Ballard Civic Orchestra: Dia de Muertos
Free (RSVP required)
- Celeste Camarena, voice
- Sari Breznau, voice
- Teo Benson, violin
Join us for our annual Dia de Muertos concert with the Ballard Civic Orchestra and Singing in the Rain Choir, featuring soloists Celeste Camarena, Sari Breznau, and Ballard Civic Orchestra concertmaster Teo Benson. Honor loved ones that have passed by placing a photo center stage on the Altar de Muertos. This concert will also feature the live creation of artwork by Maria G. Casey.
Acompáñanos en nuestro concierto anual del Día de Muertos, con la Ballard Civic Orchestra y el Coro Singing in the Rain, junto con los solistas Celeste Camarena, Sari Breznau y el concertino de la Ballard Civic Orchestra, Teo Benson. Honra a tus seres queridos que han fallecido colocando una foto en el Altar de Muertos que estará en el centro del escenario. Este concierto también contará con la creación de obras de arte en vivo por Maria G. Casey.
About Sari Breznau, voice
About Teo Benson, violin
Teo Benson, a Whidbey Island native, began playing violin at the age of five with Linda Good and Island Strings. He has won scholarships and concerto competitions in Washington State and Colorado and holds a Master of Music degree in Violin Performance from the University of Washington where he studied with internationally acclaimed violinist Ron Patterson. Mr. Benson is first violinist in Symphony Tacoma, and has also performed as soloist with the Universidad Autónoma de Guadalajara Orchestra and most recently in April 2021 with the Jalisco Chamber Orchestra in Guadalajara, Mexico. As a teaching artist, Mr. Benson directs the Halcyon Music School in Ballard where he is the lead instructor of a full studio of students. In 2006 he launched Young Strings Project Outreach and served as the lead instructor, providing classical instrument and orchestral instruction, without charge, to youth with limited means and/or access in the Seattle area. In 2014 he collaborated with Paula Nava Madrigal, youth orchestra conductor, to create the World Youth Orchestra. In 2016 the couple formed the Ballard Civic Orchestra, a multi-cultural, multi-generational community orchestra, integrating talented amateur musicians with experienced professional musicians to present a series of Latino arts and culture concerts and events each year. In 2019 Ms. Madrigal and Mr. Benson launched Orquesta Northwest, a 501c3 non-profit with a mission to enhance community life by providing inclusive Latino arts and culture programs, projects, and events, without charge, that create a sense of belonging, build intercultural understanding, foster equity and civic engagement, and strengthen the voice of the Latino community in the Seattle area. Under the leadership of Mr.Benson, Executive Director, and Ms.Madrigal, Artistic Director and Conductor, during the Covid-19 pandemic, Orquesta Northwest expanded its reach online with remote youth orchestra instruction and virtual events as well as community messaging.
http://www.teobenson.com/about/