The art of new music

CSI will showcase two leading composer/performers
in a free evening of unique compositions

The composers, Cristian Amigo and David Keberle, each bring a unique perspective to the art of musical performance. 

Amigo, a guitarist and ethnomusicologist, produces music for film, dance, theater, and live performance.  His music, which combines elements of electronics, world music, jazz, Latin American music and new music, often takes the form of interdisciplinary/intercultural works. 

Amigo has received fellowships and commissions from Meet the Composer, the UCLA Center for Intercultural Performance, and the Smithsonian Institution’s Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage. He is currently a visiting scholar and adjunct faculty member at the NYU Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies.

Amigo’s 30-minute performance, entitled points of departure, features excerpts of original music from his various theater and performance works. It highlights the composer playing solo guitar on Roots/Routes.  Joining Amigo for music and songs from his works Grace and Señorita X, as well as his song suite points of departure, are percussionist Guillermo Cardenas, a virtuoso performer of Afro-Dominican genres; singer Lucia Pulido, founder of Fiesta de Tambores, a percussion and vocal ensemble dedicated to the traditional music of Columbia; and Julio A. Santillán, a young composer and guitarist from Tucumán, Argentina, who is currently a faculty member at Manhattan College. 

Examples of Amigo’s work can be found online at: http://homepage.mac.com/camigo/

Keberle, an award-winning clarinetist and composer, is primarily recognized for his solo and chamber works which utilize acoustic, electronic, multimedia (including dance, sculpture and art), and crossover elements. His music draws inspiration from minimalism, as well as popular music, jazz, and intercultural materials.

A Fulbright scholar in composition, Keberle’s recent awards and honors include an Individual Artist Grant from the A.W. Mellon Educational and Charitable Fund of The Pittsburgh Foundation, and an Astral Career Grant from the National Foundation for the Advancement of the Arts.  He is one of the founders of the ElectraVox Ensemble, a live electronics performance group based in Rome, Italy.  His compositions have been performed in new music festivals in North America, South America, Europe and China, and are published and recorded by EDIPAN, Rome and BMG Ricordi, Rome.  He joined the music faculty of the College of Staten Island in 2004, teaching composition, electronic music, and music theory.  He is also the coordinator of the college’s music program.

Keberle will be conducting David Wechsler on flute, Jeff Adler on clarinet, Olivier Fluchaire on violin, Debbie Sepe on cello, Yoojin Oh on piano, and Ray Grappone on percussion in the performance of his chamber work Four to Go.  Olivier Fluchaire will also perform SLICE for solo violin. Keberle will perform Incroci for Clarinet and Piano, joined by pianist Sylvia Kahan, chair of CSI’s performing and creative arts department.

The evening is underwritten by former CSI professor Michael Shugrue, a patron of the arts dedicated to bringing sophisticated, world-class performances to Staten Island. Call the CSI Advancement Office at (718) 982-2365 for more information and to reserve tickets. The concert is free, and includes a champagne reception immediately following the performance. The Recital Hall is in the Center for the Arts on the Willowbrook campus of the College of Staten Island at 2800 Victory Boulevard.