The Western Illinois Museum presents an afternoon celebrating the rich and vibrant musical traditions of Latin America on Sunday, August 10th from 2:00 to 4:30 pm.
The event will include a Latin American music workshop and performance by the dynamic Colombian-American virtuoso Daniel Rojas, as well as a performance by the chamber group River Town Duo (harp/ bass). The duo’s program will feature works inspired by Latin American folk traditions, including three world premieres and a composition for bass and voice based on poetry of Francisco X. Alarcón.
You are invited to come and get to know Latin American music by playing it–then hear it come to life in two performances.
Doors open at 1:30 pm. A $5 suggested donation will be collected at the door. All ages are welcome to come learn, play, and listen at this special event.
The afternoon begins with a hands-on music workshop from 2:00 to 3:00 pm led by one of the nation’s best harpists in Latin American traditions, Colombian-American Daniel Rojas. Participants will learn to hear these rhythms and styles by playing music on the cuatro (guitar), maracas, and arpa llanera (harp). All musical skill levels are welcome, and no experience with these instruments is required. It will be followed by a solo performance by Rojas from 3:15 to 3:45 pm, bringing to life the expressive range of the Latin American harp – from Colombian- Venezuelan joropo music to Mexican son jarocho to Paraguayan polkas.
The program concludes with a chamber concert for bass and pedal harp from 4:00 to 4:30 pm by the River Town Duo (Claire Happel Ashe, harp, and Philip Alejo, bass) featuring three world premieres by Daniel Rojas, José Daniel Vargas, and Andres Martin. The works are part of a project by the River Town Duo to commission works by Latin American composers inspired by musical traditions from the region that include harp and bass. Alejo will also perform an additional work for bass and voice by José Daniel Vargas that includes the poetry of Chicano poet, Francisco X.
Alarcón – Words Are Birds, Luna Llorona, and Flor y Canto – from his collection Canto Hondo.
Schedule
1:30 pm Doors open 2:00-3:00 pm Latin American Music Workshop (Daniel Rojas) 3:15-3:45 pm Arpa Llanera Performance (Daniel Rojas) 4:00-4:30 pm River Town Duo Performance (Claire Happel Ashe, harpist, and Phlip Alejo, bass) About the Performers
Daniel Rojas was born in Bogotá, Colombia, and began learning music at an early age from his grandmother on the tiple, a form of guitar. He then learned the cuatro and llanera starting at age 12 by playing among folk groups.
Although self-taught at first, he continued his studies with master teacher Carlos Rojas Hernández. He performs with many ensembles, most recently with his own group under the name Arpa Café. He has toured throughout the United States and Europe with groups such as Europa Group Los Llaneros and Tardes Llaneras. Performances at festivals and concert venues include the 2021 Arpafest (Cancun, Mexico), the Old Town School of Folk Music (Chicago), 2010 Western Alliance Music Conference (Los Angeles), 2010 Festival Mundial del Arpa (Asuncion, Paraguay), 2010 Association of Performing Arts Presenters (New York City), and 2009 Encuentro Internacional Arpas al Fin del Mundo (Concepcion, Chile). As an educator, he has presented and taught at colleges and universities through the Arts Latinas Entertainment Company and given local workshops and lessons through Harp Folklore Inc. Cultural Foundation in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, the Llano y Joropo Academy in Bogotá, and the Débora Arango High School of Music in Medellín.
Since its formation in 2012, River Town Duo (Claire Happel Ashe, pedal harp, and Philip Alejo, double bass) has presented dozens of recitals at venues including the University of Arizona, University of Illinois, Avaloch Farm Music Institute, Mackinac Island Music Festival, University of Notre Dame, and the University of Wisconsin, among others. They have also appeared as invited artists at the International Society of Bassists Convention and the American Harp Society Summer Institute. In 2020, the duo released their first recording, For Claire & Philip, on Furious Artisans Records. The album marked the culmination of a project launched in 2014 to commission and premiere new works for harp and bass by American composers, including Caroline Shaw, Han Lash, Whitney Ashe, Derick Evans, Evan Premo, and Stephen Andrew Taylor. Currently, the duo is in the midst of a new commissioning initiative focused on composers rooted in Latin American musical traditions.
Drawing on their work studying Latin American folk styles for bass and harp, the composers are writing original works inspired by these traditions. In January 2023, they premiered compositions by Alfredo Rolando Ortiz and Daniel Rojas at the Tucson Bass Jam, and will premiere three additional works by Daniel Rojas, José Daniel Vargas, and Andres Martin at the Museum for this performance. The final work for the project will be a piece by Mexican-American harpist and composer Zacbe Picardo, to be premiered in 2026.
