OCCTAC Newsletter | June Edition
OCCTAC Receives a $50,000 Grant From the PSB Fund for our Arts Enrichment Program
OCCTAC is excited to share the wonderful news that we received a $50,000 grant from the Put Some Back (PSB) Fund for our Arts enrichment programs! Thanks to the PSB Fund, OCCTAC will be able to provide 50 new Arts scholarships to very low income children and youth in Santa Ana, CA and surrounding cities in Orange County! We are forever grateful to their generous gift in support of our programs. The PSB Fund aims to foster a world where youth are given the opportunity to reach their full potential. To this end, the PSB supports projects or entities engaged in educating the next generation, with special emphasis on arts enrichment as well as the promotion of healthy and safe families and communities.
Festival of Classical and Folkloric Music of Latin America
Thanks to the National Endowment for the Arts OCCTAC organized a Festival of Classical and Folkloric Sounds of Latin American Music during the month of June, which consisted of festival workshops for students and parents, a cultural exchange round table at the Mexican Consulate in Santa Ana, and culminating with the Concert of the Latino Masters (and students) on Saturday, June 22. Festival activities engaged participants in hands-on music instruction (Classical music fused with traditional and folkloric sounds of Latin America), and discussions on culture, history, and the role of Latin American music. Each festival day was dedicated to a different region in Latin America, including: Mexico, Argentina, Cuba and Puerto Rico, Caribbean.
Concert of the Latino Masters
The Concert of the Latino Masters was held on Saturday, June 22 at the Godinez Performing Arts Theatre in Santa Ana and in partnership with the Santa Ana Unified School District and the City of Santa Ana. The concert featured a performance by each of the Maestros highlighting their traditional music, original classical music compositions by the maestros, and group performances with OCCTAC and SAUSD students, as well as other local musicians and college students. Our Latino Masters were Alberto De La Rosa from Mexico, Luis Alberto Figueroa from Argentina, Alfredo Rolando Ortiz from Cuba and Sonia and Jaime Morales-Matos from Puerto Rico. Alberto de la Rosa is a master harpist who specializes in jarocho music from his native town of Veracruz, Mexico. Luis Alberto Figueroa is a pianist and choir director from Argentina. Sonia Morales-Matos is a performer and educator from Puerto Rico, is also a master composer from a distinguished family of musicians. Alfredo Rolando Ortiz is a Cuban writer, recording artist and master harpist with a multi-cultural repertoire. Jaime Morales-Matos was born in Puerto Rico and is the Music Director of the Central Ohio Symphony Orchestra and a very accomplished trombonist, who has performed in many Symphonies around the world.
For more information and pictures about the event, please visit our website at: https://www.occtac.org/the-masters-2019
Cultural Exchange Roundtable with Latino Masters at the Mexican Consulate in Santa Ana
On Thursday, June 20 a community reception and cultural exchange roundtable was held at the Mexican Consulate with the Latino Masters to provide an opportunity for the community to welcome the maestros, learn about the artistic traditions they represent, and provide a means to explore the history and development of folklore from their various countries and musical traditions. The maestros engaged in discussion with participants and provided insight and demonstrations of the folkloric traditions of the music of Latin America.
