by Dr. Ceylon Mitchell II | Mar 21, 2023
A celebration of the vibrant LatinX culture of the Lower East Side and the musical talents the area has nurtured, from the classical virtuoso pianist Teresa Carreño to the tango master Astor Piazzola and salsa superstar Celia Cruz.
Cuban-born Tania Leon is a Pulitzer Prize-winning composer whose music is known for its rich textures and infectious and complex rhythms, Del Caribe, soy! is dedicated to flutist Nestor Torres, and builds on his improvisatory fragments, mixing in bird calls, whistles, fragments of Latin melodies, atonal piano effects and gestures that characterize music of the Caribbean.
Featuring traditional tonality and Baroque era forms, avant-garde and aleatoric techniques, and Afro-Cuban strains, Brouwer’s stages of composition represent an eclectic sound universe. Throughout his output, his music is a kind of musical cartography and allegory of Latin America, with its most emblematic landscapes, characters, and cultures. Passages with controlled indeterminacy and extended techniques in the musical forces create fascinating textures and colorful soundscapes connected to ancient and modern Latin American literature and culture.
by Dr. Ceylon Mitchell II | Mar 21, 2023
Joshua Jenkins has been playing the piano since he was seven years old and began performing in public at the age of twelve. A proud alum of the Duke Ellington School of the Arts, he holds a Bachelor of Music from Temple University, where he also majored in Spanish. Alongside fellow Ellington students, he performed on stage at the Kennedy Center and Strathmore Music Center with such artists as Ledisi, Patti LaBelle, and Sting. While studying in Philadelphia, he gave various classical solo and chamber recitals and worked with several jazz ensembles.
An ever-growing multi-instrumentalist, Joshua studied pipe organ for several years under the tutelage of organist Clyde T. Parker, having performed numerous times on this instrument at People’s Congregational Church in Washington, DC. Joshua was the Jazz Ensemble Director of CAAPA (the Coalition for African Americans in the Performing Arts) from 2018 to 2020. He has a keen interest in Afro-Cuban drumming and has visited Cuba several times to conduct research and take lessons.
Supported in part by Daniel & Sarah Gallagher♪, HelenLouise Pettis♪, and Tina & Arthur Lazerow
♪Strathmore graciously thanks our Artist in Residence Champions for their multi-year commitment and above-and-beyond support to the AIR program.
Learn more about the AIR program and the Class of 2023.
by Dr. Ceylon Mitchell II | Oct 3, 2021
An Arts Integration program of Latin music. The ensemble includes Fran Vielma on percussion, Taisha Estrada on vocals, and Eliot Seppa on guitar.
by Dr. Ceylon Mitchell II | May 7, 2021
Ceylon Mitchell, a 2021 Strathmore Resident Artist, brings his ensemble and their passion for the Brazilian Choro and Afro-Caribbean music to St. Mary’s County. The choro, birthed in Rio de Janeiro in the mid 19th century, has its roots in African syncopated rhythms and European dance forms, including the lundú, the polka, and the habanera – an intriguing musical blend. The program also includes chamber music by Afro-Cuban composers.
by Dr. Ceylon Mitchell II | May 5, 2021
Just as the notes from his flute fly and float on air, Ceylon Mitchell is always in motion. This musician, educator, entrepreneur, and arts advocate is driven by his mission of keeping classical music alive, authentic, and accessible with programming and performances that promote traditionally marginalized communities, especially Black and Latinx cultural identities.
Originally from Alaska, this new dad is currently a Doctor of Musical Arts student at the University of Maryland, College Park. Mitchell is the recipient of a Prince George’s Arts and Humanities Council Artist Fellowship Grant and a Prince George’s County Forty Under 40 Award in Arts and Humanities.
