Pregones/PRTT's MARCH IS MUSIC Series Returns This Weekend

Pregones/PRTT's March Is Music series returns with a lineup of nine classical, jazz, folk, and fusion concerts featuring locally and internationally acclaimed artists all of March in the Bronx a.k.a. "El condado de la música" (The Borough of Music").

Here is the lineup for this weekend's concerts:

Friday, March 18, 8PM - PLENA SENTADA FOR TITO MATOS (Afro Puerto Rican)

Para cantarle a un Plenero - For one night only, Pregones Theater transforms into a gathering space for practitioners of the traditional Puerto Rican musical forms Bomba y Plena. They come together to celebrate, shine a light, and honor the life, legacy, and influential voice of Héctor René "Tito" Matos Otero (1968-2022). Master percussionist, teacher, composer, and cultural activist, Matos spent a decade in New York City and during his time here forever changed the course of NuyoRican music.

Members of renowned ensembles Los Pleneros de la 21, Alma Moyó, and Los Hijo 'e Plena, play their panderos and barriles to sing songs and raise memory, from Plena Lamento to soul purifying Bomba, in reverence of Tito Matos... cherished Plenero, gone before his time. This memorial event is Livestream Only. There will be no in-person audience - please join the musicians via FREE broadcast.

Saturday, March 19, 8PM - RICARDO PONS (Latin Jazz)

A soulful reed player known for his skilled mastery of the saxophone and the flute, Ricardo Pons is also a gifted arranger, composer and teacher, musical director of contemporary Bomba y Plena sensation Viento de Agua (with Tito Matos), and former musical director of Pregones Theater. He has worked with legends like Chick Corea, Tito Puente, Eddie Palmieri, Mario Bauzá, Willie Colón, and Celia Cruz. He has played many of the great Jazz and Folk festivals around the world, from Sydney to Chicago to New York. Now based in Puerto Rico, Pons travels to his former creative home in The Bronx to perform new and recent compositions for Latin Jazz ensemble.

Sunday, March 20, 4PM - GABRIELLE CHOU (Classical | Bronx Piano Sundays)

Gabrielle Chou is a NYC-based pianist and violinist seeking to defy genres and break barriers in performance. A graduate of The Juilliard School, she has been a soloist with orchestras in the US, Austria, Italy, Spain, and Taiwan. She has performed in venues such as David Geffen Hall, Alice Tully Hall, Carnegie Hall, National Sawdust, and the Taipei National Theater and Concert Hall. For this concert she will perform works from Tchaikovsky, Rzewski, and Bolcom.