Committed to its objective to deliver a full spectrum approach to the performance of the classical music of the Americas, the Cayambis Institute (CILASiM) is pleased to announce the first concert performance and fundraiser of its newest ensemble, the Cayambis String Quartet. The event, free and open to the public, will be held at 6:30 pm on Wednesday, May 13, on southwest Draper Road in Blacksburg. The Quartet consists of the principal players of the Cayambis Sinfonietta string section: Charley Shafer and Julian Smart, violins, violist Dave Phillips and María Paula Casas, cello. They will be performing works by composers from throughout Latin America, such as Venezuelan Teresa Carreño, Cuban Ignacio Cervantes and Puerto Rican Johanny Navarro. An additional component of this event will be to fundraise for the October concert of the Cayambis Sinfonietta, which is our organization’s principal performing ensemble. On this event, the Sinfonietta will be premiering several recently-composed works from Latin America, as well as John Walker’s setting of a Civil War story by American author Ambrose Bierce. About the Cayambis Sinfonietta: Founded in 2022, the Cayambis Sinfonietta is a seventeen-member chamber orchestra based in Blacksburg, Virginia. It serves as the principal performance arm of the Cayambis Institute for Latin American Studies in Music (CILASiM), which seeks to strengthen the awareness and appreciation of Latin American classical music by developing a full spectrum approach to its creation, performance and scholarship, and in so doing, cultivate bonds of goodwill and unity among the peoples of the Americas.
Our mission is to preserve, interpret, and promote Blacksburg’s art, history, and cultural heritage.
