Hispanic Caribbean Ensemble

About the Program

The Hispanic Caribbean Ensemble is a group comprised of University of Texas students and members of the Austin community. Some come from Latin America, but many have little firsthand knowledge of the languages and cultural forms associated with its many regions. All, however, have expressed a desire to learn more about Hispanic Caribbean music and culture. Members meet once a week for general rehearsals, and one or more additional times per week in smaller groups to practice. The Ensemble specializes in music of Cuba, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, and circum-Caribbean (coastal Venezuela, Colombia), and Brazil. It encourages participation by the general student body. Singers, percussionists, and other instrumentalists are all welcome. For more information, contact Robin Moore or Richard Huntley at robin.moore@austin.utexas.edu, richard.huntley@austin.utexas.edu

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About the Artists

Michael Spiro

Michael Spiro is an internationally recognized percussionist, recording artist, and educator, known specifically for his work in the Latin music field. He has performed on hundreds of records, co-produced several instructional videos for Warner Bros, publications (featuring such renowned artists as David Garibaldi, Changuito, Giovanni Hidalgo, and Ignacio Berroa), and produced seminal recordings in the Latin music genre including Orquesta Batachanga, Grupo Bata-Ketu, and Grupo Ilu-Aña.

Escuela de Bomba y Plena Tata Cepeda

The Cepeda family is a renowned institution with Puerto Rico and beyond. Its members have performed and promoted traditional bomba and plena music internationally for eight generations. Seminal artist Don Rafael Cepeda (1910-1996), a musician, folklorist, and composer who first brought bomba and plena to multiple countries and was honored with a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship, bequeathed his cultural legacy to his entire family. To this day they continue the work he began.
 

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Musicians

Matt Abajian, bass/percussion     
Doménica Aburto de la Fuente, voice
Phoenix Alcera, bari sax
Aaryn Avila, percussion
Doruk Basoglu, percussion
Javier Batista, percussion
Gabriel Brown, trumpet
Diego Cruz, alto sax
Jahaira Daga Acevedo, voice
Matt García, percussion
Dimitris Gkoulimaris, guitar, percussion
Randy Griner, percussion
Erik Hanchi, alto sax 
Noah Hudson-Camack, trombone
Zack King, percussion
Rodrigo Leal, sax
Eli Mena, voice
Daniel Molina, voice
Jake Murphy, bass
Blake Musfeldt, trumpet
Rebecca Oladejo, voice
Will Paladino, trumpet
Giselle Pedraza, piano
Ailish Quiñonez-Rivera, piano
Matthew Rendón, tenor sax
Saina Rezvani, violin
Michael Rivera Gonzalez, percussion
Juan Ruiz Velasco, percussion
Amarilys Sánchez, voice
Apoorva Subramanian, trumpet
Vincent Tapia, trombone
Kirsten Townander, flute
Salomé Valdivieso, voice
Ian Wadsin, guitar
Jonathan Wilkinson, voice
Christian Zamora Macías, trumpet
 

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