MAY 31 NOON CONCERT
Music of Spain & Latin America
Anna Maria Mendieta, harp
Joseph Herbert, cello
Antonio Davidson-Gomez, percussion
with special guest, singer Tiano Vas
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ABOUT THE MUSICIANS
Anna Maria Mendieta, harpist, enjoys a busy career as a soloist, orchestral musician, recording artist and teacher. She has played with orchestras and chamber music groups across the country including the San Francisco Symphony, San Francisco Opera, San Francisco Ballet, Russian National Orchestra, and Russian State Ballet. She has performed for Pope Benedict XVI, President Clinton, the King and Queen of Spain; for National Hispanic Week in Washington D.C. Ms. Mendieta has been honored with concertos composed for her and she is recognized internationally as a pioneer in performing Argentine Tango music on the harp with praises by The American Symphony Orchestra League as an “exceptional and charismatic soloist”.
Joseph Hebert – cellist, choral director, and educator. He has performed his compositions locally and abroad, and toured with music groups in the U.S, Japan, Africa, and Europe, having shared the concert stage and recording studio with hundreds of artists including Carlos Santana, Stevie Wonder, Placido Domingo, Ray Charles, Jesse Norman. He is on the music faculty of California State University East Bay and is the Assistant Principal Cello of the Oakland Symphony, and has performed with the Skywalker Symphony on popular film & video recordings including the Grammy nominated CD “John Williams Conducts, John Williams the Star Wars Trilogy.”
Antonio Davidson-Gomez, percussionist, is an educator and percussionist focused on a musical dialogue among cultures. He has studied, performed and recorded in various genres with an emphasis in Afro-Latin, Middle Eastern, Mediterranean, and liturgical music. With a special interest in sacred music, he has developed several special programs. A veteran teacher of California’s K-12 classrooms (Music, and Spanish Language), Tony coordinates bilingual programs for public television in Seattle where he worked on Latin Music USA and produced Students of Change: Los del ’68. He wrote the curricula for the national touring exhibition, America Sabor: Latinos in US Popular Music.
Cristian Ardito (Tiano Vas), Pop Artist & Christian Singer. With successful tours of South America and Europe, as well as special performances for Pope Benedict XVI, Tiano Vas has delighted audiences with his music combining folk & classical styles. His albums Tiano Vas, El Latido, and Diez, as well as his popular music videos highlight his Latin Rock influences. In 2011, Tiano was invited to perform for the World Youth Day celebrations in Madrid. He was the only Argentine in history to be a part of this unique musical project concluding with an exclusive audience and concert for Pope Benedict XVI at the Vatican.
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WEDNESDAY NOON CONCERTS
The community is invited to our complimentary Wednesday Noon Concert series. As part of our ongoing mission to use the transformative power of the arts to inspire and enrich our community, we have opened our doors for the past two years, every Wednesday at Noon, and presented concerts performed by talented musicians that are free of charge to the public. These free noon performances offer listeners the opportunity to discover the beauty of music in an intimate accessible setting, while providing the community with cultural enrichment and exposure to talented performers.
Concerts are in a one-hour format and performances take place in the intimate Tivoli or Crescendo where both audience and musicians can sit in vibrant, close proximity. Musicians often stay after the performance to informally speak about the program and their upcoming concerts.
