Chandler Kicks Off New Daytime Performance Series w/ Sol y Canto

The award-winning Latin music group Sol y Canto will give two daytime performances (9:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m.) next Wednesday, Oct. 15 at Chandler Music Hall on Main Street in Randolph. Tickets are just $5.

The Chandler Center for the Arts will begin its 2008-09 daytime performance series with two performances by the Boston Music Award-winning Sol y Canto. This series is open to the public with scheduled performances by Sol y Canto on Wednesday, Oct. 15 at 9:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m.

The morning presentation, "A Latin American Musical Journey," features traditional songs and instruments from all over Latin America. The Spanish guitar, Caribbean instruments such as pleneras (hand drums) and bongos, and South American instruments, such as the quena (bamboo flute), are joined by an assortment of small percussion instruments to illuminate this lively culture. Time will be reserved for a question and answer session following the performance.

Sol y Canto will also present an afternoon performance, "Noche de Muertos: Welcoming Our Ancestors Home," illuminating one of Mexico’s favorite holidays, the Day of the Dead. Celebrated in early November, it is traditionally a heartfelt homage to ancestors and an impetus for family gatherings, creative crafts, food, floral arrangements, dance, pageantry, and a time to poke fun at the Grim Reaper.

In this artistic collaboration, Latin music ambassadors Sol y Canto and members of Melodic Vision bring this cultural celebration to life, combining dynamic live music with projected photographic images of Michoacoán's extravagant, profound, and sometimes irreverent Dia de los Muertos celebrations in which deceased loved ones are embraced as a still-significant part of family.

Each performance will last approximately one hour. Ticket reservations should be made by contacting Betsy Cantlin at 728-9878 or outreach@chandler-arts.org. The box office will also be open one half hour before each performance.

These performances by Sol y Canto are made possible with support from the Vermont Arts Council and the New England Foundation for the Arts. Chandler Music Hall is wheelchair accessible.

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