Levine Presents 2020-21

Levine is committed to building new audiences for music by offering outstanding performances, master classes, and other musical events free-of-charge. This season of Levine Presents is offered free of charge thanks to the generosity of many donors. Please consider making a gift to support these programs.

Program

Download a PDF of the program.

NATURAL COMPROMISATION
Compoosed by Yana Nikol

LILYANO MOME / Bulgarian folk song
Arr. Yana Nikol

KANGDING QINGGE / “Kangding Love Song” / Chinese folk song
Arr. Cristian Perez and Yana Nikol

PAJARO CAMPANA / Paraguayan folk song
Composed by Félix Pérez Cardozo
Arr. Cristian Perez and Yana Nikol

43,000
Composed by Cristian Perez

ABET ABET
Composed by Asnakech Worku
Arr. Cristian Perez

NAN PING WAN ZHONG / “The Evening Bell of Nan Ping”
Composed by Wang Fuling
Arr. Cristian Perez

EL CONDOR PASA
Composed by Daniel Alomía Robles
Arr. Cristian Perez

I SHALL SING
Music and Lyrics by Van Morrison
Arr. Cristian Perez and Yana Nikol

About the Artists

MANNY ARCINIEGA

Levine Faculty Artist Manny Arciniega received his undergraduate degree in Music Education and Theory Composition from Texas Christian University and a Master of Arts degree in Timpani and Percussion Performance from the Royal Academy of Music in London. He has appeared with the London Sinfonietta, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, Symphony Orchestra of India, and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra with Dame Evelyn Glennie. Skilled in many areas of percussion, Manny’s performance opportunities vary from playing buckets on the Netflix Original TV Series House of Card (SE2Ep1) to appearing with World Renown Koto player Masayo Ishiguro and master shakuhachi player John Kaizan Neptune. Musical theatre credits include a variety of award winning productions in the Washington DC area, including performances at the Olney Theatre Center, Constellation Theatre Company, Arena Stage and Keegan Theatre to name a few. Manny has taught publicly and privately in the US and abroad and is currently on Percussion Faculty at Levine Music in Washington DC and works regularly with the Education Programs at the Kreeger Museum in Georgetown.

CHAO TIAN

A leading performer on the Chinese dulcimer, Chao Tian received her master’s degree in musical performance in 2010. Since then, she has toured throughout the world as leader of the Always Folk Ensemble, bringing her virtuosic talent on the dulcimer to people in more than 30 different countries. In addition to performing, Tian lectures at Beijing Language and Culture University and is a passionate advocate for the promotion and preservation of Chinese traditional music. Through her work, she strives to create dialogues between Chinese traditional music and music from the rest of the world.

CRISTIAN PEREZ

Argentine born guitarist/composer Cristian Perez weaves together genres from throughout the world to reveal the universality of music. With a strong foundation in classical, jazz and South American music, Cristian crafts a singular voice (both on his instrument and in compositions) rich in sensitivity and nuance, that freely explores the possibilities of music as an art form. His debut album “Anima Mundi” has received numerous reviews throughout the world and has reached #13 in the CMJ World Music charts in the USA. Former Artist in Residence at Strathmore Music Center, Cristian has been featured on Vintage Guitar Magazine. His music has taken him to China, Canada, Dominican Republic, Bulgaria, South Korea, Bolivia, and he continues to be in high demand with a busy performing schedule

YANA NIKOL

Expanding upon her extensive classical training, Bulgarian flutist, arranger and composer Yana Nikol passionately embraces the diverse folk music styles of different cultures. In 2018 Yana created Project Locréa – a musical alliance with varying instrumentation that introduces audiences to the different musical traditions of the world seen through the lenses of artistic creativity. Combining traditional instruments (Chinese dulcimer, Peruvian flutes) with western classical (flute, guitar) and jazz instruments (bass, drums), the project’s focus is on bringing better understanding and deeper connection between cultures. As a flutist Yana is an active freelance musician in the Washington D.C. area sharing her musical prowess as a participant in various projects and ensembles that incorporate a vast array of musical genres. Recent performance venues include the Mansion at Strathmore, the Kennedy Center Millenium Stage, Blues Alley, George Mason University Center for the Arts, Bethesda Blues and Jazz Supper Club and Twins Jazz club.

JUAN CAYRAMPOMA

Juan Cayrampoma is a Peruvian musician from Lima, Peru. He is a member of the group RAYMI which performs music deeply rooted in the music of the Andes (Puno). A self taught musician, Juan is proficient in Zampoñas, Quenas, Mosceños and Tarkas instrumentation. Mainly focused on the Andean wind instruments he also plays guitar, charango and Saxophone (Alto). Juan’s musical influences are based on several genders such as: Rock: Queen, Aerosmith, The Beatles, Jethro Tull, Soda Stereo etc. Andean music: Los K’jarkas, Illapu, Rumillajta, Los Jaivas, Kalamarka, etc. Latin Jazz: Arturo Sandoval, Gato Barbieri, Eddie Palmieri, etc..

BENJAMIN RIKHOFF

Benjamin (Ben) Rikhoff is a professional bassist from the DMV. He graduated from George Mason University in 2019 with a Bachelors degree in Jazz Studies, and plays in numerous bands and creative projects in the area. These include The Jonny Grave Trio (Roots music, Blues, Rock) The Union Band (R&B, Hip-hop) Alfred Yun Quartet (Modern Korean inspired jazz) Kemi Adegoroye band (Pop, Jazz, R&B) Tyler Fitzpatrick trio (Jazz) The Hot Lanes Big Band (Big band jazz) The Riverland Collective (Americana, Folk, Soul) From jazz and funk, to folk, blues, and hip-hop Ben loves exploring every style of music he comes across. Ben is always trying to push his limits as a musician, and is always trying to experiment with new techniques, approaches to his instruments and to music.

MUNIT MESFIN

Munit Mesfin is a singer-songwriter born in Ethiopia and raised around the world. She is passionate about promoting Ethiopia’s arts and culture. Since joining the music world during the Ethiopian Millennium, Munit has performed with some of Ethiopia’s best Ethio-jazz musicians and been on the same stage as some of Ethiopia’s most popular artists, including Aster Aweke, Teddy Afro and Tewodros Taddesse. She has also performed many shows in the US with Grammy nominated artist, Wayna Wondwossen and looks forward to more collaborations in the future! She has been reviewed and interviewed by Ethiopia’s major news outlets, the Voice of America, BBC, Spanish, South African and German media.

MARTY RISEMBERG

An active drummer in the Northern Virginia/Washington DC area and abroad Marty Risemberg enjoys a diverse range of performance and educational opportunities. Marty has had the privilege of studying with many acclaimed musicians including Joe McCarthy, Grammy-Award winning bandleader and educator.

PROJECT LOCREA

Project Locrea is a global fusion ensemble dedicated to creating and performing original compositions and contemporary arrangements inspired by folk music of different countries. Combining sound and instrumentation of world folk traditions with classical, jazz and contemporary music conventions, the project’s focus is to bring a better understanding and deeper connection between cultures in current days.