News
WPM 208: CMU Press Release
February 26, 2007
WPM 208: CMU Press Release
February 26, 2007 MEDIA CONTACT: Lindsay Allen, 989-774-7327
PROGRAM CONTACT: Scott Burgess, 989-774-2045
PHOTO CAPTION: Cellist Gabriel Cabezas (center), the First Place Laureate in the Sphinx Organization’s 2006 Sphinx Competition for young African-American and Latino classical string players, recorded tracks at CMU in August for a compact disc made possible by the CMU Center for Public Service through Music and the Arts’ partnership with the organization. CMU faculty pianist Alexandra Mascolo-David (left) accompanied 14-year-old Cabezas during the recording session. Also pictured is Scott Burgess (right), executive producer of the CMU School of Music’s White Pine Music label. White Pine Music recently released “Moyugba Orisha,” a disc featuring Cabezas and 2006 Sphinx Competition Senior Division Gold Achievement winner Juan-Miguel Hernandez.
Photo by Robert Barclay
CMU Public Relations and Marketing
As part of Central Michigan University’s partnership with Detroit’s Sphinx Organization, two young string players have released a Latin-flavored compact disc on the university’s record label.
Cellist Gabriel Cabezas and violist Juan-Miguel Hernandez released “Moyugba Orisha” on CMU’s White Pine Music label. Tracks for the disc – part of the performers’ prize package for the Sphinx Organization’s 2006 Sphinx Competition – were recorded during the summer and fall of 2006 in CMU’s Staples Family Concert Hall, in collaboration with CMU faculty pianists Alexandra Mascolo-David and Rúbia Santos.
The Detroit-based Sphinx Organization is dedicated to increasing the participation of Black and Latino artists in classical music, both on stage and in audiences. Its Sphinx Competition, held annually in Detroit, offers young Black and Latino classical string players a chance to compete under the guidance of an internationally renowned panel of judges and to perform with established professional musicians in an encouraging setting.
Cabezas, 14, of metropolitan Chicago, was the First Prize Laureate of the competition’s junior division. Hernandez, 23, the Gold Achievement winner of the senior division, is a native of Montreal and currently studies in Los Angeles.
“Moyugba Orisha” is a musical rendition of cultural expression through music, as many of the pieces – including “La Revuelta Circular” – have Latin roots. One composer, Claudia Calderón, describes her piece as “the resonance of sounds from ethnic harps,” combining cultures from Madagascar and the central regions of Venezuela. Also contributing to the disc’s cultural flavor are the pianists’ ethnic heritages; Mascolo-David is from Portugal and Santos from Brazil.
Several of the disc’s works are recorded premieres, including the title piece and Japanese-American composer Paul Chihara’s “Sonata for Viola and Piano.”
Both Cabezas and Hernandez participated in the October 2006 Sphinx Gala Concert at New York’s renowned Carnegie Hall. In addition, Hernandez is a member of the Harlem Quartet, which will perform March 29 at CMU.
For more information regarding the White Pine label or “Moyugba Orisha,” visit http://www.whitepinemusic.com or call 989-774-2045. Additional information about the Sphinx Organization can be found online at http://www.sphinxmusic.org.
