News Releases

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.

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Alma College trustees have adopted a master plan that provides a direction and set of priorities for the development of the physical campus. Key components include an emphasis on advanced and interactive learning, prioritized building renovations, housing initiatives that accommodate enrollment growth, a reconfiguration of parking lots and green spaces, and campus growth plans linked to the Alma downtown business environment.

 

Faculty Profile

Dr. Edward Lorenz

Dr. Edward Lorenz
Departments: History, Political Science

Professor Lorenz teaches in the history and political science departments, directs the Public Affairs Institute, and teaches courses in support of the Environmental Studies and Public Health programs.