries."

Alturas Duo is comprised of guitarist Scott Hill and Carlos Boltes on viola and charango. Sending rhythmic vibrations straight to the heart of audience members with their groundbreaking performances, Alturas Duo-the only group of its kind-has been recognized as one of the most entertaining and engaging ensembles performing in the chamber music world today.

With its unusual combination of viola, charango, and guitar; Alturas Duo creates spirited and passionate programs that move with ease between the Baroque of Bach, South American melodies and rhythms learned through the oral tradition and newly commissioned repertoire. Their performances oscillate from beautiful and serene to strong and pulsating, taking audiences on a journey to new musical heights and earning Alturas Duo numerous awards from First Prize at the New England International Chamber Music Competition, a CMA/ASCAP Award for Adventurous Programming, and the 2020 World Folk Vision popular vote award and jury selection for best Latin Music Band.

Connecticut Virtuosi's "We The People" concert series funded in part by an Arts grant from the National Endowment for the Arts. From 2021 to 2023 the Virtuosi will introduce audiences to the rich and diverse cultural threads woven by America's immigrants into 20th and 21st-century music. Each concert features an immigrant composer and/or musician, whose music reflects inspiration from a distinct culture or group of cultures. Each concert includes written and/or spoken word pieces by writers who are themselves immigrants from the culture(s) being highlighted. When words fail, music speaks. The series explore connections between cultures, languages, and people.

Tickets for the Hartford engagement of We the People V featuring Alturas Duo on Sunday, May 28 at 3pm are $35 and can be purchased via Bushnell.org, calling (860) 987-5900. Tickets for the New Britain Museum of Art performance on Sunday, June 3 at 3pm are included with museum admission. For more information, visit NBMAA.org.

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