September 13, 2007
 WHERE: Temple University Ambler, 580 Meetinghouse Road, Learning Center Auditorium
WHEN: Wednesday, October 3, 7:30 p.m.
One of the best ways to learn about a culture is to experience it first hand, especially if that experience involves all five senses.
Temple University Ambler will share a celebration of Latino culture with its faculty, staff, students, and the public starting with a Latino Heritage Month Kick-off event, Wednesday, October 3, at 7:30 p.m., in the Learning Center Auditorium. The event is free and open to the public.
Joining the celebration is acclaimed ensemble Latin Fiesta, led by award-winning performers Maria del Pico Taylor, of Temple’s Boyer School of Music and Dance, and Raymond Taylor.
“Temple is an exceptionally diverse campus. This special program will begin our celebration of Latino heritage, which acknowledges and highlights the culture and contributions of the Hispanic population,” said Dr. Wanda Lewis-Campbell, Assistant Dean for Student Life. “Latin Fiesta will display a wide variety of music, instrumentation, and dance, including Flamenco, during an interactive program that will get the audience up out of the seats, involved, and excited. We are proud to support and highlight the diverse Latino cultures that exist at Temple.”
Latin Fiesta is comprised of Maria del Pico Taylor on piano, Raymond Taylor on violin, Vania Taylor as lead vocalist, Cynthia Folio, flute, Ron Howerton, Tom Lowery and Cuco Aponte on Latin percussion, Steve Beskrone on bass, and Liliana Ruiz Davis, a Latin/Flamenco dancer. The Philadelphia-based Latin Fiesta ensemble is a pioneer in the presentation of “crossover concerts.”
“The unorthodox composition of this ensemble lends itself to exciting and versatile programming,” according to the group. “Rarely does one hear a crossover concert that shifts from a hot salsa tune to a classical work by Albeniz, and then incorporates a contemporary Latin version of a Baroque Concerto Grosso, or a recent commissioned piece by Oscar Hernandez, Carlos Franzetti, Arturo O’Farrill or Tania Leon, ending with the audience rising out of their seats to join in an Afro-Cuban conga line.”
Latin Fiesta performs nationwide in a variety of venues ranging from school assemblies and residencies to concert halls, festivals, and appearances as soloists with symphony orchestras. Their performances have included the Opening Celebrations of the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, the Welcome America Festival on the Parkway, Repertorio Espanol in New York, a pre-concert encounter with the Philadelphia Orchestra at the Academy of Music, the Caribbean Festival at Penns Landing, and guest appearances with The Philadelphia Classical Symphony, Delaware Symphony, among many others.
The Latin Fiesta performance is among the first programs offered in Temple University Ambler’s new Cultural Affairs Series, which includes a series of diverse lectures, concerts, and cultural performances in the 300-seat Learning Center Auditorium. The new auditorium has provided new opportunities to offer cultural, educational, and entertaining events for students, faculty, and the surrounding community.
“The Temple University Ambler Cultural Affairs Series is intended to enrich the range and depth of the cultural experiences of Temple students and, at the same time, open our doors to our neighbors in the surrounding communities,” said Temple University Dean Dr. James W. Hilty. “Our goal is to connect Temple Ambler more directly to the community by sharing our cultural and educational resources. In this way we hope to contribute to the intellectual and cultural dialogue, to foster a larger sense of mutual interest, and to enliven and enrich our daily lives.”
The October 3 Latino Heritage Month Kick-off event is hosted by the Office of Student Life. For more information on Latino Heritage Month events and programs, call the Office of Student Life at 267-468-8424.
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