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Preview Thu Oct 18 2012
Preview: Experimental and Improvised Music by Chicago Latino Composers @ Elastic Arts Foundation 10/21
There was an episode of WBEZ's Morning Shift a few weeks ago in which host Tony Sarabia spoke with the members of a local jazz quartet about the differences between improvising and composing, and whether or not the two are mutually exclusive. The conversation particularly grabbed my attention, as one of the things that often turns me off to classical music is its seeming lack of spontaneity or overwhelming sense of perfection.
"I would like to suggest that every musician is an improviser — or can be," clarinetist James Falzone ended up arguing in the episode. That also seems to be the argument the Latino Music Festival will make when it brings a showcase of Experimental and Improvised Music by Chicago Latino Composers to the Elastic Arts Foundation this Sunday in Logan Square.
The event features work from composers Marcos Balter, Gustavo Leone, Elbio Barilari, Pablo Chin, and Guillermo Gregorio — all of whom are currently active in some form or another in the Chicago classical music scene. But given the festival's focus on classical and traditional music from Latin America and Spain, Sunday evening's showcase offers a rare change of gears with a focus on more unconventional music in an intimate setting.
It's hard to say what these composers have up their sleeves for this event. Marcos Balter, for example, who is currently the director of the Music Composition Program at Columbia College Chicago, seems to create bizarre, ambient soundscapes on conventional classical instruments. Gustavo Leone, a professor in the Department of Fine and Performing Arts at Loyola University Chicago, has a background in electronic music. So there's no telling where the music could end up.
Watch a video below of Marcos Balter discussing his cultural and musical identity, and check him out along with a variety of other local Latino composers at the Elastic Arts Foundation this Sunday, 10/21, at 5pm. Admission is free and open to all ages. The Elastic Arts Foundation is located on 2830 N. Milwaukee Ave. on the second floor:
The Latino Music Festival started in late August and continues through December 9, 2012 with various events around the city. The Latino Cultural Center has the full lineup of events.
