Marco Granados

MARCO GRANADOS debuts MUSIC OF VENEZUELA on Nov 11

Flute virtuoso celebrates new CD with New York City concert

CD release party at DROM Tuesday November 11, 2008

DROM NYC
85 Avenue A between 5th and 6th St
NY, NY 10019
www.dromnyc.com

Press reception begins 7:00 pm
Drinks and hors d’oeuvres
Performances 7:30 PM and 9:30 PM
Admission $20

Marco Granados and Un Mundo:
Marco Granados (flute), Jorge Glem (cuatro), Gonzalo Teppa (bass), Jackeline Rago (percussion) SPECIAL GUEST Neil Ochoa (percussion)

Marco Granados is known for playing some of the most challenging music ever written for the flute, and much of it comes from his native Venezuela. Growing up there, he was steeped in a musical tradition he describes as “very happy, very up, with a lot of energy.” Its wealth of local rhythms – some of them head-spinningly complex – caught his fancy, and he’s devoted years to developing the skills needed to play them on flute.

Today he stands as one of the foremost ambassadors of Venezuelan music, with a technique so dazzling that the word “virtuoso” comes up in almost any description of him. Marco is renowned for his daredevil agility; he can breeze through difficult polyrhythmic tunes, often at bullet-fire speed and high altitude. The late jazz saxophonist Michael Brecker called Granados “an incredible flutist and musician…. [he] makes the instrument come alive.”

Marco’s crowd-pleasing performances are popular worldwide. He leads his own Venezuelan ensemble, Un Mundo; he’s played with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center and with symphonies throughout the U.S. and Latin America. Granados’ collaborations include performances with artists including Paquito D’Rivera, soprano Renee Fleming, and harpist Nancy Allen. Former New York City mayor Ed Koch was such a fan that he requested that Granados perform at Gracie Mansion several times, for guests including former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger and Spanish tenor Plácido Domingo.

His new CD MUSIC OF VENEZUELA, released Nov 11th on Soundbrush Records, was recorded mostly in Caracas, Venezuela, and it showcases some of the country’s best contemporary music.. Surrounding Marco are members of his Un Mundo ensemble – bassist Roberto Koch, Jorge Glem on cuatro (a four-stringed, ukelele-like Venezuelan guitar), and Manuel Rangel or Leonardo Granados (Marco’s brother) on maracas – plus various guest players. The music ranges from the complex joropo con estribillo (a complex variation of the waltz-like joropo, Venezuela’s national dance music) to jazzy merengues, and from sweet ballads and lullabyes to throbbing Trinidadian calypsos of the Venezuelan rain forest.

Music of Venezuela gives an authentic glimpse into a branch of Latin music that gets far too little attention in the U.S. It also showcases the unique capabilities of the flute, and of Marco Granados, a master musician taking his instrument, and his native music, in exciting new directions.

Artist website:

www.sunflute.com
www.soundbrushrecords.com
www.dromnyc.com

Marco Granados - Biography

Marco GranadosA native of Venezuela, Marco Granados maintains an active international career as a soloist, chamber musician, and teacher. His diverse repertoire spans from classical to folk, with an emphasis on Latin-American music as his specialty. He has been a member of many critically acclaimed ensembles, among them the Quintet of the Americas and Triangulo (Latin American Chamber Trio). As a founding member of the Amerigo Ensemble, The Camerata Latinoamericana and the Granados/Abend Duo, Mr. Granados’ collaborations also include those with The Cuarteto Latinoamericano, The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center and with such distinguished artists as Paquito D'Rivera, flutist Ransom Wilson, harpist Nancy Allen, oboist Heinz Holliger, flutist William Bennett, as well as with soprano Renee Fleming and baritone Dwayne Croft. Recent performances include recitals at Wigmore Hall in London, tours of the US, Slovenia and South Africa. He has also performed at many summer music festivals including Moab, Chautauqua and the Colorado Music Festival in addition to the Caramoor International Music Festival. Mr. Granados is Music Advisor to Caramoor’s Latin American Music Initiative: Sonidos Latinos.

In his native country, Mr. Granados has performed with many of the leading Symphony Orchestras premiering both the Jacques Ibert and Aram Khachaturian flute concerti with the Maracaibo and Venezuelan Symphony Orchestras, respectively. He also gave the South American premiere of the Concerto for F1ute and Orchestra by Mexican composer Samuel Zyman with the Philharmonic Orchestra of Lima in Peru. Past solo engagements have included a special invitation in 1986 by the Mayor of New York City to perform for Placido Domingo at Gracie Mansion. In recital, he made his New York debut at Carnegie Hall's Weill Recital Hall in 1991. Since then, he has performed recitals in the United States, Canada, South America and the Caribbean. The first musician to have appeared as soloist for three consecutive seasons with the New York City Symphony at Alice Tully Hall and Merkin Concert Hall in New York City, Mr. Granados has also appeared as soloist with Philharmonia Virtuosi of New York, members of the Cleveland Orchestra, The Juilliard Chamber Orchestra, the Haydn Festival Orchestra of Maine and L’Orchestra in the Berkshires, among others.

On radio broadcasts, Mr. Granados was featured nationwide in 1996 on National Public Radio's Performance Today with Camerata Latinoamericana, and recently presented a program of Venezuelan and Latin-American music on Around New York with host Fred Child of WNYC. Other radio appearances include live performances on WQXR in New York City. As a recording artist, he has appeared on such labels as CRI, Chesky Records, MMC Records, Koch World and XLNT Records. Mr. Granados has toured the United States on several occasions with the Quintet of the Americas, with performances at Carnegie Hall, The Bermuda International Music Festival, Chamber Music Northwest, Alice Tully Hall in New York City, and in many university concert series. As an artist-in-residence at Northwestern University in Chicago, he has given recitals and concerts with Elena Abend as well as with the Quintet of the Americas.

Mr. Granados currently plays with the acclaimed ensemble Un Mundo. Un Mundo is dedicated to bringing the passion and energy of Venezuelan music to the world, instilling in young people the love of music and bridging cultures through classical, folk and jazzy arrangements. Recordings by Mr. Granados include Luna, a romantic serenade of songs from Venezuela and South America for flute and guitar; Tango Dreams, a compilation of works by Astor Piazzolla, and Amanecer, a collection of Venezuelan flute favorites.

A devoted educator, he travels the world teaching children about the wonder of creation, through his composition workshops.