Continuing an exploration of Cuban musical traditions that blossomed with its 2018 album Cuerdas Cubanas, Toomai String Quintet presents a program of original arrangements that reimagine music by some of the most celebrated Cuban composers of the past and present. This concert features works by Tania León, Leo Brouwer, Gisela Hernández, and Ernesto Lecuona, as well as Yosvany Terry’s recent work Soñando despierto, commissioned by Toomai with support from the Cuban Cultural Center of New York. The quintet members are violinists Emilie-Anne Gendron and Alex Fortes, violist George Meyer, cellist Hamilton Berry, and bassist Andrew Roitstein.
This event is part of Carnegie Hall’s Nuestros sonidos festival.
INSTITUTO CERVANTES
211 E 49th St, bet. 2nd & 3rd Aves., NYC
FREE ADMISSION
SPACE IS LIMITED
MAKE YOUR RESERVATION AT: https://shorturl.at/M0gVK
PROGRAM
- Israel “Cachao” Lopez: A gozar con mi combo (arr. Andrew Roitstein)
- Leo Brouwer: Música incidental campesina (arr. Andrew Roitstein)
- Amadeo Roldán: Canción de cuna del niño negro (arr. Hamilton Berry)
- Ernesto Lecuona: Zambra gitana (arr. Andrew Roitstein)
- Chiquinha Gonzaga: Passos no choro (arr. Hamilton Berry)
- Gisela Hernández: Cubanas (selection) (arr. Andrew Roitstein)
- Yosvany Terry: Soñando despierto
- Tania León: Tumbao (arr. Andrew Roitstein)
- Ernesto Lecuona: A la antigua (arr. Andrew Roitstein)
Toomai String Quintet is an ensemble devoted to playing a variety of musical traditions from around the world, creating its own string arrangements, and commissioning new works. The award-winning group has been engaging audiences across the US for over a nearly two decades, performing concerts in collaboration with presenters such as Carnegie Hall, 92 Y, and The Juilliard School, among others. Central to Toomai’s mission is the expansion of the Latin American repertoire for string ensemble. Toomai has arranged or commissioned over 25 works by Latin American composers. In 2024, the group released its second album, Passos Brasileiros, featuring original arrangements of music by legendary Brazilian composers such as Hermeto Pascoal and Chiquinha Gonzaga. Formed in 2007 at The Juilliard School, the quintet is named after Rudyard Kipling’s short story “Toomai of the Elephants” in which a young boy journeys into the jungle to witness the dance of the wild elephants. The Toomai String Quintet aspires to cultivate a similar sense of curiosity and discovery by searching for diverse music and sharing it with its audience.
This event is co-sponsored by Instituto Cervantes
And is supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council, and made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.
With the promotional cooperation of Rialta, 14yMedio and Diario de Cuba
