Virtual Cinco De Mayo Concert to Feature Anna Tonna, Gustavo Ahualli and More

Vocalists Anna Tonna and Gustavo Ahualli join forces with guitarist Francisco Roldan and pianist Max Lifchitz on Monday afternoon May 3 for a special musical event marking the Cinco de Mayo Holiday. The concert sponsored by North/South Consonance, Inc. will start at 4 PM (EST) and end around 5:30 PM.

It will be streamed live through the National Opera Center YouTube channel @ Live from the National Opera Center - YouTube.

The program will feature songs and instrumental works by beloved Mexican composers Carlos Chavez, Maria Grever, Manuel M. Ponce and Silvestre Revueltas. It will also introduce music by living composers Eduardo Soto-Millan, Manuel Enriquez, Max Lifchitz and Lilia Vazquez-Kuntze.

A recently completed song cycle "Serenade Under the Moon" through which Los Angeles-based composer John Villar takes poems from around the world about the moon and sets them for voice, guitar, and piano will be heard in New York for the first time.

"A born star who effectively stole the show" is how the press describes mezzo-soprano Anna Tonna. Her performances have been depicted as "...full of charm and magnetism with her dark, compact lyric mezzo-soprano ideally suited for the flamenco-like vocal flourishes of Spanish music."

Hailed for his rich and powerful baritone, baritone Gustavo Ahualli is well known for his dramatic portrayals in a myriad of leading roles of standard operatic repertoire as well as new works by contemporary composers. Press reports portray his singing as "effortless, with excellent control" and praise "his ideal voice, beautiful, full, rich, and powerful."

Guitarist Francisco Roldan is depicted by critics as "an excellent musician, an exciting soloist and sensitive accompanist" who is "a virtuoso and interprets the music with a magical tone."

The San Francisco Chronicle portrayed Max Lifchitz as "a stunning, ultra-sensitive pianist" while The New York Times praised his "clean, measured and sensitive performances."

Active since 1980, North/South Consonance, Inc. is devoted to the promotion of music by composers from the Americas and the world. Its activities are made possible in part, with public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts and the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs as well as the generosity of numerous individual donors.

For details about North/South Consonance's activities please visit http://www.northsouthmusic.org.