Mini-Global Mashup: Spain Meets Haiti
Mar 19, 2023
In-Person Tickets: $15 General Admission / $12 Members, Seniors, & Students w/ID
Flushing Town Hall no longer requires visitors or performers to show proof of vaccination against COVID-19; wearing a mask is optional but recommended. For more details, please visit www.flushingtownhall.org/covid-safety.
Can't make it in person? Watch this show from anywhere in the world! Get virtual access with a Culture Stream subscription ($5/month - cancel anytime) to get LIVE and ON-DEMAND access to watch whenever you want!
Flushing Town Hall's Mini-Global Mashup series continues through June 2023! Curated by acclaimed trumpeter and composer Frank London (The Klezmatics), the Mini-Global Mashup series is bringing together two amazing global music artists along with accompanists for an afternoon of music, conversation and exploration.
Join us in March for an exciting new performance, featuring eclectic Galician accordionist Victor Prieto and the dynamic Haitian percussionist Gaston Jean-Baptiste, also known as Bonga. These two artists will be bringing a range of sounds to the Flushing Town Hall Theater for a mashup you will not want to miss!
As always, there will be a Q&A dialouge after the performance for audience members to engage with the artists.
About the Artists:
Grammy Winner Victor Prieto is hailed by The New York Times as "A fiendishly skilled accordionist and composer" and by The All About Jazz as “One of the best World music and Jazz accordionists now days”.
He has changed the way musicians and spectators view accordion by revolutionizing both technique and sound (Chord approach on both hands). His love for the traditional Galician music and classical education enriches his compositions with explosive rhythm and colors uniquely combining Galician Roots, Celtic, Brazilian, Jazz, Tango, and Classical music
Victor continues collaborating on world stages with Yo-Yo Ma (Songs of Joy and Peace, Sony BMG Masterworks. "2010 Grammy Winning Album"), Arturo O'Farrill Latin Jazz Orchestra, Cristina Pato, The Maria Schneider Orchestra, Valinor Quartet ("Second Half" 2014 Grammy Nominated album) Paquito D’Rivera, Chris Cheek, Christian Howes Group.
He teaches Master Classes in US Berklee College of Music, "Playing outside the Box", Spain, Italy, Portugal and has headed the jazz accordion studies at the Brooklyn Conservatory, New York and he also was the Chairman of the Accordion department at Adagio Conservatory, Lugo (Spain).
Some of Victor’s awards and prizes are: The Creative Performer award from the Spanish Association of Artists and Performers, and the first prize CMZK’s Concourse of Composition.
Victor Prieto holds a Degree in Jazz accordion performance from Berklee College of Music, where he studied with a full scholarship and a Diploma in classical accordion from Ourense - Spain Conservatory. He is the only one to date to specialize in jazz accordion studies, Berklee College of Music does not offer any classes focusing on accordion. Uninhibited by these circumstances Victor created his own study program applying the expertise offered by educators at Berklee to the accordion. His students are internationally renowned accordionists and teachers.
Gaston Jean-Baptiste, known as Bonga, is a musical virtuoso who has been performing and studying traditional Haitian drum, dance and song since the age of seven. He began playing drums in his family's peristil in his hometown of Croix-des-Mission in La Plaine, an area of Haiti known for its culture and history.
Bonga is regarded as a master of the Afro Haitian drum, sought-after for his extensive repertoire of pan-African rhythms. A dynamic performer, accompanist, session player and educator, Bonga works on stage, in the recording studio, and in educational settings. He is one of the few drum experts and craftsmen outside of Haiti who continues to build traditional drums using techniques that are centuries old.
As a core member of the seminal Haitian roots bands, Boukman Eksperyans and Foulà, Bonga was invited to the U.S. in the '90s when musicians were becoming a strong voice for the Haitian people. Since then, Bonga has continued to play solo and in ensemble and at numerous worldwide venues. He is a featured performer with Peter Yarrow, Grace Jones, Dan Zanes and Urban Tap, to mention a few. His drums opened the NY premiere of the Rolling Stones "Voodoo Lounge" tour and he is prominently featured on recordings by Wyclef Jean and Salif Keita.
Bonga’s first CD, Kanzo (2000), incorporates elements of jazz, blues, and funk to create a dynamic version of mizik rasin. The recording features Lou Reed, bassist Fernando Saunders, and trumpeter Frank London. Bonga’s second CD, Ayiti Afrika (2006), received critical acclaim. Featuring cellist Rufus Cappadocia, multi instrumentalist Peck Allmond and Guinean balafonist, Famoro Dioubate, Ayiti Afrika explores the African roots of Haitian music.
There will be a Q&A dialogue after the performance for audience members to engage with the artists.
In-Person Tickets: $15 General Admission / $12 Members, Seniors, & Students w/ID
Flushing Town Hall no longer requires visitors or performers to show proof of vaccination against COVID-19; wearing a mask is optional but recommended. For more details, please visit www.flushingtownhall.org/covid-safety.
Can't make it in person? Watch this show from anywhere in the world! Get virtual access with a Culture Stream subscription ($5/month - cancel anytime) to get LIVE and ON-DEMAND access to watch whenever you want!
Flushing Town Hall's Mini-Global Mashup series continues through June 2023! Curated by acclaimed trumpeter and composer Frank London (The Klezmatics), the Mini-Global Mashup series is bringing together two amazing global music artists along with accompanists for an afternoon of music, conversation and exploration.
Join us in March for an exciting new performance, featuring eclectic Galician accordionist Victor Prieto and the dynamic Haitian percussionist Gaston Jean-Baptiste, also known as Bonga. These two artists will be bringing a range of sounds to the Flushing Town Hall Theater for a mashup you will not want to miss!
As always, there will be a Q&A dialouge after the performance for audience members to engage with the artists.
About the Artists:
Grammy Winner Victor Prieto is hailed by The New York Times as "A fiendishly skilled accordionist and composer" and by The All About Jazz as “One of the best World music and Jazz accordionists now days”.
He has changed the way musicians and spectators view accordion by revolutionizing both technique and sound (Chord approach on both hands). His love for the traditional Galician music and classical education enriches his compositions with explosive rhythm and colors uniquely combining Galician Roots, Celtic, Brazilian, Jazz, Tango, and Classical music
Victor continues collaborating on world stages with Yo-Yo Ma (Songs of Joy and Peace, Sony BMG Masterworks. "2010 Grammy Winning Album"), Arturo O'Farrill Latin Jazz Orchestra, Cristina Pato, The Maria Schneider Orchestra, Valinor Quartet ("Second Half" 2014 Grammy Nominated album) Paquito D’Rivera, Chris Cheek, Christian Howes Group.
He teaches Master Classes in US Berklee College of Music, "Playing outside the Box", Spain, Italy, Portugal and has headed the jazz accordion studies at the Brooklyn Conservatory, New York and he also was the Chairman of the Accordion department at Adagio Conservatory, Lugo (Spain).
Some of Victor’s awards and prizes are: The Creative Performer award from the Spanish Association of Artists and Performers, and the first prize CMZK’s Concourse of Composition.
Victor Prieto holds a Degree in Jazz accordion performance from Berklee College of Music, where he studied with a full scholarship and a Diploma in classical accordion from Ourense - Spain Conservatory. He is the only one to date to specialize in jazz accordion studies, Berklee College of Music does not offer any classes focusing on accordion. Uninhibited by these circumstances Victor created his own study program applying the expertise offered by educators at Berklee to the accordion. His students are internationally renowned accordionists and teachers.
Gaston Jean-Baptiste, known as Bonga, is a musical virtuoso who has been performing and studying traditional Haitian drum, dance and song since the age of seven. He began playing drums in his family's peristil in his hometown of Croix-des-Mission in La Plaine, an area of Haiti known for its culture and history.
Bonga is regarded as a master of the Afro Haitian drum, sought-after for his extensive repertoire of pan-African rhythms. A dynamic performer, accompanist, session player and educator, Bonga works on stage, in the recording studio, and in educational settings. He is one of the few drum experts and craftsmen outside of Haiti who continues to build traditional drums using techniques that are centuries old.
As a core member of the seminal Haitian roots bands, Boukman Eksperyans and Foulà, Bonga was invited to the U.S. in the '90s when musicians were becoming a strong voice for the Haitian people. Since then, Bonga has continued to play solo and in ensemble and at numerous worldwide venues. He is a featured performer with Peter Yarrow, Grace Jones, Dan Zanes and Urban Tap, to mention a few. His drums opened the NY premiere of the Rolling Stones "Voodoo Lounge" tour and he is prominently featured on recordings by Wyclef Jean and Salif Keita.
Bonga’s first CD, Kanzo (2000), incorporates elements of jazz, blues, and funk to create a dynamic version of mizik rasin. The recording features Lou Reed, bassist Fernando Saunders, and trumpeter Frank London. Bonga’s second CD, Ayiti Afrika (2006), received critical acclaim. Featuring cellist Rufus Cappadocia, multi instrumentalist Peck Allmond and Guinean balafonist, Famoro Dioubate, Ayiti Afrika explores the African roots of Haitian music.
There will be a Q&A dialogue after the performance for audience members to engage with the artists.
