Percussionist

Following a 2023 commission for the ASO’s Chamber Series, percussionist-composer Javier Diaz curates “Contrapunto Musical”: Musical Counterpoint between Cuba and the United States, a selection of chamber music programs that highlight the rich musical history of Cuba and its influence on American concert music and culture, from the turn of the twentieth century through today. In the first program of this new four-part series, Diaz — whose studio credits include Steven Spielberg’s West Side Story and Lin-Manuel Miranda’s In The Heights — showcases a range of musical styles. The program, “Salon 1898”: Cuban Dance Music at the Turn of the Twentieth Century, will feature danzas, contradanzas, danzones, rumbas, ragtime, and early jazz. Presented on May 19 and 20 at Bryant Park, these two performances will mark the world premiere of Diaz’s unique arrangements for violin, cello, bass, flute, clarinet, trumpet, tuba, and percussion.

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Chamber Ensemble at Bryant Park Upper Terrace

Bryant Park

Experience the world premiere of this new piece by percussionist Javier Diaz, whose studio credits include Steven Spielberg’s West Side Story and Lin Manuel Miranda’s In The Heights. Commissioned by the American Symphony Orchestra, this chamber music composition incorporates stylistic elements from music across the Americas and takes us on a journey through history, spaces, and generations. It evokes the idea of ancestral sounds, and it is inspired by traditional musics from the Western Hemisphere: ancient songs from the Afro-Cuban tradition, Mexico, the African-American tradition, Venezuela, Haiti, and a “merging” between a J.S. Bach chorale and a Venezuelan Merengue.

America UNBOUND is a unique artistic experience that exalts the human condition and underlines the importance of multi-cultural influences in the shaping of the musics of the Americas. This new work is eclectic and multicultural, with a robust compositional design: the American continent unbound through a journey of musical histories and inter-generational melodies, making palpable the universality of sound, word, and song. Performed by a chamber ensemble of ASO musicians (violin, percussion, double bass, clarinet and trumpet) featuring GRAMMY-nominated Imani Winds’ oboist Toyin Spellman-Diaz.

Percussionist

Javier Diaz

Events

Past events

19 - 20 May, 2025

Chamber Ensemble at Bryant Park Upper Terrace · American Symphony Orchestra

May 22 - Sep 25, 2023

America UNBOUND · American Symphony Orchestra

About

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