Classical Musical Treasures from Mexico and the United States

These two artists, with outstanding international careers, combine their talents, and the musical culture of the United States and Mexico, thus consolidating the ties that unite these two countries. This concert brings them together to perform a musical repertoire to celebrate the neighborly relationship of these two countries, and includes Mexican and North American music. Although they grew up in different environments, the two artists share the same roots, united today to express themselves through the universal language of music.

The program includes excellent samples from the world concert scene. It is a careful selection that is accessible to all audiences. They show the syncretism between concert music and the folklore of both countries.

The repertoire includes internationally recognized North American and Mexican composers. Souvenirs Op 28 by Samuel Barber is an example of musical styles from the first half of the 20th century in the United States. George Gershwin integrates jazz with the orchestra; Rhapsody in Blue is one of the most iconic American piano concertos.

Juventino Rosas, combines the European musical style of the late 19th century with the roots of Mexican music. The fusion of folkloric and concert music finds its maximum exponent in José Pablo Moncayo. “Huapango” interweaves popular Veracruz themes in an exquisite and original work. Mexicans often consider it as a “second national anthem”.

Program

United States

Souvenirs op. 28 by Samuel Barber (1910)
Rhapsody in Blue by George Gershwin (1898)

Mexico

Sobre las Olas by Juventino Rosas (1868)
Huapango by José Pablo Moncayo (1912)

Duration: 50 minutes

Sarai Buchanan Arellano
The United States

“Lovely, warm tone and great sensitivity… thoughtful and fine musician.” Alison Deane, piano professor, Cuny the city college of NY.

Talented and experienced Mexican-American pianist Sarai Buchanan Arellano has been recognized for her “great sensitivity” and “abundant technique” by (Alison Deane, a piano professor at CUNY and T.Zoells, Pianoforte Chicago).

She has performed in various places throughout the United States, including the Johann Sebastian Bach Society of Louisville Kentucky and the Merkin and Shephard halls in New York.

Sarai has done important work as a chamber artist. Testimony to this is the presentation of Brahms’ Piano Quintet at the First Presbyterian Church in Westchester, New York, as well as with various chamber groups performing concerts at the Brooklyn Conservatory of Music in New York and Pianoforte Hall in Chicago. She also presented Brahms’ Piano Quartet in Cremona, Italy as part of the International Musical Festival and Academy of Cremona.

Her extensive career includes international festivals in Europe such as the Regensburg Festival in Germany, the Orfeo Musical Festival in Vipiteno, Italy and the American Fine Arts Festival in the Republic of Georgia.

Sarai founded and presented the Duo Terra in concert with Russian pianist Olga Ridgway. Together they have performed in the United States and Europe, in Italy and the Republic of Georgia.

In 2022, she participated in the project “Women in Music: Muses and Performers” with soprano Sindy Gutiérrez, presenting a tour of Chicago, Illinois and Magical Towns in the state of Guanajuato, Mexico.

Borned in West Virginia, she began her piano at the Merit School of Music in Chicago. She graduated from the Chicago College of Performing Arts at Roosevelt University where she studied under Graham Scott and Kuang Hao Huang.

She earned her master’s degree in piano at The City College of New York with Alison Deane, graduating with honors, and specialized in the Suzuki pedagogical method for early childhood at the School of Strings in New York.

She complemented her training by studying at Kaufman Music Center -and in private classes- with the great Belarusian pianist and pedagogue Genya Paley in Manhattan as well as in master classes with Natsuki Fujiwara in Italy.

Throughout her career, Sarai has been recognized as a “nascent Mexican-American pianist” by Colorado Press and selected as one of the “40 prominent Latinos/Latinas in New York under 40” by Negocios Now.

In the academic field, Sarai was part of the faculty at the Brooklyn Conservatory of Music and at the Westchester Conservatory of Music in White Plains, New York. Sarai Buchanan Arellano continues her activity as a concert pianist, which she combines with giving private lessons. One of her principles is to transmit to the new generations of pianists the love for the study of music.

Luis Herman
Mexico

With over 300 concerts in Europe and America, in recent years Luis Herman has established himself, representing Mexico on major stages around the world. Luis Herman has performed as a soloist with symphony orchestras such as those of San Luis Potosí, Michoacán, Oaxaca, the University of Guanajuato, and the Symphony Band of the State of Guanajuato.

Luis has participated in the International Cervantino Festival, Zacatecas International Festival, Baja California October Festival, Durango Revueltas Festival, Texas State International Piano Festival, Ale Meksyk Festival in Poland, and the Festival of Nations in Rome, among others.

Luis Herman has represented Mexico on major stages around the world, including the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, United States, Spain, Italy, Poland (Fryderyk Chopin Concert Hall and Chopin Salon), and Hungary.

He has premiered and recorded recently composed orchestral works by composers such as Juan Trigos, Nicolás Prada (Colombia), Carlos Vidaurri, Jesús Villaseñor, and Alex Ruanova, among others.

In 2015, Luis created the Cervantes Duo and the Meksyk Duo as part of the commemoration of the 400th death anniversary of the writer Miguel de Cervantes, where he achieved a literary-musical fusion with Cervantes-themed performances, offering more than 50 concerts in Poland, Spain, and Mexico.

He graduated with “Laureate Degree” in Music from the University of Guanajuato. In 2018, he completed his postgraduate studies in Europe at the Frederic Chopin University of Music in Warsaw, Poland, under the guidance of professors Ramiro Sanjinés and Jersy Romaniuk.

He received masterclasses from François Chaplin at Texas University, Barry Snyder (winner of the Van Cliburn prize), Jorge Federico Osorio, José Miramontes, Alla Von Buch, and Cyprien Katsaris.

For his outstanding career and commitment to his state, Guanajuato has recognized by awarding him the “Artista Orgullo Festival Internacional Cervantino 2015” medal. Committed to his Guanajuato roots, in recent years he has directed projects to preserve the works of Juventino Rosas, including symphonic adaptations of his compositions, stage productions, and folkloric dance performances.