“This month, the sounds and rhythms of Cuba have spread across the campus of Otterbein University in Westerville,” writes Peter Tonguette in Thursday’s (4/22) Columbus Dispatch (Ohio). “Cuban composer and pianist Jose Maria Vitier … has taken part in a residency there since April 1. While in central Ohio, the Havana native has given master classes and heard his work featured in concerts. This weekend, as he nears the conclusion of his visit, the Westerville Symphony will perform one of his most popular works, a Roman Catholic Mass titled ‘Misa Cubana.’ For the Sunday concert, the orchestra will join Capriccio Columbus and three university ensembles … ‘Much of his composing is in classical style, in the tradition of Mozart and Haydn,’ said Gayle Walker, who, as Otterbein director of choral activities, will conduct. ‘But then the Spanish movements are freer and more contemporary-sounding.’ … ‘If I have become known for anything, it would be for mixing different styles,’ Vitier said. ‘I also recognize a very important role to my own roots within the Cuban music.’ … More than 120 performances [of the Mass] have taken place in venues worldwide but none in Ohio—until Sunday.”
Posted April 22, 2016
