Monday, April 7, 2025

Music of the Americas: Duos and Solos

A brass-bass Brazilian duo, strings from Argentina and Colombia, and the video of Canadian baritone Jonathon Adams' 2025 concert in New York.

Americas Society is your home for exploring the culture and current affairs of Latin America, the Caribbean, and Canada. Become a member today and receive exclusive benefits, while also joining us in our mission to increase awareness of the Americas and the ties that bind our nations together.

This week, En Casa features videos by the Brazilian duo of brothers Sidiel and Sidmar Vieira, Colombian tiple player Diego Bahamón, and Argentine guitarist Juan Pablo Esmok Lew. Plus, we share the concert video of Canadian baritone Jonathon Adams recorded at 680 Park Avenue in February.

En Casa: 2vieira

Tuesday, April 29, 10 am

2vieira is a trumpet-acoustic bass duo formed by brothers Sidmar and Sidiel Vieira which draws upon the music they have heard since they were young, and which still echoes in their ears. Both members perform and compose, creating a light atmosphere and connecting their elders' music to modern musicality.

From São Paulo, they sent us this version of Sidiel's "Cara."

En Casa: Diego Bahamón

Wednesday, April 30, 10 am

With over 20 years of experience playing the twelve-string Colombian tiple, Diego Bahamón has given numerous concerts, workshops, and tours throughout the world at prestigious venues including the Teatro Mayor Julio Mario Santo Domingo, Biblioteca Luis Ángel Arango in Bogotá, Teatro Teresa Carreño in Caracas, Mussorgsky Conservatory Auditorium in Yekaterinburg, and Teatro Solís in Montevideo, among others.

Diego has won several Colombian Andean music performance competitions, such as the Mono Núñez Festival, as well as awards from the Colombian Ministry of Culture and Bogotá's Instituto Distrital de las Artes. In 2016, he was selected to participate in OneBeat, a residency and musical tour that brings prominent musicians from around the world to the United States. In 2019, he served as artistic director of OneBeat Colombia, the first Latin American version of this program.

In 2023, he released his first solo album, Múltiple, which includes nine instrumental works and offers an innovative look at the world of the Colombian tiple. Most of the pieces were commissioned from leading Latin American composers. He is currently a member of the instrumental trio Itinerante and teaches tiple at the Universidad Sergio Arboleda and the Universidad Distrital Francisco José de Caldas.

"Rahel" is part of the La Peregrina suite by Sebastián Villanueva. The piece is inspired by the Chocó porro, creating a meeting between the mountain, the river, tradition, and the avant-garde.

En Casa: Juan Pablo Esmok Lew

Thursday, May 1, 10 am

Argentine guitarist Juan Pablo Esmok Lew graduated from the Conservatorio Manuel de Falla in Buenos Aires and has developed an international career. He released his debut album, Significativo, in 2002, including classic works and his own arrangements of folklore classics. He performs frequently with musicians working in different genres, from fado with Karina Beorlegui, to klezmer with Oy Vei, among others. His latest release is Color a nuevo, recorded in collaboration with guitarist Federico D'Attelis.

From Buenos Aires, he sent us several solo guitar videos. Today we share his original composition "Donde quiera que estés."

Funders

The MetLife Foundation Music of the Americas concert series is made possible by the generous support of Presenting Sponsor MetLife Foundation.

The 2024–2025 series is also supported, in part, by the Howard Gilman Foundation, Augustine Foundation, Fan Fox and Leslie R. Samuels Foundation, New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council, New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature, Mex-Am Cultural Foundation, Alice M. Ditson Fund of Columbia University, Amphion Foundation, and Mid Atlantic Arts.