March Is Music 2024

Saturday, March 2, 7PM – RADIO PIRATA (Rock Pop Latino) A historic musical reunion, directly from Puerto Rico! Precursors of the new wave of Latin Rock in the Caribbean, the esteemed Radio Pirata emerged in 1990, founded by composer Rucco Gandía, who also serves as bassist and lead singer of the group, features Rafael Carrasquillo on keyboards, Roberto Torres on guitar, and Nitayno Arayoán González on drums. The band achieved awards for Best Local Record and Best Rock Band, and first climbed the music charts with their smash hit “El Loco.” They went on to conquer audiences in Central and South America, establishing themselves as a force to reckon. GET TICKETS

Sunday, March 3, 3PM – RICHARLITA YOU (Classical | Bronx Piano Sundays) Taiwanese pianist Xin-Hua Richarlita You is pursuing her career as a soloist, chamber musician, and music educator. As a soloist, Richarlita has performed in remarkable concert venues including National Concert Hall in Taipei, Jordan Hall in Boston, Hertz Hall in Berkeley, and Peter Jay Sharp Theater at Lincoln Center in New York City. As a chamber musician, she has appeared in important concert series such as ChamberFest at Lincoln Center in New York, NEC Complete Ravel Works concert series in Boston, and Chamber Music Collectives in Berkeley. RSVP

Saturday, March 9, 7PM – PEOPLE OF EARTH (Latin Fusion) Join People of Earth (PoE), NYC’s most exciting up-and-coming band on a musical journey that blends Cuban timba music with American hip hop and Soul, Puerto Rican Plena, Brazilian MPB, and much more! Be prepared to dance and sing along to PoE’s infectious rhythms. A global music collective quickly emerging as one of the United State’s most exciting Latin and tropical bands—a 13-piece supergroup boasting some of the best musicians anywhere today. PoE’s self-titled debut album was released in 2023 on Truth and Revolution Records. GET TICKETS

Sunday, March 10, 3PM – SYLVIA JIANG (Classical | Bronx Piano Sundays) Sylvia Jiang is a pianist from New Zealand inducted as a member of the Astral Artists roster after being named winner in their 2023 Competition. A graduate of the Juilliard School, she has been hailed by critics as a “gifted young pianist of genuine substance” and “New Zealand’s most notable young emerging pianist.” Sylvia’s performances have been featured on BBC News, TV3, ABC Australia, and more. She has won numerous top prizes at national and international competitions including the prestigious Hastings International and Wallace National Piano Competitions. RSVP

Saturday, March 16, 7PM – ALEX “APOLO” AYALA’s BIG BAND (Afro Puerto Rican Jazz) Coming from the successes of his bomba-jazz fusion album, The Bámbula Project, gifted bassist, composer, and arranger Alex “Apolo” Ayala furthers his musical explorations with hgis new Afro Puerto Rican Big Band concept: 25 seasoned musicians versed in both traditional Puerto Rican music and contemporary Latin jazz idioms. Together, they deliver a mighty musical extravaganza of strings, horns, percussion, and keys, paying loving tribute to the giants who paved the way, and installing a soulful artistic statement all their own! GET TICKETS

Sunday, March 17, 3PM – YIYING NIU (Classical | Bronx Piano Sundays) Pianist Yiying Niu was born in Anyang, China, and has performed extensively in China, the United States, and throughout Europe. An active soloist, Yiying won the prestigious Thousand Islands International Piano Competition in 2022. She was “Best Performance on Commissioned Work” prize winner at the 9th New York International Piano Competition and played in the Stecher and Horowitz Young Artists Series. She is recipient of the Helen Cohn Award for Outstanding Work in Chamber Music as a Pianist. Yiying studied at the Juilliard School under the tutelage of Julian Martin. RSVP

Saturday, March 23, 7PM – PETE RODRÍGUEZ (Latin Jazz) The Latin Side of Pete Rodríguez—special homecoming concert! Trumpet player, vocalist and percussionist, Pete Rodríguez carries the bloodline of Nuyorican salsa royalty as he takes the tradition of Afro-Cuban jazz to new and adventurous places. Son of renowned salsero Pete “El Conde” Rodríguez and godson of Fania Records bandleader Johnny Pacheco, the younger Rodríguez cut his teeth playing with some of the greatest names in Latin music. Now a band-leader, Rodriguez takes his brand of Afro-Cuban jazz in exciting new directions. With five albums to his credit, critics hail him as “instrumentally ferocious,” “texturally rich,” and “profoundly intimate” (Downbeat).  GET TICKETS

Sunday, March 24, 3PM – OLGA VINOKUR (Classical | Bronx Piano Sundays) The New York Times describes her playing as “an exquisite performance” and BBC magazine calls her “superlative.” Olga Vinokur has appeared in US and internationally as recitalist, with orchestra and chamber musician in major venues including Carnegie Hall, Alice Tully Hall, Merkin Hall, Town Hall in New York, Rudolfinum’s Dvorak Hall and Municipal House’s Smetana Hall in Prague, and more. She was a featured artist in the London Chamber Music Society, EuroArts Festival in Prague, Prague Chamber Music Society, Woodstock Mozart Festival in USA, Havana Piano Festival in Cuba, and many others.  RSVP

Saturday, March 30, 7PM – GROOVE COLLECTIVE (Jazz Funk) New York City’s GRAMMY nominated Groove Collective transcends musical categories with one goal in mind: to move listeners’ minds and feet. For more than 20 years, this legendary group of musicians has improvised and refined the stylistic cross-pollination of funk, jazz, house, Latin, hip hop, rock and every party-inducing sound in between. The pioneering members of Groove Collective are fluent in the international language of “groove.” In-the-pocket drum and bass, colorful and vibrant horns, flavors of world percussion and intricate harmony all fuse together seamlessly under their watch. Groove Collective’s innovative and refined sound is unparalleled. They are the masters of multi-hued funk. Billboard Magazine says that they “erase musical borders” and are “jazz/funk fusion at its most sublime.” GET TICKETS

MARCH IS MUSIC / Building on a commitment to present artists of the highest caliber in The Bronx, this multi-genre series showcases the range and vitality of today’s varied musical cultures. Curated by seasoned Latinx artists, series concerts and dialogues draw links between music, dance, and popular culture, highlight ruptures and continuities in form and content, and make room for intercultural fusion and exchange. Chief curators: Alvan Colón Lespier, Associate Artistic Director, and Desmar Guevara, Resident Composer and Musical Director.

BRONX PIANO SUNDAYS / During the month of March, this subseries shines a spotlight on one of Pregones/PRTT’s prized possessions: a Steinway & Sons grand piano. Stellar pianists are invited to perform works of all styles and eras on this magnificent concert hall instrument. Showtime is 3PM and admission is always FREE.

This program is made possible, in part, with public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, in partnership with the City Council, and the New York State Council on the Arts, with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature. For a full list of our funders, please visit pregonesprtt.org/support/funders.

PREGONES THEATER
575 Walton Avenue (b/w 149 & 150 Streets)
The Bronx, NY 10451

Subway #2, 4, 5 to 149 Street & Grand Concourse
We’re just one short block away from the station!

For more information call us at 718-585-1202.