Sí Se Puede features new works that reflect on the Mexican and Mexican-American experience performed by The Victory Players. The six compositions commissioned by The Massachusetts International Festival of the Arts explore everything from personal recollections to ancient myths.
Sí Se Puede will be broadcast on Classical NEPM on Sunday, May 26 at 7PM.
The Victory Players are:
Nathan Ben-Yehuda, piano
Clare Monfredo, cello
Giovanni Pérez, flute
Robert Rocheteau, percussion
Eric Schultz, clarinet
Samuel Vargas, violin
Tianhui Ng, Music Director
The Composers are:
Jose Andrés Ballesteros is a composer and educator based in Boston. A graduate of Harvard, he describes himself as a poly-stylist whose work is centered in classical music, but includes a variety of styles, from Latin music to electronics and theater. He often creates work that engages with community organizations and youth around social issues.
Jose's composition for Sí Se Puede is Coyolxauhqui.
Cody Criswell-Badillo is a composer, percussionist and guitarist. He grew-up in rural southwestern Oklahoma and spent ten years roughnecking in the oil fields of Texas and the Midwest. A graduate of the Peabody Conservatory and the University of Oklahoma, his music deals with the American Southwest, the working class, rural poverty and his Tejano and indigenous Mexican heritage.
Cody's composition for Sí Se Puede is Sobre las Olas (Over the Waves).
Marina Lopez is a native of Mexico City, now living in Pittsburgh. She has a deep interest in exploring the psychological, musical and physical roots of her heritage. Marina is a graduate of Duquesne and Carnegie Mellon.
Marina's composition for Sí Se Puede is Nieve (Snow).
Felipe Santiago is a resident of Mexico, who has studied at The Center for Research and Musical Studies in Mexico, the Royal School of Music in London and the Rotterdam Conservatory in the Netherlands. Felipe’s work often combines chamber music with rock instruments, electronics and multi-media. Currently, he is the artist in residence at the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence Institute in California where he is working on projects related to art, science and space technology.
Felipe's composition for Sí Se Puede is Adíos Kunsthaus.
Jorge Sosa is a Mexican-American composer currently living in New York. Jorge works in a variety of styles and media from electronic music to opera. His work often incorporates elements of folk and world music, Afro-Latin rhythms and jazz harmonies. In 2019, Jorge was commissioned by the Albany Symphony to write “I Dissent” based on three dissenting Supreme Court decisions by Justice Sonia Sotomayor.
Jorge's composition for Sí Se Puede is Rocola (Jukebox).
Leaha Maria Vilarreal started her artistic life as a singer and pianist, an experience which led to her interest in composition. She has studied at University of California, San Diego; New York University and is currently pursuing a doctorate at University of Southern California.
Leah's composition for Sí Se Pude is Maravillosas (Wonderful).
Sí Se Puede was recorded at Holyoke Media in June 2023 by Alan Mattes.
Special thanks to the Massachusetts International Festival of the Arts:
Don Sanders, Executive Artistic Director
Angela M. Santiago, Ensemble Manager
Sí Se Puede was produced for Classical NEPM by John Voci.