Willie Rosario & His Orchestra @ Lehman Center With Guest Artist Tony Vega at Lehman Center for the Performing arts

Lehman Center for the Performing Arts is proud to present Salsero Maestro WILLIE ROSARIO and His Orchestra in a special reunion concert with guest artist TONY VEGA, on Saturday, May 27th, 2017 at 8pm. Exemplary band leader and composer, Willie Rosario, Mr. Afinque Timbalero, returns to Lehman center for a historic Salsa concert not to be missed! Produced by Lehman Center and Jose Raposo.
Lehman Center for the Performing Arts is on the campus of Lehman College/CUNY at 250 Bedford Park Boulevard West, Bronx, NY 10468. Tickets for WILLIE ROSARIO on Saturday, May 27th, 2017 at 8pm are $100*VIP, $65, $55, $50, and can be purchased by calling the Lehman Center box office at 718-960-8833 (Monday through Friday, 10am–5pm, and beginning at 12 noon on the day of the concert), or through online access at www.LehmanCenter.org. *New This Season: HAVANA CAFÉ and Lehman Center special VIP pre-concert wine & hors d’oeuvres reception starting at 6:30pm. VIP tickets include the reception and the best seats in the house. At the reception meet other patrons and the staff of Lehman Center. Sponsored by Havana Café Restaurant and Havana Club Puerto Rican Rum. Lehman Center is accessible by #4 or D train to Bedford Park Blvd. and is off the Saw Mill River Parkway and the Major Deegan Expressway. Low-cost on-site parking available for $5.
WILLIE ROSARIO (aka “Mr. Afinque”) was born Frenando Luis Rosario Marin in Coamo, Puerto Rico and studied guitar, saxophone, drums and music theory as a child. When Rosario’s family moved to Spanish Harlem in 1946, Willie began to play conga with various orchestras, including those led by Noro Morales, Johnny Segui, and Aldemaro Romero. With charts lent by Tito Puente and Tito Rodriguez, Rosario formed his first band in 1958 and recorded his first album El Bravo Soy Yo four years later with vocalist Frankie Figueroa. During the 1960’s Rosario recorded several albums and had his first big hit “La Cuesta De La Fama” in 1969 which marked the debut of his trademark four-trumpet with baritone sax frontline that he created with Bobby Valentin. Moving back to Puerto Rico in 1972, his orchestra has been called a “school” for many musicians during their formative years, including vocalists like Gilberto Santa Rosa and Tony Vega, and musicians like Humberto Ramirez and Jimmy Morales. Among his best-known compositions are “De Barrio Obrero a la Quince”, “El Timbal de Carlitos”, “Mi Amigo el Payaso,” “El Revendon,” “Lluvia” (Rain) and “Cuando No Hay Cariño” (When There’s No Love). In 1987, Rosario received a Grammy nomination for his song “Nueva Cosecha” (New Harvest), was honored with the 1991 Puerto Rican Diplo Award for Salsa Band of the Year, and was inducted into the International Latin Music Hall of Fame in 2002. His latest release Evidencia (2016) is a swinging salsa album produced by Bobby Valentin and features powerful trombones, piano, and a lot of percussion.
TONY VEGA started his musical career at the tender age of ten, playing congas for a kids’ band called “La Preferida” in his native country of Puerto Rico. The following year (1968) his family moved to New York City, where he played congas and sang for various Latin rock bands through high school. His professional career began in 1978 when he joined Raphy Leavitt’s salsa band “La Selecta” and was the vocalist on the hit songs “Cosquillita”, “Shelia Taina” and “El Picaflor”. From 1980 to 1986, Vega sang with Willie Rosario’s band and recorded six albums, including the Grammy nominated album La Nueva Cosecha (The New Harvest). Moving back to Puerto Rico in 1986, he joined Eddie Palmieri’s band and sang on Palmieri’s 1988 Grammy Award winning album La Verdad (The Truth). Going solo in 1988, Tony’s first release Yo Me Quedo, which was co-produced by Humberto Ramirez, rose to the #5 spot on the 1989 Billboard Tropical/Salsa chart. In 1992, after the release of his next two hit albums Lo Mio Es Amor and Uno Mismo, Vega was awarded Puerto Rico’s Agüeybaná de Oro Award for Best Orchestra of the Year. Now internationally recognized for his classy vocal style and fresh, swinging salsa music, he has subsequently had six additional albums and nine singles make it into the Billboard top ten charts.
Lehman Center for the Performing Arts, Inc. is supported, in part, with public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the New York City Council. The 2016-2017 Season is made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature. Additional funding is provided by Con Edison, the New Yankee Stadium Community Benefits Fund, the Rudin Foundation, the Hyde and Watson Foundation, and the friends of Lehman Center.
For a high resolution photo, click this link:
http://lehmancenter.org/th_gallery/willie-rosario/