Friday Evening, March 13, 2015, at 8:00

The Villalobos BrothersErnesto Villalobos, Vocals and ViolinAlberto Villalobos, Vocals and ViolinLuis Villalobos, Vocals and ViolinHumberto Flores, Artistic Director and GuitarRosa Avila, DrumsArturo Stable, PercussionMiguel Ponce, Guitarrón Benjamin Willis, Bass

This evening’s program is approximately 75 minutes long and will beperformed without intermission.

This performance is being streamed live; cameras will be present.

Major support for Lincoln Center’s American Songbook is provided by Amy & Joseph Perella.

Wine generously donated by William Hill Estate Winery, a Supporter of Lincoln Center.

This performance is made possible in part by the Josie Robertson Fund for Lincoln Center.

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Sponsored by Prudential Investment Management

Please make certain all your electronic devices are switched off.

Stanley H. Kaplan Penthouse

American Songbook

We would like to remind you that the sound of coughing and rustling paper mightdistract the performers and your fellow audience members.

In consideration of the performing artists and members of the audience, those who mustleave before the end of the performance are asked to do so between pieces. The takingof photographs and the use of recording equipment are not allowed in the building.

Additional support for Lincoln Center’s American Songbook is provided by The BrownFoundation, Inc., of Houston, The DuBose and Dorothy Heyward Memorial Fund, TheShubert Foundation, Jill and Irwin B. Cohen, The G & A Foundation, Inc., Great PerformersCircle, Chairman’s Council, and Friends of Lincoln Center.

Endowment support is provided by Bank of America.

Public support is provided by the New York State Council on the Arts.

Artist catering is provided by Zabar’s and zabars.com.

MetLife is the National Sponsor of Lincoln Center.

Movado is a Supporter of Lincoln Center.

United Airlines is a Supporter of Lincoln Center.

WABC-TV is a Supporter of Lincoln Center.

William Hill Estate Winery is a Supporter of Lincoln Center.

UPCOMING AMERICAN SONGBOOK EVENTS IN THE STANLEY H. KAPLAN PENTHOUSE:

Wednesday Evening, March 25, at 8:00Shaina Taub

Thursday Evening, March 26, at 8:00Magos & Limón

The Stanley H. Kaplan Penthouse is located at 165 West 65th Street, 10th floor.

For tickets, call (212) 721-6500 or visit AmericanSongbook.org. Call the Lincoln Center Info Request Line at (212) 875-5766 or visit AmericanSongbook.org for complete programinformation.

Join the conversation: #LCSongbook

American Songbook I Note on the Program

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m Mixing It Up with High-Voltage ViolinsBy Cathy Ragland

In La Huasteca, a cultural and geographic region of northeastern Mexico,the violin is king. It carries the melody in the folkloric son huasteco trio andboth supports and outshines the rhythmically entwined guitar-like instru-ments (huapanguera and jarana huasteca) that play underneath. TheHuastecan violin is known for its virtuosic improvisations and soaringmelodies, matched by falsetto breaks in alternating vocals. This is thesoundscape the Villalobos Brothers experienced in their youth, and it is nosurprise that all three would be drawn to study and play the violin. “Thosetraditional elements are part of who we are as people, not just musi-cians,” the eldest brother, 33-year-old Ernesto Villalobos, explains. “In ourarrangements we are informed by the colors, textures, and rhythms ofthis region. At times we call upon those ideas and at others on our ownindividual training in classical music.”

Recognized as child prodigies in their hometown of Xalapa in the state ofVeracruz, Mexico, the brothers debuted in their teens with the XalapaSymphony Orchestra. Xalapa is one of Mexico’s most important centersfor culture and the arts, thanks in large part to the renowned UniversidadVeracruzana, an important educational center for the visual and perform-ing arts. The Villalobos Brothers are perhaps the most notable represen-tatives of the city’s distinctive balance of tradition and modernity, of pastand present, and of indigenous, mestizo, and European musical and cul-tural influences and values.

One example of the confluence of their experiences is the song “Attack,”composed by Ernesto. In addition to the trio of brothers, the song fea-tures other musicians, including childhood friend Humberto Flores on gui-tar (whom Ernesto describes as “the fourth brother”), Rosa Avila ondrums, and Miguel Ponce on guitarrón. The piece is often performed withall the musicians wearing brightly colored masks made by 32-year-oldAlberto, who is not only the group’s visual artist but also an active partic-ipant in the region’s folk arts and music traditions, having spent two yearstraveling to local towns and villages to transcribe and record traditionalmelodies with elder musicians. The song begins with a syncopated tappingon the violin, a nod to the percussive heel-toe tap dance that typicallyaccompanies son huasteco. It then launches into a charming Baroque-inspired melody that swells with shimmering tremolos as each brotherembellishes and elaborates on it with alternating countermelodies, per-cussive notes, and effects. This technique has become Ernesto’s signaturestyle, and he calls it “fast-chatting violin” because it mimics the humanvoice. As the song progresses, the tempo increases significantly, revealinga collective synergy and depth of emotion that is profoundly affecting anddeeply personal. One can marvel at the Villalobos Brothers’ abilities andhigh-voltage energy level, but also at their sheer love of the violin.

American Songbook I Note on the Program

After some years apart studying independently—Ernesto on a U.S. Fulbrightgrant to study with Patinka Kopec and Nils Vigeland at the Manhattan School ofMusic in New York; Alberto working with Igor Oistrakh at the RoyalConservatory of Brussels; and Luis studying with Nicolas Chumachenco at theFreiburg Conservatory of Music in Germany—the brothers reunited in 2005 fortheir American debut at Carnegie Hall. The concert featured musicians fromMexico, Brazil, South Africa, Israel, Beglium, and the U.S., and saw the premiereof more than a dozen original compositions. It was a big “hello” to New York,and the city responded in kind. At the concert, the brothers received an invita-tion to serve as the house band for the Seventh Annual Latin Grammy Awards,held for the first time in New York City in 2006. Three years of touring followedwith the Calpulli Mexican Dance Company, then collaborations with the likes ofthe Chieftains, Dan Zanes, Pierre Boulez, Dolly Parton, and Eddie Palmieri, andperformances at venues like the Guggenheim Museum, the MetropolitanMuseum of Art, the United Nations, Rockefeller Center, Shea Stadium, theApollo Theater, and the Kennedy Center.

This evening’s concert reflects a decade of tours, collaborations on moviesoundtracks, theater productions, community activism, and teaching andempowering Mexican youth in New York and Mexico. The Villalobos Brothershave evolved into something much more than they imagined, Ernesto notes.“We work with some of the best musicians around, and it is becoming evenmore participatory and more fun.” He credits living in New York City for thewide-ranging opportunities that have come their way. “This city captures theenergy of so many musicians, and I would say that being a part of the Mexicancommunity coming into its own in the past decade has made a difference, too.Mexicans are a force in this city, and I think our music is an expression of thisnew energy.”

Cathy Ragland teaches ethnomusicology at the College of Music, University ofNorth Texas, and is author of Música Norteña: Mexican Migrants Creating aNation Between Nations (Temple University Press, 2009). She has been pro-gram director at the Center for Traditional Music and Dance in New York and isa co-founder of the Mariachi Academy of New York and Mano a Mano: MexicanCultures Without Borders.

—Copyright © 2015 by Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, Inc.

American Songbook I Meet the Artists

Masterfully blending the traditional rhythms and melodies of their nativeVeracruz, Mexico, with the harmonies of jazz and classical music, theVillalobos Brothers deliver an intoxicating brew of musical virtuosity thatawakens the senses as it redefines notions of Latin music.

A trio of virtuoso violinists, composers, and singer-songwriters, Ernesto,Alberto, and Luis Villalobos were born and raised in Veracruz, a state withone of the richest and most distinct musical identities in Mexico. Theyhave performed at the Latin Grammy Awards, a United Nations gala, andthe 2014 ASCAP (American Society of Composers, Authors andPublishers) Awards in New York City. They have also performed at suchvenues as Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center,Guggenheim Museum, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Rockefeller Center,and Shea Stadium, and the New Victory and Apollo Theaters. Winners ofWNYC and WQXR’s Battle of the Boroughs and the Vox Pop Award, theVillalobos Brothers have played concerts and festivals around the world,appearing at Cumbre Tajin 2013 in Papantla, Mexico; Alcheringa 2014 inGuwahati, India; and this year’s NAMM Show in Anaheim, California.

The brothers’ list of collaborators includes legendary musicians such asDolly Parton, Bruce Springsteen, Antonio Sanchez, Arturo O’Farrill, EduardoMagallanes, and Dan Zanes. This year, from May through November, theVillalobos Brothers will serve as curators and musical artists-in-residence atthe Frida Kahlo exhibition taking place at the New York Botanical Garden.The show will reimagine the iconic artist’s garden and studio at La CasaAzul, her lifelong home in Mexico City.

The Villalobos Brothers

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American Songbook I Meet the Artists

Humberto Flores

Humberto Flores (artistic director, guitar) is a classical concert guitarist, award-winning arranger, and, for the last five years, artistic director of the VillalobosBrothers. In 2008 he was recognized by the International Solidarity Foundationand Italy’s Comune di Milano for his musical contribution to and stewardship ofMexican and Latin American culture. He has appeared at the Blue Note JazzFestival and at such venues as the Kennedy Center, Carnegie Hall, ApolloTheater, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Ford’s Theatre, and the State HermitageMuseum and Peterhof palace in St. Petersburg, Russia. Growing up in Veracruz,Mexico, Mr. Flores quickly became a young master of Mexican traditional music.He holds a master’s degree in classical guitar from the Giuseppe VerdiConservatory of Music in Milan.

Rosa Avila

Rosa Avila (drums) was born in Bad Godesberg, Germany, and spent her child-hood in Austria and Mexico. She began playing drums at age 16 and studied atthe Music Conservatory of the University of Veracruz. She was later granted ascholarship from the Mexican Endowment of the Arts to complete her training atMusicians Institute in Los Angeles, where she studied with such notables asCasey Scheuerell, Ralph Humphrey, Joe Porcaro, and Taka Numazawa. Ms. Avilahas performed with artists such as Ann-Margret, Pat Boone, Glen Campbell,Debby Boone, Elkie Brooks, Petula Clark, and the Lennon Sisters. Her Broadwaycredits include Five Guys Named Moe and Altar Boyz. In 1992 she began herassociation with Andy Williams, with whom she performed until 2009.

Arturo Stable

Cuban master percussionist and composer Arturo Stable (percussion) has beenat the forefront of Latin music for over two decades and is considered by thepress a leading voice of his generation. Highlights of his career include perfor-mances and recordings with Grammy Award winners Terri Lyne Carrington,Esperanza Spalding, Paquito D’Rivera, and Dave Samuels. Mr. Stable is the chairof the hand drum department at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia andleads his own ensembles with international appearances. He endorses MeinlPercussion instruments.

Miguel Ponce

Miguel Ponce (guitarrón) is a virtuoso guitarrón player and professor based inNew York City. A graduate of the Aaron Copland School of Music at QueensCollege, he is the founder and director of Mariachi Aguila Real. A member of thePonce family of musicians, he joined Mariachi Real de Mexico at an early age

The Villalobos Brothers

Arturo Stable

Miguel Ponce

Benjamin Willis

and was part of the band’s sold-out performances at Madison Square Garden,Radio City Music Hall, and Constitution Hall in Washington, D.C., accompany-ing Plácido Domingo and other legendary artists. Mr. Ponce has been featuredin five Villalobos Brothers music videos and appears in Aliens of ExtraordinaryAbility, the band’s second studio album.

Benjamin Willis

Benjamin Willis (bass) was born into a musical household in Fulton County,Illinois, and spent much of his early youth in Saudi Arabia, where his parentstaught at an international school. He was exposed to many different types ofmusic from an early age.

American Songbook

In 1998, Lincoln Center launched American Songbook, dedicated to the cele-bration of popular American song. Designed to highlight and affirm the cre-ative mastery of America’s songwriters from their emergence at the turn ofthe 19th century up through the present, American Songbook spans all stylesand genres, from the form’s early roots in Tin Pan Alley and Broadway to theeclecticism of today’s singer-songwriters. American Songbook also show-cases the outstanding interpreters of popular song, including establishedand emerging concert, cabaret, theater, and songwriter performers.

Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, Inc.

Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (LCPA) serves three primary roles: pre-senter of artistic programming, national leader in arts and education and com-munity relations, and manager of the Lincoln Center campus. A presenter of more than 3,000 free and ticketed events, performances, tours, and edu-cational activities annually, LCPA offers 15 programs, series, and festivalsincluding American Songbook, Great Performers, Lincoln Center Festival,Lincoln Center Out of Doors, Midsummer Night Swing, the Mostly MozartFestival, and the White Light Festival, as well as the Emmy Award–winningLive From Lincoln Center, which airs nationally on PBS. As manager of theLincoln Center campus, LCPA provides support and services for the LincolnCenter complex and the 11 resident organizations. In addition, LCPA led a $1.2billion campus renovation, completed in October 2012.

American Songbook I Meet the Artists

American Songbook

Lincoln Center Programming DepartmentJane Moss, Ehrenkranz Artistic DirectorHanako Yamaguchi, Director, Music ProgrammingJon Nakagawa, Director, Contemporary ProgrammingJill Sternheimer, Acting Director, Public ProgrammingLisa Takemoto, Production ManagerCharles Cermele, Producer, Contemporary ProgrammingKate Monaghan, Associate Director, ProgrammingClaudia Norman, Producer, Public ProgrammingMauricio Lomelin, Associate Producer, Contemporary ProgrammingJulia Lin, Associate ProducerNicole Cotton, Production CoordinatorRegina Grande, Assistant to the Artistic DirectorLuna Shyr, Programming Publications EditorOlivia Fortunato, House Seat Coordinator

For American SongbookRocky Noel, Lighting DesignScott Stauffer, Sound DesignKyle Moore, Sound EngineerSara Sessions, Production Assistant