Mexican Pianist Juan Pablo Horcasitas to Celebrate His First Recording AMONG SONGS AND DANCES, 3/9

On Sunday, March 9 at 3 pm, Mexican born pianist Juan Pablo Horcasitas will host a CD Release Party for his first solo album "Among Songs and Dances" in the Benay Benuta Hall at Lighthouse Guild, 111 East 59th Street, New York. "Among Songs and Dances" includes music from Bach to Zyman creating a beautiful journey through original and arranged songs and dances for the piano. Works include those by Samuel Zyman, Manuel M. Ponce, Heitor Villa-Lobos, Astor Piazzolla, Franz Schubert, Johann S. Bach, José Pablo Moncayo and Ricardo Castro.

The event features a performance by Mr. Horcasitas followed by a conversation with producer Juan Pablo Mantilla, composer Samuel Zyman of The Juilliard School, and Caterina Toscano of the Mexican Cultural Institute. A CD signing concludes the party.

This CD project is Mr. Horcasitas's first studio recording. Having performed in many places around the world for the last 15 years, Mr. Horcasitas felt inspired to create a professional CD with some of his favorite pieces in his repertoire.

The eight pieces Mr. Horcasitas selected for recording all relate in some way to "song" or "dance"- hence, the title of the CD. From Busoni's transcription of Bach's Chacone in D minor for solo violin to Heitor Villa-lobos "Festa no sertao" from his Ciclo Brasileiro, featuring the batuca rhythm, this album will portray the way composers from different countries have interpreted these two styles.

In addition to producer Juan Pablo Mantilla, Mr. Horcasitas also collaborated with noted audio engineer Ryan Streber at Oktaven Audio. The recording itself was made possible by the support of 83 backers of a Kickstarter campaign.

A portion of the CD sales will benefit Lighthouse International, a beacon of hope for the visually challenged, and where Mr. Horcasitas is a faculty member at the Lighthouse's Filomen M. D'Agostino Greenberg Music School (the only community music school in the country for those visually impaired). Mr. Horcasitas recently served as the pianist for the School's acclaimed production of Benjamin Britten's Noye's Fludde (see the New York Times review). A resident of New York, Mr. Horcasitas received his Bachelor's and Master's degree at the Manhattan School of Music under the guidance of Nina Svetlanova. He has an active career as a soloist as well as a collaborative pianist.