Harp and Tango Together for Sizzling Ovations Concert February 21
A performance that promises to be both a listening and visual delight will be at the Bret Harte Theatre on Sunday, February 21. Harp player Anna Maria Mendieta will perform with cello, violin, percussion and tango dancers. The program will transcend many music styles; sure to be crowd-pleaser. The event is the fourth in this season’s prestigious Ovations Performing Arts Series presented by the Calaveras Arts Council. Curtain is at 3:00 pm in the 350 seat auditorium where the $25 seats may be reserved in advance on-line at http://www.highsierratickets.com.
A portion of the afternoon’s performance will blend the passion of tango with the romance of the harp, so expect to see some thrilling tango dancing by two who are tops in their field. To quote Grammy winner Pablo Ziegler, “What Anna Maria is doing with the harp and tango is fantastic…and the audience loves it.” Other music in the program will range from classical to Broadway. Critical acclaim of Mendieta also includes descriptions, “…a charismatic performer, brilliant, enchanting.”
Anna Maria Mendieta is currently the principal harpist with the Sacramento Philharmonic and has performed as a soloist and as a member with many other symphony orchestras and chamber music groups across the country. She has performed for the King and Queen of Spain; National Hispanic Week in Washington, D.C., and with Theater Flamenco of San Francisco. She is nationally recognized as a pioneer in performing Argentine tango music on the harp. Her creation of "Tango del Cielo" is the focus of a documentary film. She has appeared on TV, movies, NPR, and the Emmy Awards.
Accompanying Mendieta will be: Thomas Yee, violinist, who is the Assistant concertmaster with the Monterey and Santa Rosa Symphonies, and is a member of Marin, Napa, and Santa Barbara Symphonies. Yee plays on an exceptional vintage French violin by J.B. Vuillaume, previously owned by Isaac Stern.
Joseph Hebert, cellist, is well known in San Francisco Bay Area ensembles as an exceptional artist in all areas of classical, improvisational, and world styles of music. As a composer and improvisational jazz musician, he has performed in Japan, Europe, and Hawaii, with instruments from all over the world. He is the Assistant Principal cellist with the Oakland East Bay Symphony, and has performed for movie soundtracks with the Sky walker Symphony Orchestra.
Antonio Davidson-Gómez is an educator and percussionist focused on a musical dialogue among cultures. He has studied, performed and recorded in various genres with an emphasis in Afro-Latin, Middle Eastern, Mediterranean, and liturgical music. He coordinates bilingual programs for public television in Seattle.
Dancer Suzanne Mendieta has been a member of many dance companies, including: Theatre Flamenco, Rosa Montoya’s Bailes Flamenco, San Francisco Dance Theater, and the Arabesque Dance Company. She has been a featured flamenco dancer for the San Francisco Opera’s productions of “La Traviata.”
Count Glover is a professional dancer, teacher and choreographer of Argentine tango. He has studied with some of the world’s most renowned tango maestros and is considered one of the best dancers of Argentine tango in San Francisco.
Tickets will be available online from High Sierra Tickets up until 11:00 pm on the Thursday before the concert. After that, if not sold out, tickets will only be sold at the Box Office of Bret Harte Theatre starting at 2:15 pm the day of the concert. For up-to-date information call the Calaveras Arts Council at (209)754-1774. The next Ovations performance will be on March 6, featuring the Mother Lode Friends of Music Orchestra playing a rousing Russian repertoire including Stravinsky’s Firebird.
