Fiesta is devoted to Latino concert music and presents artistically significant compositions from Latin America, Spain and Portugal to listeners. The creative force behind this series is Elbio Barilari, an acclaimed composer, musician, performer and professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago. The Uruguayan-born Barilari says, "Fiesta features the hottest Latin-American music from the sixteenth to the twenty-first centuries."
Colonial Music from Brazil: Thousands of churches performed live music every week and the court of Rio de Janeiro also had a very active musical scene. Fiesta presents rarely heard Brazilian musical treasures of these ceremonies.
Classical Works of Argentinian Composer Astor Piazzolla: Astor Piazzolla was one of the founders of "new tango," Fiesta will showcase a selection of his classical compositions including his Tangazo for Orchestra and Tango No. 2.
Early 20th Century Works from Argentina: A powerhouse of Latin American classical music, Argentina boasts about having some of the most skilled composers of the 20th century. We’ll hear music from Carlos Lopez Buchardo, Julian Aguirre, and Carlos Guastavino.