Fiesta is devoted to Latino concert music and presents artistically significant compositions from Latin America, Spain and Portugal to listeners. The creative force behind this series is Elbio Barilari, an acclaimed composer, musician, performer and professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago. The Uruguayan-born Barilari says, "Fiesta features the hottest Latin-American music from the sixteenth to the twenty-first centuries."
Fresh Ink 2024: Fiesta’s continuing series of “Fresh Ink" features recently composed music from Latin America. Our program includes adventurous works by Tania Leon, Carlos Pavan, Enrico Chapela, and Arturo Marquez.
Mexico on My Mind: Mexico has attracted the attention of many composers from other countries. On this program we will hear works by composers who have been influenced by Mexican music and art. including compositions by Aaron Copland, Conlon Nancarrow, and Robert McBride.
Alejandro Garcia Caturla: Alejandro García Caturla,1906‐1940, musician and judge, combined the Afro‐Cuban music traditions and European classical techniques. Largely unknown outside Cuba, new recordings have sparked the interest for the music of this genius.