Yanga (composition)
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Yanga (composition)
''Yanga'' is a composition for choir, percussion quartet, and orchestra written in 2019 by the Mexican composer Gabriela Ortiz with a text by Santiago Martin Bermúdez. The work was commissioned by the Los Angeles Philharmonic for the ensemble's centennial celebrations. Its world premiere was given by the Tambuco Percussion Ensemble, the Los Angeles Master Chorale, and the Los Angeles Philharmonic conducted by Gustavo Dudamel at the Walt Disney Concert Hall on October 27, 2019. Composition ''Yanga'' is written in one continuous movement divided into four sections and lasts about 17 minutes in performance. Background The piece was inspired by the African revolutionary Gaspar Yanga, who led a maroon colony of enslaved Africans in the highlands near Veracruz, Mexico (then New Spain) during the early period of Spanish colonial rule. It was originally conceived as an opera for the Festival del Centro Histórico and its director Sergio Vela—a project that has been unable to mate ...
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Gabriela Ortiz
Gabriela Ortiz (born 1964) is a Mexican music educator and composer. Biography Gabriela Ortiz Torres was born in Mexico City of parents who were folk musicians. She learned folk music at home, and then studied in Paris at the Ecole Normale de Musique. She returned to Mexico City due to the illness of her mother, and studied composition there with Mario Lavista at the National Conservatory of Music. She continued her studies at the Guildhall School with Robert Saxton, and with Simon Emmerson at the University of London where she received a PhD in 1996. After completing her studies, she took a position at the National School of Music at the National Autonomous University in Mexico City. She also taught at Indiana University in the United States. Music Ortiz incorporates conventional notation techniques in her compositions, which have contemporary, rock, African and Afro-Cuban influences. She has also composed pieces that incorporate experimental electro-acoustic elements. Hono ...
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Sergio Vela
Sergio Vela (born June 27, 1964, in Mexico City) is a Mexican-American opera director, designer, radio and television host, musician, lawyer and academician. Education He studied piano with Héctor Rojas, singing with Maria Julius, orchestra conducting with Roswitha Heintze (1986) and Murry Sidlin at the Aspen School of Music (1988) and composition (1988–1992) with Humberto Hernández Medrano, a distinguished composer and a pupil of Carlos Chávez. He holds a magna cum laude law degree from the Escuela Libre de Derecho, where he studied from 1882 until 1987. At the same school he was tenure professor of legal history from 1989 until 2012. He also taught criminal law and Roman law at both the Escuela Libre de Derecho and the Universidad Anáhuac. He made his doctoral studies at the National School of Music of the National Autonomous University of Mexico. An accomplished polyglot, he is fluent in English, Spanish, French, Italian and German, and he reads, writes and tra ...
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Bassoon
The bassoon is a woodwind instrument in the double reed family, which plays in the tenor and bass ranges. It is composed of six pieces, and is usually made of wood. It is known for its distinctive tone color, wide range, versatility, and virtuosity. It is a non-transposing instrument and typically its music is written in the bass and tenor clefs, and sometimes in the treble. There are two forms of modern bassoon: the Buffet (or French) and Heckel (or German) systems. It is typically played while sitting using a seat strap, but can be played while standing if the player has a harness to hold the instrument. Sound is produced by rolling both lips over the reed and blowing direct air pressure to cause the reed to vibrate. Its fingering system can be quite complex when compared to those of other instruments. Appearing in its modern form in the 19th century, the bassoon figures prominently in orchestral, concert band, and chamber music literature, and is occasionally heard in pop, r ...
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Clarinet
The clarinet is a musical instrument in the woodwind family. The instrument has a nearly cylindrical bore and a flared bell, and uses a single reed to produce sound. Clarinets comprise a family of instruments of differing sizes and pitches. The clarinet family is the largest such woodwind family, with more than a dozen types, ranging from the BB♭ contrabass to the E♭ soprano. The most common clarinet is the B soprano clarinet. German instrument maker Johann Christoph Denner is generally credited with inventing the clarinet sometime after 1698 by adding a register key to the chalumeau, an earlier single-reed instrument. Over time, additional keywork and the development of airtight pads were added to improve the tone and playability. Today the clarinet is used in classical music, military bands, klezmer, jazz, and other styles. It is a standard fixture of the orchestra and concert band. Etymology The word ''clarinet'' may have entered the English language via the Fr ...
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Oboe
The oboe ( ) is a type of double reed woodwind instrument. Oboes are usually made of wood, but may also be made of synthetic materials, such as plastic, resin, or hybrid composites. The most common oboe plays in the treble or soprano range. A soprano oboe measures roughly long, with metal keys, a conical bore and a flared bell. Sound is produced by blowing into the reed at a sufficient air pressure, causing it to vibrate with the air column. The distinctive tone is versatile and has been described as "bright". When the word ''oboe'' is used alone, it is generally taken to mean the treble instrument rather than other instruments of the family, such as the bass oboe, the cor anglais (English horn), or oboe d'amore. Today, the oboe is commonly used as orchestral or solo instrument in symphony orchestras, concert bands and chamber ensembles. The oboe is especially used in classical music, film music, some genres of folk music, and is occasionally heard in jazz, rock, pop, an ...
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Western Concert Flute
The Western concert flute is a family of transverse (side-blown) woodwind instruments made of metal or wood. It is the most common variant of the flute. A musician who plays the flute is called a flautist (in British English), flutist (in American English), or simply a flute player. This type of flute is used in many ensembles, including concert bands, military bands, marching bands, orchestras, flute ensembles, and occasionally jazz bands and big bands. Other flutes in this family include the piccolo, the alto flute, and the bass flute. A large repertory of works has been composed for flute. Predecessors The flute is one of the oldest and most widely used wind instruments. The precursors of the modern concert flute were keyless wooden transverse flutes similar to modern fifes. These were later modified to include between one and eight keys for chromatic notes. "Six-finger" D is the most common pitch for keyless wooden transverse flutes, which continue to be used to ...
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Piccolo
The piccolo ( ; Italian for 'small') is a half-size flute and a member of the woodwind family of musical instruments. Sometimes referred to as a "baby flute" the modern piccolo has similar fingerings as the standard transverse flute, but the sound it produces is an octave higher. This has given rise to the name ottavino (), by which the instrument is called in Italian and thus also in scores of Italian composers. Piccolos are often orchestrated to double the violins or the flutes, adding sparkle and brilliance to the overall sound because of the aforementioned one-octave transposition upwards. The piccolo is a standard member in orchestras, marching bands, and wind ensembles. History Since the Middle Ages, evidence indicates the use of octave transverse flutes as military instruments, as their penetrating sound was audible above battles. In cultured music, however, the first piccolos were used in some of Jean Philippe Rameau's works in the first half of the 18th century. Sti ...
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Orchestra
An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * bowed string instruments, such as the violin, viola, cello, and double bass * woodwinds, such as the flute, oboe, clarinet, saxophone, and bassoon * Brass instruments, such as the horn, trumpet, trombone, cornet, and tuba * percussion instruments, such as the timpani, snare drum, bass drum, cymbals, triangle, tambourine, and mallet percussion instruments Other instruments such as the piano, harpsichord, and celesta may sometimes appear in a fifth keyboard section or may stand alone as soloist instruments, as may the concert harp and, for performances of some modern compositions, electronic instruments and guitars. A full-size Western orchestra may sometimes be called a or philharmonic orchestra (from Greek ''phil-'', "loving", and "harmony"). The actual number of musicians employ ...
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Choir
A choir ( ; also known as a chorale or chorus) is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which spans from the medieval era to the present, or popular music repertoire. Most choirs are led by a conductor, who leads the performances with arm, hand, and facial gestures. The term ''choir'' is very often applied to groups affiliated with a church (whether or not they actually occupy the quire), whereas a ''chorus'' performs in theatres or concert halls, but this distinction is not rigid. Choirs may sing without instruments, or accompanied by a piano, pipe organ, a small ensemble, or an orchestra. A choir can be a subset of an ensemble; thus one speaks of the "woodwind choir" of an orchestra, or different "choirs" of voices or instruments in a polychoral composition. In typical 18th century to 21st century oratorios and masses, 'choru ...
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Afro–Latin Americans
Afro–Latin Americans or Black Latin Americans (sometimes ''Afro-Latinos'', ''Afro-Latines'', or ''Afro-Latinx''), are Latin Americans of full or mainly African ancestry. The term ''Afro–Latin American'' is not widely used in Latin America outside academic circles. Normally Afro–Latin Americans are called ''Black'' ( es, negro; pt, negro or ; french: noir) and are seen as part of the general Latin demographic, especially in countries where they have a considerable presence. Latin Americans of African ancestry may also be denoted by the prefix ''Afro-'' plus a specific nationality, such as ''Afro-Brazilian'', ''Afro-Cuban'' or ''Afro-Haitian''. The accuracy of statistics reporting on Afro–Latin Americans has been questioned, especially where they are derived from census reports in which the subjects choose their own designation, because in various countries the concept of African ancestry is viewed with differing attitudes. History In the 15th and 16th centuries, many ...
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Cabasa
The cabasa, similar to the shekere, is a percussion instrument that is constructed with loops of steel ball chain wrapped around a wooden cylinder. The cylinder is fixed to a long, wooden or plastic handle. The metal cabasa was created by Martin Cohen, founder of Latin Percussion. This company has built a more durable cabasa that they call an afuche-cabasa (pictured). It provides a metallic, rattling sound when shaken or twisted, similar to the sound of a rattlesnake. It is often used in Latin jazz, especially in bossa nova pieces. Precise rhythmic effects can be gained by the advanced player. The player places his non-dominant hand on the metal chain, to provide pressure, while holding the wooden handle with the other hand and twisting the instrument back and forth depending on the rhythmic pattern desired. In addition to Latin music, many band and orchestra pieces call for the cabasa. The African original version of the cabasa is called ''agbe'', and is constructed from dried ...
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Shekere
The shekere (from Yoruba Ṣẹ̀kẹ̀rẹ̀) is a West African percussion instrument consisting of a dried gourd with beads or cowries woven into a net covering the gourd. The Shekere originated in a tribe in Nigeria called the Yoruba. The instrument is common in West African and Latin American folkloric traditions as well as some of the popular music styles. In performance it is shaken and/or hit against the hands. The shekere is made from vine gourds that grow on the ground. The shape of the gourd determines the sound of the instrument. A shekere is made by drying the gourd for several months then removing the pulp and seeds. After it is scrubbed, skillful bead work is added as well as colour. Varieties Throughout the African continent there are similar gourd/bead or gourd/seed percussion instruments. Some are the ''lilolo'', axatse (Ghana), ''djabara'' (Guinea), ''ushàkà'', ''chequere'' and ''saa saa'' (Liberia). The agbe is a gourd drum with cowrie shells and is usually ...
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