Flute and Guitar Duo Presents ‘The History of the Tango’
Folias, a flute and guitar duo, presents “The History of the Tango” at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 9 in Jones Auditorium at Alma College.
The
recital, presented by the Alma College Music Department, includes a
demonstration of dance steps along with a look at the evolution of the
tango. Admission is free and open to the public. This event also is
sponsored in part by The Loraine and Melinese Reuter Foundation,
through the Comerica Charitable Services Group.
The duo also will present a master class with Alma College students at
11:30 a.m. Feb. 15 and perform with the Alma Symphony Orchestra at 8
p.m. Saturday, Feb. 17 and 3 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 18 in the Remick
Heritage Center. Call (989) 463-7304 for ASO ticket information.
The members of Folias — Carmen Maret and Andrew Bergeron — are trained
in classical, jazz and tango and perform and compose a range of music
including contemporary works written for the duo.
Recording for the Blue Griffin label, the duo’s most recent compact disc, Marufo Vega,
features the world premiere of “Despoblado Suite,” arrangements of
Argentine tangos, and two Villa-Lobos compositions arranged by Maret
and Bergeron.
The performers often have based their flute and guitar compositions,
such as their 2006 composition “Lake Superior Suite,” on hiking and
backpacking experiences. These works are part of an ongoing effort to
bring awareness about issues dealing with environmental quality and
preservation throughout the United States and Canada. “Lake Superior
Suite” served as a feature piece for Folias’ three-week tour around
Lake Superior in June 2006, which also was a fundraiser for the Great
Lakes Division of the Nature Conservancy.
Based in mid-Michigan, Maret and Bergeron are both tango dancers and
instructors in the Grand Rapids area. They teach weekly tango lessons
and perform tango music for dancers at milongas, or tango dances,
throughout the country.
Originally from Holland, Michigan, Bergeron splits his creative efforts
between composition and performance. During his master’s degree in
composition at Michigan State University, Bergeron composed music for a
variety of ensembles including solo guitar, guitar and flute,
electro-acoustic music and chamber music. He received undergraduate
degrees from Grand Valley State University and has performed solo
guitar recitals throughout mid-Michigan before co-founding Folias.
Bergeron is a member of the Grand Rapids Guitar Quartet and founded the
Suzuki guitar department at Grand Rapids Community College. He is a
guitar instructor at Grand Rapids Community College and at Aquinas
College.
As a flutist, dancer and tango scholar, Maret merges music performance
with music ethnography. She studied tango as an ethnomusicology
master’s student at Michigan State University and also received her
bachelor of music in flute performance from the University of
Missouri-Kansas City along with her master of music in flute
performance from MSU. She teaches Suzuki flute at Grand Rapids
Community College.
Posted: Fri, January 26th, 2007 at 9:42AM
