Banners at McNeese to present Grammy Award-winning

From Staff Reports

The Contraband

Banners at McNeese State University will present the Grammy Award-winning Paquito D’Rivera in concert at 7 p.m. Nov. 11 in F.G. Bulber Auditorium. The event is supported by a grant from Chamber Music America and the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation.

The winner of 14 Grammy awards, D’Rivera is celebrated for his achievements as a classical composer and his innovation in Latin jazz. He plays both saxophone and clarinet.

Born in Havana, Cuba, he performed at age of 10 with the National Theater Orchestra, studied at the Havana Conservatory of Music and, at age 17, D’Rivera became a featured soloist with the Cuban National Symphony.

A pioneer in the music industry, D’Rivera is recognized as a founding member of the Orquesta Cubana de Musica Moderna and founding member and co-director of the innovative group Irakere, a Grammy award-winning musical ensemble that has toured throughout the United States and Europe.

A recording artist with over 30 solo albums to his credit, D’Rivera is also a founding member of the United Nation Orchestra, a 15-piece Grammy Award-winning ensemble organized by Dizzy Gillespie to showcase the fusion of Latin and Caribbean influences with jazz. He received a Lifetime Achievement Award from Carnegie Hall for his influence within Latin music.

In addition to his work in jazz and Latin music, he has also made impressive contributions to classical music, winning a Grammy for Best Instrumental Composition with “Merengue.” He has also received Grammys for Best Jazz Performance, Best Latin Album, Best Classical Contemporary Composition, Best Classical Recording and Best Latin Jazz Album, and he is the first artist to win Latin Grammys in both Classical and Latin Jazz categories.

He is a recipient of the National Endowment of the Arts Jazz Masters Award and the National Medal of the Arts, as well as the Living Jazz Legend Award from the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. His numerous other honors include the Journalist Association’s Clarinetist of the Year Award and the International Association for Jazz Education President’s Award.

Tickets are $20 for adults, $5 for students ages 5-18 and free for McNeese and Sowela students with IDs. For more information visit Banners at McNeese online at www.banners.org or call the Banners office at 337-475-5123.

Persons needing accommodations as provided by the Americans with Disabilities Act should contact the ADA Coordinator at 337-475-5428, voice; 337-475-5960, fax; 337-562-4227, TDD/TTY, hearing impaired; or by email at cdo@mcneese.edu.



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