University at Buffalo - The State University of New York

Since its inception in 1960, the National Symphony Orchestra of Cuba has been instrumental in developing and introducing Cuban and Latin American music to the international classical music community. In addition to covering a vast symphonic and chamber repertoire ranging from baroque to contemporary music, the orchestra will be performing internationally renowned pieces. Piano soloist, Ignacio “Nachito” Herrera stunned Cuban audiences at the age of twelve, performing “Rachmaninoff’s Concerto No. 2” with the Havana Symphony Orchestra. In 2009, Herrera toured as a member of the Afro Cuban All Stars. His love of classical music quickly combined with traditional Cuban rhythms under the instruction of the Cuban masters-Rubén González, Jorge Gomez Labraña, and Frank Fernández. In his twenties, Nachito became the musical director at the famous “Tropicana” in Cuba where he continued to deepen his repertoire. The concert will include traditional Western European works by Mendelssohn, Schubert, Prokofiev and Gershwin’s “Cuban Overture.” The Orchestra will also include such internationally known works as the “Guaguanco” by composer Guido Lopez-Gavilan, who also will conduct, and Ernesto Lecuona’s “Malagueña.”