Pianist Adonis Gonzalez Performs Evening of Latin American Music at SOPAC—a co-presentation of Seton Hall’s Classical Concert Series and Joseph A. Unanue Latino Institute

On Tuesday, March 8, at 7:30 p.m.,the Seton Hall University Classical Concert Series and Joseph A. Unanue Latino Institute will present world-renowned Cuban pianist Adonis Gonzalez in a performance of Latin American Music at SOPAC. Gonzalez will perform compositions of Isaac Albéniz, Luis Antonio Calvo, Ignacio Cervantes, Alberto Ginastera, Louis Moreau Gottschalk, Ernesto Lecuona, Moisés Moleiro, Manuel M. Ponce, and Heitor Villa-Lobos.

With a style that has been described as inimitably elegant and of the highest virtuosity, Gonzalez is a Latin Grammy Nominee in the category of Best Classical Album for his solo debut album ‘Adios a Cuba,’ featured in the Rey-Rodriguez-Productions film of the same name. He wrote the music for the art film ‘Behind the Wall,’ premiered in New York and Boston.

Gonzalez has performed as a soloist with many orchestras around the globe, including the Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Kristjan Järvi in Germany, the National Philharmonic of Venezuela, the Vienna Residence Orchestra in Austria, the National Symphony Orchestra of Costa Rica, the Junge Süddeutsche Philharmonie Esslingen in Germany, the Masterworks Festival Orchestra in Washington DC, Cuban National Symphony, Sinfonica del Tolima in Colombia, the Mississippi Symphony, the USM Symphony, Rutgers Symphony Orchestra, Central Jersey Symphony, New York City Opera Orchestra, and many others.

An avid chamber musician, Gonzalez has performed for Chamber Music Series of the New York Philharmonic, The Lyric Chamber Music Society of New York, The Concert Artist Guild of New York and The New Jersey Chamber Music Society. He collaborated with legendary artists such as mezzo-soprano Denyce Graves, violinist Arnold Steinhardt and also with clarinetists/saxophonist Paquito D’Rivera. The latter invited him to record as a guest artist for his CD Jazz-Clazz nominated by the GRAMMY AWARDS for Best Classical Crossover Album.

He has also presented solo recitals, master classes and chamber music performances in Italy, Canada, Poland, Andorra, The Czech Republic, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, Cuba, Mexico, Chile and through the USA. In New York City, Gonzalez has performed at Avery Fisher Hall at Lincoln Center, Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall and at The United Nations. He has been broadcast live by WQXR, The former Classical Radio Station of the New York Times and by several other television and radio stations in the US, Cuba, Spain and Costa Rica.

Gonzalez won the First Prize of the Teresa Carreño International Piano Competition in Caracas, Venezuela and the First Prize of the most important Cuban piano competition organized by the National Association of Cuban Writers and Artists (UNEAC), and he is also a laureate of the International Piano Competition of the Principality of Andorra and the Ernesto Lecuona International Competition of Havana.

He graduated with honors from the Superior Institute of Art of Havana, holds a Master of Music Degree from the University of Southern Mississippi, and a Doctoral Degree in Piano Performance from Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers University. He also took courses in Orchestral Conducting at The Juilliard School in New York City and is an accomplished composer who has collaborated for the Work and Process Series at the prestigious Guggenheim Museum in New York City. His Symphonic Poem for Piano and Orchestra ‘Cimarrón’ was premiered by the National Symphony of Costa Rica. He served as a composer in residence of the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, is currently an Artist in Residence of the Cuban Artist Fund in New York and a Professor of Music at Alabama State University.

Tickets are available through SOPAC or by calling the SOPAC box office at (973)313-2787.

Seton Hall students can attend for free but must contact SOPAC for a ticket; faculty and staff with a valid Seton Hall ID can purchase tickets at $8 as well as non-SHU students; alumni and seniors $15; and general admission is $25.