Jazz Meets Classical

Gualala Arts and the Whale & Jazz Festival Series present “Jazz Meets Classical” a special concert event Sunday, April 2, at 4:00 p.m. The concert features four outstanding talents: violinist Mads Tolling, pianist Miles Graber, guitarist Dave MacNab, and harpist Anna Maria Mendieta. Tickets are $29 and are available at Gualala Arts, Dolphin Gallery, and online at EventBrite.com.

Festival Music Coordinator Fred Adler believes that “this concert will likely be literally thrilling!

Mads Tolling, 2-time Grammy award winning classical violinist, and the sensitive classical piano of Miles Graber open the concert. ‘If I only had a harp, said I’, and then along came the scintillating harpist Anna Maria Mendieta, exotic and vibrant to the core.

The top-rated, in-demand, Dave MacNab, was Mads’ immediate choice for guitarist.

A first set of classical works by late 19th century composers such as Johannes Brahms and Jules Massenet will be performed. After intermission there will be a violin/guitar jazz duo performance extraordinaire. My intent is to help bridge the gap between classical and jazz audiences.

The concert’s grand finale will be Astor Piazzolla’s famous composition, “Libertango,” with a passionate violin, harp, piano and guitar collaboration, with all ‘hands on deck’.”

Internationally renowned violinist and composer Mads Tolling hails from Copenhagen, and now lives in San Francisco. As a former member of both bassist Stanley Clarke’s band and the Turtle Island Quartet, he won two Grammy Awards. Tolling has performed with Chick Corea, Ramsey Lewis, Kenny Barron, Paquito D’Rivera and Leo Kottke, and is a current member of Bob Weir’s Wolf Bros & Wolf Pack Band.

Global Music Award winner Anna Maria Mendieta proved the impossible and made history offering her harp as a new voice for Argentine Tango. Her recent album “Tango Del Cielo” featuring Tango & Flamenco with harp and orchestra, won several international awards and reached #2 on Billboard’s Classical Crossover Chart. Ms. Mendieta is the winner of four Global Music awards. She continues to gain international attention with her groundbreaking vision.

Miles Graber received his musical training at Juilliard, and has lived and worked in the Bay Area since 1971, developing a wide reputation as an accompanist and collaborative pianist for instrumentalists and singers. He has performed with numerous solo artists, and is a member of the chamber groups MusicAEterna, Alcyone Ensemble, Mira Trio, and the new music group Sounds New.

Dave MacNab has performed and composed music for over twenty-five years. Born in New York and raised in Los Angeles, the Bay area has been home for twenty years, as he draws inspiration from the abundance of creative talent and the area’s natural beauty. He’s worked with many fine musicians in a wide range of settings and styles, has toured and recorded internationally, and performed with some of Broadways’ biggest national tours.

The “Jazz Meets Classical” concert is part of the Global Harmony and the Whale & Jazz Festival Series “Festival of Strings for World Peace”. Watch for more events in the coming months. Share the news and tell a friend about this event.