Tiempo Libre Mother's Day Concert with the DSO

Tiempo Libre @ Orchestra Hall

I went for the premiere of Rumba Sinfonica, a joint performance of the Minnesota Orchestra with Tiempo Libre (Friday November 16, 2007). The composition appeared to be quite challenging as the intent was to mate two very different musical cultures and approaches to music into one performance. It started out easy enough with the orchestra opening up, then TL laying out the theme of a danzon and the orchestra finishing out the theme. That was fairly straightforward as these parts were performed seperately with minor support from the other respective group or orchestra. The cha-cha-cha and son montuno were also fairly straightforward. That is not surprising. Danzon, cha-cha-cha and son montuno have a direct lineage to both Afro-Cuban and European classical music. The big challenge came for the afro and the timba pieces. Here the musical cultures clashed at a very fundamental level. The hard driving Afro-Cuban music in the folkloric (afro) and modern (timba) realm call for an "attack" on the music. If you've been to live concerts you'll even see the band leader or music director direct the "attack". Its a very aggressive approach to transitions. The classical European tradition is usually the exact opposite with slow transitions and resonant sounds. In this very first performance they got out of this potential dilemma by having Tiempo Libre lead a theme on piano and have the entire string section finish it off at the same tempo. Compliments to Ricardo Lorenz, the composer from Chile by way of Detroit, Michigan for pulling this off. He was in the audience and went on stage at the final applause. The 2nd set of the concert featured Tiempo Libre alone for a dance concert. Unfortunately, Orchestra Hall management had not informed the ushers that it was a dance concert so we were asked to sit down again. I sent out an e-mail to Sarah Elhardt, the coordinator of non-classical events and she assured me that she would inform the ushers accordingly for Saturday's concert (Saturday November 17, 2007). That apparently happened as I received a report that fellow timberos Juan and Sia danced all the way down to the front of the stage, caught piano player Jorge Gomez' attention and then proceeded to dance on stage !
A big surprise occurred later on as some of the band members of Tiempo Libre stopped in at Picosa after their Saturday concert at Orchestra Hall and sat in with Salsabrosa for one song. They are friends of Viviana Pintado (everyone is friends with Viviana Pintado) and they just couldn't refuse her invitation. Niko was videotaping and promised to put it up on Youtube.
(Note: the youtube video turned out to be too dark, so not worth watching)

Date: April 24, 2008
To: Ya Salsa
From: Allison Ravenscroft323-449-5030, aravenscroft@sbcglobal.net
Re: Tiempo Libre: From Cuba to Detroit Come dance!

We invite you and your fellow salsa dancers to be part of a historic,dance-inducing event celebrating Cuba’s musical heritage, when thetwo-time Grammy-nominated Cuban music group, Tiempo Libre, performs withthe Detroit Symphony Orchestra at the Orchestra Hall Detroit in the Max M.Fisher Music Center (3711 Woodward Avenue in Detroit) on Sunday, May 11th,at 3:00 PM. Tiempo Libre and the Detroit Symphony Orchestra will perform RumbaSinfónica, a new symphonic work by revered Venezuelan composer RicardoLorenz in collaboration with Jorge Gomez of Tiempo Libre. The band will also perform an electrifying set of timba music, an irresistible mix of high-voltage Latin jazz and the seductive rhythms ofson, which is sure to have concert-goers on their feet and dancing.

There is a special 2 tickets for the price of 1 discount rate for salsadancers. Tickets range from two tickets for the price of $43.50 to $33.50and may be ordered by calling the Max M. Fisher Music Center box office313- 576-5111.

The members of the Miami-based Cuban music group, Tiempo Libre, were allclassically trained in Cuba’s premiere conservatories at a time when itwas illegal to listen to American songs on the radio. Now they are asensation in the U.S., with concerts all around the country and two consecutive Grammy nominations. Tiempo Libre’s show is a dynamic, high-voltage and passionate performance of timba music – an exciting and engaging combination ofLatin jazz and traditional Cuban son. Their goal is to serve as ambassadors to Cuba’s musical heritage, while celebrating the Americanexperience.

There hasn’t been a concert yet where people haven’tgotten out of their seats to dance. We hope you’ll let your students know about this electrifying evening and we can send you an electronic flier as well. Please visit theirwebsite www.tiempolibremusic.com and let us know if we may provide anymore information.

Many thanks,

Allison Ravenscroft 323-449-5030
aravenscroft@sbcglobal.net