From a press release received at Weekly Volcano headquarters:

A Cuban Cultural Festival will light up the University of Puget Sound campus this week, offering the public rare opportunities  to hear visiting Cuban orchestral musicians and to attend talks by Cuban scholars about the island’s culture.

From Monday, Oct. 8 to Thursday, Oct. 11 Puget Sound will host the festival’s visiting members of Orquesta de Cámara Concierto Sur (Concert Chamber Orchestra of the South). The talented musicians from Tacoma’s sister city Cienfuegos, Cuba, will present workshops and perform in a free 7:30 p.m. concert on Thursday, Oct. 11 in Schneebeck Concert Hall. The ensemble repertoire runs from Baroque to Renaissance to contemporary music, with an emphasis on preserving authentic Cuban music.

The Cuban musicians’ visit is a collaboration between Northwest Sinfonietta and University of Puget Sound, with funding from the college’s Catharine Gould Chism Fund.

Puget Sound will host four days of public events, including cultural talks and music, from Monday Oct. 8 to Thursday, Oct. 11. University of Washington Tacoma will hold a final concert on Saturday, Oct. 13. Full details are available at: www.northwestsinfonietta.org, www.pugetsound.edu/cubanfestival and www.tacoma.uw.edu/cubanconcert.

The public is invited to many of the free events at Puget Sound, including lectures on Cuban life, theater, literature, and entrepreneurship, and musical recitals and master classes involving the Cuban visitors and Puget Sound faculty and students. Tickets are not required and all are welcome to attend. For further details please visit: www.pugetsound.edu/cubanfestival. 

Monday, Oct. 8, 7–8:30 p.m.; School of Music, Room L1
Violin Master Class, hosted by Maria Sampen and presented by violinists Mónica Gonzáles Rodríguez, Oscar Rolando Piñero Rodríguez, Emiliya Victorovna Bondarenko, and/or José Antonio Díaz Adelit.

Tuesday, Oct. 9, 9–10:30 a.m.; School of Music, Room L6
Cello Master Class, hosted by David Requiro, and presented by Isabel Cristina Palli Puente.

Tuesday, Oct. 9, 12–12:50 p.m.; Noon Recital Hour; School of Music, Room L6
Cuban Popular Music, a recital hosted by Keith Ward, and presented by Tamara de la Caridad Codorniu Delgado.

Wednesday, Oct. 10, 4–5 p.m.; Wyatt Hall, Room 101
Cuban Reality During the Last Ten Years of the 20th Century as Seen Through the Writings of Abilio Estévez: a public lecture hosted by Monica DeHart and presented by Indira Rodriguez Ruiz.

Wednesday, Oct. 10, 5:15–6 p.m.; School of Music, Room 106
Piano Master Class: Cuban Music for Piano, hosted by Duane Hulbert and presented by Vivian Rodríguez Sánchez.

Wednesday, Oct. 10, 7–8:30 p.m.; Wheelock Student Center, Murray Board Room
The Founding of “El Monólogo en Cuba”: talk will focus on entrepreneurial issues in the founding of this organization; hosted by Lynnette Claire and presented by Miguel Rafael Cañellas Sueiras.

Thursday, Oct. 11, 7:30–9 p.m.; Schneebeck Concert Hall
Cuban and Classical Music by Orquesta de Cámara Concierto Sur (Concert Chamber Orchestra of the South).

The Orquesta de Cámara Concierto Sur is comprised of talented graduates of the Instituto Superior de Arte (National Art School) in Havana, and professors at the Benny Moré School of the Arts in Cienfuegos, Cuba. It is regarded by many as the finest orchestra in the region. The orchestra hosted a tour of Cuba by the Northwest Sinfonietta in January 2012.

The free public events on campus for the Cuban Cultural Festival are sponsored by the Catharine Gould Chism Fund, a resource endowed by Seattle businesswoman Catharine Gould Chism that supports the arts and humanities.

Press photos of Orquesta de Cámara Concierto can be downloaded from: www.pugetsound.edu/pressphotos

For directions and a map of the campus:www.pugetsound.edu/directions
For accessibility information please contact accessibility@pugetsound.edu or 253.879.3236.