Alejandro Vela's Residency at MECA Nearing Its End.HOUSTON -- Multicultural Education and Counseling through the Arts (MECA MECA Maine College of Art MECA Middle East Children's Alliance MECA Manufacturers of Emission Controls Association (Washington, DC) MECA Marriage Equality California MECA Mars Environmental Compatibility Assessment ) and MECA's Cullen Trust for the Performing Arts Concert Series presents Dances and Fantasies. This will be the penultimate concert of MECA Artist-in-Residence Alejandro Vela's three-year residency. Dances and Fantasies will also feature Vela's Juilliard classmate Terrence Wilson and special guests from the Shepherd School of Music The Shepherd School of Music is located in Houston, Texas on the campus of Rice University, Texas' most selective institute of higher education. Among the schools within the university, the Shepherd School is the most selective, accepting overall about twelve percent of all . Vela vela plural of velum. , a former MECA student, has been collaborating with MECA on a three-year residency that began in the fall of 2005. Alejandro Vela Alejandro Vela (born March 28, 1984 in Cancún, Quintana Roo) is a Mexican football striker who currently plays for Jaguares de Chiapas. His brother, Carlos Vela, transferred to Europe for English team Arsenal but currently plays on loan for Osasuna. was born in Piedras Negras Piedras Negras, ancient city, Guatemala Piedras Negras (pyā`thräs nā`gräs) [Span.,=black stones], ruined city of the Classic era of the Maya, NW Petén, Guatemala, in the Usumacinta valley. , Mexico, in 1976, and began his piano studies at the age of seven with his mother. After relocating to Houston to attend the High School for the Performing and Visual Arts The High School for the Performing and Visual Arts (HSPVA for short) is a secondary school located at 4001 Stanford Street in the Montrose district of Houston, Texas. The school is a part of the Houston Independent School District. , his principal teachers included Robert Avalon, former MECA Artist-in-Residence and Artistic Director of the Foundation for Modern Music. Vela is one of MECA's greatest success stories. His residency has featured performances, workshops, master classes and lessons with MECA students. Terrence Wilson, a native of the Bronx, has appeared with many prestigious ensembles, including the symphony orchestras World
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Having won numerous awards and prizes including the SONY ES Award for Musical Excellence, an Avery Fisher Career Grant and the Juilliard Petschek Award, and musical collaborations around the world, Wilson has established a reputation as one of today's most gifted instrumentalists. Vela and Wilson are both graduates of the Juilliard School and have studied under Yoheved Kaplinsky. Dances and Fantasies will feature music of Antonin Dvorak, Felix Mendelssohn, Franz Liszt and Franz Schubert. Special guests (Sonja Harasim, Lauren Magnus, Marie-Michel Beauparlant, Stanley Chyi and Tracy Jacobson) from the Rice University Shepherd School of Music will accompany Vela and Wilson in paying homage to Vela's mentor Robert Avalon by performing his work Ballet Cinco de Mayo Cinco de Mayo (Spanish; “Fifth of May”) Mexican holiday commemorating the Mexican victory over the French at Puebla in 1862. The French army, better-equipped and far larger than the Mexican army, had been sent by Napoleon III to conquer Mexico. . The event will be held at MECA's Dow School Campus (1900 Kane St. Houston, TX 77007) on Friday, May 2, 2008 at 8 p.m. Tickets can be purchased in advance via www.ticketweb.com. For additional information on this and other 2008 performances contact Armando Silva or visit www.meca-houston.org. |
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