MusicaNova Orchestra presents THE INTANGIBLE HERITAGE

MusicaNova Orchestra brings its 14th season of innovative concerts to a close with The Intangible Heritage: Symphonic Music Inspired by the Mariachi Tradition, works from Pan-American composers drawing from the quintessential Mexican folk music form. The concert will be held Sunday, April 23 from 4:00 to 6:00 PM at Central United Methodist Church, Central Avenue at Palm Lane in the Phoenix Central Arts District.

Tickets are $15 to $20, available online at www.musicanovaaz.com and at the door. Youth under 18 are admitted free with a paid admission.

Mariachi has been recognized as an "intangible cultural heritage of Mexico" by the United Nations Education, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), with origins dating to the first Spanish expeditions to Mexico in the early 16th Century. European instruments like the harp and vihuela, an early guitar, were quickly mastered and incorporated into the native cultures' highly developed musical traditions.

The concert program includes Bachianas Brasileiras No. 4 by Heitor Villa-Lobos, the
Estancia Suite by Alberto Ginastera, José Pablo Montoya's Hupango, and "Montevideo" from Louis Gottschalk's Symphony No. 1, Night in the Tropics.

As special guest in this concert, the MusicaNova Orchestra will be joined by outstanding student-musicians from educational partner Tempe High School's orchestra program, led by Jill Osborne.

Also on the program is the world premiere of How to Restart by MusicaNova Composition Fellow Julie Hill, a graduate of the Manhattan School of Music. New York Public Radio station WQXR calls her work "truly magical"; her compositions have been widely performed, including by the Philadelphia Ballet and at Yale University.

Tempe High Mariachis de Tempe

A special version of the program will be presented as a free community concert on Monday, April 24 at 7 PM in the Tempe High School Auditorium, 1730 S. Mill Ave.

The Tempe High Mariachis de Tempe will play several of their favorite numbers, joined by members of the Tempe Police Mariachi Ensemble. MusicaNova Orchestra will perform selections from the symphonic program as part of the concert.

MusicaNova is a professional symphony orchestra founded in 2003 and dedicated to playing new and neglected music and introducing the finest young artists to the Valley of the Sun. MusicaNova is supported in part by grants from the Arizona Commission on the Arts and the Phoenix Office of Arts and Culture.

For information, call 480-585-4485, or visit www.musicanovaaz.com.