Legends of Brazil: A Musical Celebration for 200 Years of Friendship

Join PostClassical Ensemble conducted by Ángel Gil-Órdóñez to celebrate the 200th anniversary of U.S.-Brazil diplomatic relations with a concert featuring a rich array of Brazilian music.

The bicentennial celebration highlights two centuries of remarkable music from South America. It features early works by Brazilian composers and a world premiere commission by André Mehmari, a prominent figure in today’s Brazilian classical scene.

Presented by guest curator Flávio Chamis (composer, conductor, and educator), the concert offers a panoramic view of Brazilian concert music. The program includes a tempestuous classical overture by José Maurício Nunes, the modern and U.S. premiere of Francisco Mignone’s Quadros Amazônicos (an orchestral suite based on myths from the Amazon), Heitor Villa-Lobos’s Bachiana Brasileiras no. 4, a set of popular Brazilian songs performed by DC’s own Elin Melgarejo, and chamber music featuring Latin GRAMMY-nominated violist, Tatjana Mead Chamis.

Program

• Zequinha de Abreu arr. Jamberê Cerqueira: Tico-Tico no Fubá
• Padre José Maurício Nunes Garcia: Zemira
• André Mehmari: Sonata for Viola
• Francisco Mignone: Selection from Tres Valsas Brasileiras
• Francisco Mignone: Saci and Caapora from Quadros Amazônicos
• A selection of Brazilian popular songs
• Heitor Villa-Lobos: Bachiana Brasileiras no. 4
• André Mehmari: World premiere work for piano and orchestra

Ángel Gil-Ordóñez

Ángel Gil-Ordóñez is the Music Director of the Washington, D.C.-based PostClassical Ensemble, Principal Guest Conductor of New York’s Perspectives Ensemble, and Music Director of the Georgetown University Orchestra. He also serves as lead advisor for Trinitate Philharmonia, a program in León, Mexico, modeled on Venezuela’s El Sistema. An unwavering advocate for Spanish and Latin American repertoire, Gil-Ordóñez received the Orden de Isabel la Católica, Spain’s highest civilian decoration, for his devotion to sharing Spanish culture with the world. He has recorded nine albums for various music labels, including Naxos.