Texas Performing Arts Welcomes Sérgio and Odair Assad, 4/13

Texas Performing Arts welcomes 2010 Grammy Award-winning Brazilian guitar virtuosos Sérgio and Odair Assad for an evening devoted to their Lebanese musical roots, aptly titled De Volta As Raizes (Back To Our Roots).

Brothers Sérgio and Odair Assad have set the benchmark for all other guitarists by creating a new standard of guitar innovation, ingenuity and expression. Their exceptional artistry and uncanny ensemble playing come from both a family rich in Brazilian musical tradition and from studies with the best guitarists in South America. In addition to setting new performance standards, the Assads have played a major role in creating and introducing new music for two guitars. Their virtuosity has inspired a wide range of composers to write for them including Astor Piazzolla, Terry Riley, Radamés Gnattali, Marlos Nobre, Nikita Koshkin, Roland Dyens, Jorge Morel, Edino Krieger and Francisco Mignone. Now Sérgio Assad is adding to their repertoire by composing music for the duo and for various musical partners both with Symphony Orchestra and in recitals. They have worked extensively with such renowned artists as Yo-Yo Ma, Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg, Fernando Suarez Paz, Paquito D'Rivera, Gidon Kremer and Dawn Upshaw.

Joining the Assad brothers for this program are pianist/singer and composer Clarice Assad, percussionist Jamey Haddad, and the hypnotic Lebanese singer Christiane Karam. This unique program is an exploration of the rhythmic similarities that tie Middle Eastern music with the music of Brazil. Sérgio and Clarice Assad have composed new music specifically for this project and Karam has set modern and ancient Lebanese texts to new works. With her exquisite voice and the Assad Brothers' beloved virtuosity and awe-inspiring ensemble work, this evening promises to raise the bar of Middle Eastern music.

Sérgio and Odair Assad are presented by Texas Performing Arts' ArtesAméricas program. In partnership with the Teresa Lozano Long Institute of Latin American Studies, ArtesAméricas promotes cultural dialogue in the Americas through the performing arts. For more information, please visit www.artesamericas.org.

 

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