White Buffalo III
 
 
An Evening of Cuban Music and Poetry November 30, 2006 Program READINGS Oscar Hijuelos and Lori Marie Carlson: Selections from “Bitter Sugar/Caña Quemada” (Free Press) Mirta Ojito: Selection from “Finding Mañana :A Memoir of a Cuban Exodus” (Penguin Press, 2005) MUSIC PROGRAM Mirta Gomez, piano Thelma Ithier-Sterling, soprano Pedro Pinyol, violin Two Cuban Contradanses : Los ojos de Pepa Manuel Saumell (1817-1870) La Tedezco Two Cuban Dances : Adios a Cuba Ignacio Cervantes (1847-1905) Mirta Gomez, piano Cortesana Ignacio Cervantes Pedro Pinyol, violin Mirta Gomez, piano La bella cubana Jose White (1836-1918) Pedro Pinyol, violin Mirta Gomez, piano Un reve Jose D. Brindis de Salas (1852-1911) Pedro Pinyol, violin Mirta Gomez, piano El Mambi Luis Casas Romero (1882-1950) Thelma Ithier - Sterling, soprano Mirta Gomez, piano Ogguere Gilberto Valdes (1905- ?) (an old afro-cuban lullaby) Thelma Ithier - Sterling, soprano Mirta Gomez, piano Doreya E. Sanchez de Fuentes (1874-1944) Thelma Ithier - Sterling, soprano Mirta Gomez, piano Punto Guacanayara Julian Orbon (1925-1991) Thelma Ithier - Sterling, soprano Mirta Gomez, piano Zamacueca Jose White La Jota Aragonesa Pedro Pinyol, violin Mirta Gomez, piano
Above: Live drawings of the evening by one of our guests, illustrator Edel Rodriguez... Click here to view his blog entry on attending White Buffalohttp://www.drawger.com/edel/?section=comments&article_id=1978shapeimage_5_link_0
Mirta Ojito and Oscar Hijuelos. Photo by Ana Maria Alvarez 121 ABOUT THE ARTISTS Mirta Ojito Throughout her career Ms.Ojito has received several awards, including the American Society of Newspaper Editor's writing award for best foreign reporting in 1999 for a series of articles about life in Cuba, and a shared Pulitzer for national reporting in 2001 for a New York Times series of articles about race in America. Her work has been included in several anthologies including To Mend the World: Women Reflect on 9/11 (White Pine Press, 2002), Written into History: Pulitzer Prize Reporting of the Twentieth Century from The New York Times (Henry Holt and Co., 2001), By Heart/De Memoria (Temple University Press, 2003), and How Race is Lived in America (Times Books/Henry Holt and Co., 2001). Ms. Ojito, who was born in Cuba, came to the United States in the 1980 Mariel boatlift when she was 16. Her first book, Finding Mañana: A Memoir of a Cuban Exodus, was published last year by The Penguin Press. In January of this year, she joined the full time faculty of the Graduate School of Journalism at Columbia University as a visiting professor. Oscar Hijuelos Born in 1951, Oscar Hijuelos is the first Hispanic American novelist to win the Pulitzer Prize for fiction for his 1989 novel The Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love. Hijuelos's first novel examines the life of a Cuban immigrant family in America during the 1940s. In 1989, Hijuelos published his second novel, The Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love. Described by Thomas Mallon in The New York Times as "a propulsive ballad of Cuban-American fraternal machismo," garnered significant praise from reviewers; Michiko Kakutani of The New York Times found it to be "street-smart and lyrical, impassioned and reflective." The novel was nominated for a National Book Critics Circle Award in 1989, as well as the National Book Award from the National Book Foundation. One year later, the work earned Hijuelos the Pulitzer Prize for fiction. Lori Marie Carlson Lori Marie Carlson was born in Jamestown, New York. She holds an M.A. in Hispanic Literature from Indiana University and has taught at several universities. Carlson is also the author of seven books for young adults, including the acclaimed Cool Salsa. The Sunday Tertulia is her first novel. She lives in New York City. 
 Mirta Gomez A graduate of f the Juilliard School , Mirta Gomez has performed in major Concert Halls: Grand Theatre in Geneva, Switzerland; Hochschule fur Musik “Hanns Eisler” in Berlin, Germany; Aurora Theater in Juneau, Alaska; Sala “Lopez – Buchardo” in Buenos Aires, Argentina; Chan Center in Vancouver, Canada; Tel - Hai Festival Concert Hall in Israel; United Nations, Merkin Hall, Town Hall, and most recently Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall in New York City. Ms. Gomez's teaching career at Institutions such as Tulane University, New Orleans; State University of Portland, Oregon; Tulsa University, Tulsa, Oklahoma; Temple University, Philadelphia, Penn; and the Graduate Center City University of New York. Mirta Gomez has been included in the 2005 edition of “Who's Who in America.” Ms. Gomez is a Steinway Artist. Pedro Pinyol, violinist Mr. Pinyol was the winner of the Bronze Medal at the Henryk Szeryng International Violin Competition in Mexico, 1991, and has performed throughout the Americas as a Chamber Musician and Recitalist. After his early musical training in Santiago de Cuba and Havana, Pedro Pinyol continued his education at Eastman School of Music and Yale University. Among his teachers and mentors are renowned artists Erik Friedman, Charles Castleman, Zakhar Bron, and Tokyo and Vermeer String Quartets. Mr. Pinyol collaborated on a recording , Heavenly Lullabies,to raise funds for the orphans of September 11, 2001. Mr. Pinyol is a sales representative for Audubon Strings on the east coast. Thelma Ithier-Sterling, soprano Originally from Puerto Rico, Ms. Ithier-Sterling is a graduate of the Manhattan School of Music in New York City. Ms. Ithier-Sterling’s numerous artistic activities include performance of such diverse genres as zarzuela, opera, oratorio, chamber music and musical theatre. Her performances have taken place at many important concert halls such as L'Atrium in Martinique; Carnegie Hall; Merkin Hall; and other international venues. As a principal soloist at Repertorio Espagñol, Ms. Ithier-Sterling collaborated with renowned singers, conductors and composers. She has performed with conductors such as Jose Serebrier, German Caceres, Paul Dunkel, and others . Currently Ms. Thelma Ithier-Sterling is a professor of Humanities at Eugenio M. de Hostos Community College and Kean University. She continues vocal coaching with Professor Sonya Gutkina. White Buffalo is hosted by Deborah Bradley-Kramer, Duncan Neilson, and Liz Gill Neilson Thelma Ithier-Sterling, Mirta Gomez, and Pedro Pinyol, Photos by Ana Maria Alvarez
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