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NY tango winners

The winners have been announced of the New York City International Tango Competition for professional instrumentalists and singers. The competition finals, which displayed a remarkable range of expression of the tango as an international, living, dynamic art form, were held before a standing room only audience on 12 May 2004, at the auditorium of the Consulate General of Argentina, 12 West 56th Street in Manhattan, New York, USA. The awards were presented by Competition Director Mirian Conti and the Acting Consul General of Argentina Alejandro Bertolo.

The American Airlines-Borello Travel Grand Prize: of round trip tickets to Argentina, complimentary stay at Hotel Presidente, and performances at Café Tortoni and other important Buenos Aires tango venues was awarded to Quartet San Francisco of San Francisco, California for its remarkable performances of string quartet arrangements of traditional and newer tangos. The group was also awarded a special Chamber Players International Performance Showcase award for Spring 2005 concerts in the New York area.

Founded in 2001 by renowned jazz and classical violinist Jeremy Cohen, Quartet San Francisco is dedicated to performing every composition true to the style in which it was conceived. The quartet's repertoire, although solidly grounded in traditional string quartet literature, includes big band, latin and jazz music, performed with infectious enthusiasm and incredible technique. Other members of the group are violinist Kayo Miki, violist Emily Onderdonk and cellist Joel Cohen.

A Special Prize of four days' free stay, performances and participation in all workshops at the Sixth World Tango Congress in Seville, Spain, in March 2005 was awarded to Tango Lorca of Kansas City, Missouri.

Another Special Prize of three days' free stay and performances at the five-star Hotel Grand Marina of Barcelona, Spain was awarded to the Best Duo - Bernardo Monk, soprano saxophone and Octavio Brunetti, piano, both from Buenos Aires. The duo was also awarded a Special Prize of a Caramoor Performance Showcase in 2005 at the Caramoor Festival, Katonah, New York. Pianist Octavio Brunetti was also awarded a Special Prize as Best Solo Pianist, sponsored by Certamen Musical Rioplatense of Argentina.

Two more Special Prizes for Best Singers were awarded to Claudia Gargiulo of Washington DC and Chris Vasquez of Buffalo, New York.

Other participants included singers Mario Barreiro from Colombia, Elisa Brown from New York City, Leonardo Granados of Venezuela and Katie Viqueira of Boston, USA, saxophonist Dr Willie L Morris III of Ohio, 'M20' (violinist Machiko Ozawa and pianist Makia Matsumura, both from Japan), flute player Lorena Barile from Argentina, 'Duo Hidalgo-Peloquin' (pianist Roberto Hidalgo and Marc Peloquin of Mexico and the United States), solo pianists Dante Medina from Argentina, Sachiko Kato from Japan, Anibal Berraute from Miami, USA, Martin Leopold Diaz from Barcelona, and ensembles The Tango Group from New York City and QuinTango from Washington DC.

Accompanists included pianists Jorge Aguilar from Mexico, Tiraje Ruckman from Turkey, guitarists Pablo Gonzalez and Francisco Navarro, both from Argentina and bandoneonist Tito Castro from Argentina.

The competition jury consisted of Mirian Conti, Chair, Competition Director and internationally renowned pianist, Mario Broeders, composer and New York representative of Academia Portena del Lunfardo, Argentina, Ben Molar, legendary promoter of tango and tango musicians, Richard Nidel, World Music authority, Susan Palma, flautist of the Orpheus Chamber and American Composers Orchestras and Jeffrey James, international arts consultant.

Information: +1 516-797-9166 (fax)

Posted: 24 May 2004

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