In preparation for Tuesday’s Baker Symphonic Winds Guest Artist Concert, the university has become the location of a week-long residency for Maestro Adrian Placenti and violinist Mariana Cañardo.
After flying in from Buenos Aires, Placenti and Cañardo have already made one campus performance on Saturday for an Argentinian tango recital in McKibbin Recital Hall.
Director of Bands Frank Perez played a large part in bring this performance to Baker and believes it’s a great opportunity for the students.
Perez served as Placenti’s recording engineer for his latest CD and jokingly asked if he ever thought of writing something for a big band. In a year’s time, Placenti sent Perez his finished CD and also mentioned that he wanted to get started on his band piece.
The Baker Symphonic Winds will perform the world premiere of Placenti’s “Tango, Nunca Más” at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, May 3, in Rice Auditorium. Admission is free.
“Tango music is not commonly written for band so that’s what makes this very special,” Perez said.
Nunca Más tells the story of the struggle of the Argentinian people. The translation of “Nunca Más” is “Nevermore,” stating that nevermore will people be blind to turmoil.
Along with the world premiere of “Nunca Más,” the Baker Symphonic Winds guest artist concert will feature trombone player Michael Davidson, soprano Marci Ziegler and clarinetist J.D. Parr. There will also be performances from the BU Dixie Kats and the BU Trombone Choir.
Placenti and Cañardo have also used their residency to assist musicians at Baker University, including pianists and violinists. Baker musicians have also done their part to help the “Nunca Más” piece grow.
“It’s very rare for students to be able to work directly with the composer and especially have input like several of our students have made suggestions to the piece,” Perez said. “So it’s become a very organic process.”