Office of Communications

Contact: Amy Batheja

Communications Specialist

Office: (817) 531-7521

abatheja@txwes.edu

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

EXPLORE SOUTH AMERICAN POPULAR AND FOLK MUSIC WITH WOMEN'S CHOIR CANTORIA ALBERTO GRAU

The Cantoría Alberto Grau women's choir will present a concert of South American popular and folk music at 3 p.m. Monday, March 2, in Martin Hall, located at 1309 Wesleyan St. This performance, with pieces spanning history from the 12th century to the present, is free and open to the public.

Cantoría Alberto Grau has toured Latin America, North America, Europe, Asia, and Oceania, and has been awarded numerous international competition prizes. This prestigious ensemble has performed by invitation at the World Symposium on Choral Music in Sydney, the America Cantat Festivals in Caracas and Mexico, and at the Americafest World Festival of Women’s Singing in Seattle. 

The ensemble is led by founding conductor Maria Guinand and associate conductor Luimar Arismendi. Guinand is an internationally renowned conductor and has served as professor of music at the University Simón Bolívar in Caracas and conductor of the Orfeón Universitario Simón Bolívar and Schola Cantorum de Venezuela. Guinand has served on the Executive Committee of the International Music council of UNESCO and Vice President for Latin America in the International Federation for Choral Music. She premiered Osvaldo Golijov’s St. Mark’s Passion in 2000, and served as conductor on the Grammy-nominated Deutsche Grammophon recording of this work. Associate conduct Luimar Arismendi has studied conducting and composition with several of the world’s most respected musicians. She is also well known as a versatile instrumentalist, having a command of many instruments including the quarto, guitar, mandolin, and percussion.

The Cantoría Alberto Grau is touring north Texas in the days preceding their invitational performances at the American Choral Directors Association National Convention in Oklahoma City. Additional area performances include St. Monica Catholic Church of Dallas, Sunday, March 1; Mansfield United Methodist Church, 7 p.m. Monday, March 2; First United Methodist Church of Coppell, 7 p.m. Tuesday, March 3. 

In addition to the concert on March 2, the choir will participate in an exchange rehearsal with the Texas Wesleyan Chamber Choir at 11 a.m. that day in Martin Hall. The public is invited to attend this rehearsal.

For more information about this event, call 817-531-4977 or 4992. Martin Hall is located at 1309 Wesleyan St., Fort Worth. Click here for a map.