Women of Note THU MARCH 5 @ 7 PM - You Are Invited

[ns.co...@att.net]

Women of Note

Chamber Orchestra Music New to New York

works by

Alexa Canales, Mara Gibson, Odaline de la Martinez, Keyla Orozco &

Alba Potes

performers include

Frank Cassara, marimba

Max Lifchitz, conductor

The North/South Chamber Orchestra

Thursday, March 5 @ 7 PM

DiMenna Center for Classical Music

450 West 37th Street

New York, NY 10018

FREE ADMISSION

The North/South Chamber Orchestra, led by Max Lifchitz, is excited to

continue its wonderful tradition of free-admission concerts.

Join the ensemble on Thursday evening, March 5, 2026, for an exciting

evening of music featuring captivating pieces by remarkable female

composers from Colombia, Cuba, and the United States.

We are particularly thrilled to have the talented percussionist Frank

Cassara as our featured soloist.

The concert will showcase recent works by Alexa Canales, Mara Gibson,

Odealine de la Martinez, Keyla Orozco, and Alba Potes.

The event will take place in person, starting at 7 PM and concluding

around 8:30 PM at the DiMenna Center for Classical Music, located at

450 West 37th Street, New York, NY 10018.

Seating is limited, so please email ns.co...@att.net to secure

your spot.

ABOUT THE COMPOSERS AND PERFORMERS

Alexa Canales studied at Rutgers University and Boston College. Her

compositions have been performed by musicians and ensembles across

the United States and Europe. Notable performances include those by

the SOLI Chamber Ensemble, Ensemble for These Times, Brightwork

Ensemble, Wellesley Symphony Orchestra, Helix! New Music Ensemble,

New Brunswick Chamber Orchestra, and Boston Percussion Group. One of

her significant works, Infinite, employs six instruments and explores

themes of color, rhythm, and texture. This fast-paced piece is full

of restless energy. The opening motif propels the music forward,

leading to several expressive and lyrical passages. The initial

restlessness only pauses briefly at select moments throughout the

composition.

Mara Gibson is a native of Charlottesville, VA. She graduated from

Bennington College and earned her Ph.D. from SUNY Buffalo. She has

received grants and honors from notable organizations such as the

American Composers Forum, the Banff Centre, the National Endowment

for the Arts, and the MacDowell Colony. Her compositions encompass a

wide range of media, including chamber and solo works as well as

electroacoustic music. Her music has been performed across the United

States, Europe, and China. Gibson’s Rhythmic Mosaics reflects her

interest in birds and natural phenomena. The piece addresses the 9/11

tribute lights, which unfortunately pose a threat to over 160,000

birds. This mini concerto for violin and chamber ensemble narrates

one night each year when these lights shine in four-hour intervals,

allowing the birds to survive. Silence interrupts the music four

times, corresponding to the moments when the lights are turned off

throughout the 24-hour period of the 9/11 tribute.

Odaline de la Martinez is a Cuban-American composer and conductor who

currently resides in the United Kingdom. She made history in 1984 as

the first woman to conduct at the BBC Promenade Concerts and serves

as the artistic director of the London-based Lontano Ensemble.

Throughout her career, she has conducted orchestras across the

Americas, Europe, and Australia, and has recorded albums for various

labels. Her recent work Memorias (Memories) was inspired by the

composer's childhood memories of growing up in Cuba. The first

movement Prologo (Prologue) evokes the sounds of Afro-Cuban drums,

while Atardecer en Varadero (Afternoon in the Varadero Beach)

reflects the beauty of a Cuban beach where she cherished lovely

walks. Lastly, Carnaval captures the excitement of Carnival, filled

with vibrant dancing and singing.

Keyla Orozco was born in Santiago de Cuba and studied music at the

University of the Arts in Havana. She later pursued graduate studies

at the Royal Conservatory of The Hague in the Netherlands. Orozco has

received fellowships and grants from the Guggenheim, Cintas, and

Fromm Foundations, and she completed a residency at the MacDowell

Colony. Her works have been performed throughout Latin America,

Europe, and the United States. One of her notable compositions,

Marimba de Jucaro Amarillo (Marimba of the Yellow Olive Wood Tree),

was created in memory of her father, Danilo Orozco Gonzalez, a

distinguished Cuban musicologist who taught at the University of the

Arts in Havana. Orozco explains that her family planted a Jucaro tree

(Yellow Olive Wood tree) at the site where her father's remains are

laid to rest. She chose the marimba as the most suitable instrument

to honor her father through her music, especially because his remains

rest beneath a precious Jucaro tree. She emphasizes that "the marimba

is not only crafted from wood but also produces a sound reminiscent

of wood."

Percussionist Frank Cassara will be the soloist performing this work.

A proponent of new and classic, western and world percussion music,

Cassara has premiered many works with as many diverse groups. As

percussionist for the Philip Glass Ensemble, he has performed around

the globe as well as recording Glass' music and film scores. He has

also performed around the world with Steve Reich and Musicians at

major international festivals.

Alba Potes was born in Cali, Colombia, and began composing after

moving to the United States. Her music is subtle, evocative, and

energetic, showcasing rich European influences blended with rhythms

and melodic gestures inspired by Latin American traditions. A

graduate of Temple University, she has received commissions from

various organizations, including the Ministry of Culture of Colombia,

Cantori New York, the Roger Shapiro Fund for New Music, and Denmark's

Esbjerg Ensemble. Her work, Y la brisa trae aroma de Cadmia (And the

Breeze Carries the Scent of Cadmia), is imbued with nostalgic

feelings. It was inspired by memories of how the hot days in her

native city of Cali were refreshed by the evening breezes and the

fragrance of the flowers from the cadmia tree. The composition's

first movement features a gentle intensity in its instrumental

activity. In the second movement, whispers and conversations emerge

initially, with gestures that evoke sounds from South America heard

in the cello, leading the piece to a soft conclusion.

Founded in 1980, North/South Consonance, Inc. is dedicated to

promoting music by composers from the Americas and around the world.

Its activities are supported in part by public funds from the New

York City Department of Cultural Affairs, as well as grants from the

Music Performance Fund, the BMI Foundation, the Zethus Fund, and the

generosity of numerous individual donors.

For further programming information, please visit the North/South

Consonance website @

https://www.northsouthmusic.org

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