Despite the beautiful springtime weather here in NYC, we can’t help starting to get excited for our own Spring Break adventure in Miami next week!  Don’t worry Mom, we will keep ourselves out of trouble–this is business (though we’re hoping for some beach and seafood pleasure.)

Ernesto Lecuona

Toomai is really pleased to have been invited back to the Miami Civic Music Association’s concert series, after our Young Artist’s debut a few year back.  All season, we’ve been slowly building the rep for this concert’s theme: A Tribute to Two Latin American Icons: Ernesto Lecuona and Manuel Ponce.

Manuel Ponce

Poor Andrew has had his work cut out for him; nearly everything on the concert is an arrangement, by Andrew, especially for our quintet.  But…he’s done it!  We’ve been getting great responses to this new stuff, especially the French Impressionist tinged Suite Cubana by Mexican composer Manuel Ponce.  I think Andrew has finally found his inner Ravel…

The two non-Andrew-arranged works have us diving into some fascinating contemporary repertoire that follows the legacy of these two important composers, especially that of Manuel Ponce:  a movement from Carlos Chavez’s crunchy bass quartet, and the ephemeral Reflejos de la noche, by Mario Lavista.

But…the real icing on this Latin cake is that we will be reunited with our super collaborator, soprano Alina Roitstein.  She is gorgeous in every way, and it always feels like a party when we get to play our Cuban dance set with her.  Get ready to move your hips and sing along, people; you won’t be able to help yourself!

I have a week to wait, but I’m already dreaming of a cortadito and can’t get that clave out of my head…  Hope to see you in Miami!

You can get more info here: http://miamicivicmusic.org/artists.html

Or join our Facebook event page here: http://www.facebook.com/events/253574798061791/