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oung superstar virtuoso of the bandoneón, JP Jofre Romari-on will be one of the highlights of the June 9 Opening Night

of the 2012 Piano Performance Museum Festival performing with Fusion Bande, directed from the piano by Kenneth Hamrick. The concert, titled “Summertime Living: Easy, Clever and Fun,” also includes songs by Schubert, William Grant Still and Cole Porter performed by baritone crooner Anthony Turner, with new chore-ographies by the Cherylyn Lavagnino Dance Ensemble.

Hailing from Buenos Aires, where he studied classical perfor-mance and composition in the National Conservatory, JP earned Argentina’s highly competitive National Arts Grant to study with Julio Pane, the legendary player of Astor Piazzolla’s Sextet. He is widely acknowledged both as one of the true young masters of his instrument and as a composer, gaining attention of the international press and captivating audiences, such as at the recent Heineken Jazz Festival in Puerto Rico where he played alongside

Squeezebox Tangos,Singing Schubert,Pianos Dancing with the Stars

2012 Piano Performance Museum Festival Celebrates Opening Night on June 9

“JP Jofre has transformed himself into a bandoneon player of international reach.”

—Diario de Cuyo (Argentina)

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May 2012 • GUIDE 7

What in the World is a Bandoneón?The bandoneón is a type of concertina (related in concept to the accordion), particularly popular in Argentina. It plays an essential role in the typical tango orchestra with piano and strings. Surprisingly, it was originally invented by a German instrument dealer, Heinrich Band (1821–1860) for accom-panying liturgical church music as a substitute for the pipe organ, such as for Gregorian chant. German sailors and Ital-ian seasonal workers and immigrants brought the instrument with them to Argentina in the late 19th century, where it was incorporated into the local music, particularly the tango.

Paquito D’Rivera. He also performs his own works with orchestras such as the National Symphony Orchestra of San Juan Argentina, Westchester Jazz Orchestra, Manhattan Camerata, Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, Paquito D’Rivera Sextet, and many others around the world. The June 9 performance features JP in a rare performance of Schubert’s E-flat Trio (with cello and piano) performed with a new choreography by Ms. Lavagnino (Chair of the Dance Department at NYU: Tisch School of the Arts), and also selections of his own music alongside Piazzolla’s rapturous 1982 chamber work “Obliv-ion.” He then joins the band for the evening’s finale, a robust song and dance recreation of soulful scenes from St. Louis Woman, the 1946 musical by Harold Arlen and Johnny Mercer based upon the novel God Sends Sunday by African-American writer Arna Bon-temps. The June 9 concert, which starts at 8 pm, will be held in the Doctorow Center for the Arts, Main Street, Hunter. Advance tickets are strongly suggested. Tickets purchased ahead are $23; $18 seniors; $7 students. Tickets purchased at the door are $27; $21 seniors; $7 students. A Jazz-Age cocktail reception follows in the Piano Performance Museum, featuring David Peskin playing a Steinway 1925 piano. Tickets are $10. Funds will support Piano Performance Museum visits from Hunter-Tannersville students to explore music, history, and culture through their experience of the historic pianos. For more information or to purchase tickets, please visit www.catskillmtn.org or call 518 263 2063.