Traditional and contemporary tango music in concert, combining classical, jazz, Afro rhythms, Argentine folklore, and enhanced physicality; presented Friday October 21 from 7 to 9 p,m. at Sebastopol Center for the Arts for the first time by “Las Almas” (“The Souls”), three women of international backgrounds with classical training in the United States and advanced study at La Orquesta Escuela de Tango Emilio Balcarce, the most prestigious tango orchestra school in Buenos Aires. Korean-born pianist Sumi Lee now of San Francisco, Panama-born bandoneon (concertina/accordion) player Heyni Solera from Washington, D.C., and Chinese-American violinist Teagan Faran from New York entertain, educate, and affirm diversity in professional opportunities for women in the impassioned tango genre. Introductory lecture about tango history and women’s space in the genre half hour prior to concert. The Sebastopol presentation will be a concert, not a “milonga” dance party, for full attention to the underlying music.
Directions to Sebastopol: In the Sonoma County "Wine Country" west of Santa Rosa and east of Bodega Bay. North on Highway 101 from San Francisco, west on Highway 12 at Santa Rosa, proceed through central Sebastopol, left at Wells Fargo Bank onto South High Street, one block to the Veterans Memorial Building and Sebastopol Center for the Arts. Free Parking on site and in free city lot.
Sumi Lee’s piano foundation, Teagan Faran’s slashing and soaring violin, and Heyni Solera’s merry bandoneon characterize Las Almas. The Sebastopol concert is the trio’s first venture to Sonoma County, as part of their effort to expand tango’s geographic reach beyond urban areas. Sumi Lee has performed with Bay Area opera companies and K-8 school programs; at the San Francisco International Arts Festival; produces her own contemporary tango music, and has toured tango across the United States, Canada, and to South Korea. Heyni Solera has extended the bandoneon into chamber music settings, brought tango into musical theater cabaret presentations, and hosts a YouTube series “Today’s Tango with Heyni” of music and interviews with performers. Teagan Faran studied in Argentina on a Fulbright grant; explored fusion of tango, jazz, and classical music there; and has performed with philharmonic orchestras, Jazz at Lincoln Center, and in jazz singer Dee Dee Bridgewater’s Woodshed Network.