Tufts Announces Upcoming Public Concerts

Hisako and Friends October 6

The Tufts University Department of Music presents a concert entitled Hisako and Friends in the Distler Performance Hall at the Perry and Marty Granoff Music Center on Sunday, October 6, 2013 at 3 p.m. as part of the Sunday at Tufts — Community Concert Series. Performance faculty pianist Hisako Hiratsuka leads a chamber group in a concert featuring Bach’s “Trio Sonata” from The Musical Offering, Jake Heggie’s “The Deepest Desire”, and Dvo?ák’s Piano Quartet in Eb, Op. 82. It will feature performers D’Anna Fortunato, mezzo soprano; Sheryl Cohen, flute; Monica Pegis, violin; Kazuko Matsusaka, viola; and David Fisher, cello.

The Granoff Music Center is located at 20 Talbot Avenue on Tufts’ Medford/Somerville campus. Admission is free and open to the public. For more information, please visit as.tufts.edu/music/musiccenter or call the Granoff Music Center Box Office at 617.627.3679.

Francisco Mela’s Cuban Safari October 11

The Tufts University Department of Music presents Cuban Safari, a concert by New York-based jazz drummer Francisco Mela, in the Distler Performance Hall at the Perry and Marty Granoff Music Center on Friday, October 11, 2013 at 8 p.m.

Mela is a favorite among jazz’s elite instrumentalists, among them Joe Lovano and McCoy Tyner, all of whom cite his charisma and sophistication as an extension of his incredible talents as a composer and drummer. Known for his thrilling display of verve and signature symbol riding style, Mela inherently speaks with Afro-Cuban tongues, yet his distinct voice echoes that of jazz giants including Corea, Davis, Jones, and Monk. Cuban Safari is an amalgamation of Mela’s favorite bands that inspired him to become a drummer, from Miles Davis’ fusion group featuring Chick Corea and Keith Jarrett, to Weather Report and the Latin-jazz super group Irakere. Pianist Elio Villafranca, bass player Peter Slavov, alto saxophonist Uri Gurvich, and percussionist Miguel Valdez round out Mela’s group. Expect a spell of thunder & lightning on this trip before reaching brilliant new horizons.

The Granoff Music Center is located at 20 Talbot Avenue on Tufts’ Medford/Somerville campus. Admission is free and open to the public. For more information, please visit as.tufts.edu/music/musiccenter or call the Granoff Music Center Box Office at 617.627.3679.

This concert has been made possible by the Granoff Music Fund.

This event coincides with two relevant art exhibitions at the Tufts University Aidekman Arts Center. Maria Magdalena Campos-Pons: My Mother Told Me is showing at the Tisch Gallery through December 8, 2013. The exhibit addresses autobiographical issues such as her relationship with her mother and with Cuba, motherhood, family, exile, and, the sugar industry and slave trade in Matanzas, her hometown, and will be presented in three multi-media installations and two Polaroid photographic compositions. Cuban Virtualities: New Media Art from the Island runs through December 8, 2013 at the Koppelman Gallery and Remis Sculpture Court. The exhibit features works by Mauricio Abad, Alexander Arrechea, Celia y Yunior, Núria Güell, Jairo Gutierrez, Ernesto Leal, Glenda Léon, Levi Orta, Rodolfo Peraza, Naivy Pérez, Susana Pilar Delahante Matienzo, and José Rolando Rivera and examines the unique applications of digital technologies in Cuban art through video installations, net art, performance documentation, and interactive media.

– Information from Tufts University Department of Music