St. Stephen's Global Ensemble Tours Spain
Cries of “Ole! Ole!” filled the packed Teatro Isabel in Granada, Spain, the evening of March 10, as the St. Stephen’s Global Ensemble completed the first concert of its Spain tour.
Prior to this performance, adult chaperons had been warned that the audiences of Granada could be harsh and would not hesitate to leave in the middle of a concert if they did not like what they heard. Now, after three encores, it was clear the audience had found plenty to appreciate.
The Spain tour marked the third collaboration between St. Stephen’s student musicians and the professional World Music band Atash. After a successful tour of Central Europe in 2017, followed by an appearance in Carnegie Hall in 2018, the Global Ensemble — comprised of musicians from the St. Stephen’s Orchestra, the school’s Thunder Drumline and Atash — shared their program with wildly enthusiastic audiences in Granada, Seville, Puerto de Santa Maria, Salamanca and Madrid.
The music of Atash, a fusion of influences from India through the Middle East, Africa, the Mediterranean and the Americas, was arranged for full orchestra and expanded percussion by St. Stephen’s Director of Orchestras John Moon, a member of Atash. The rich complexity of the Global Ensemble’s music was extremely well received by audiences across Spain, a prominent cultural center of Europe.
This program will be performed once more this spring during a public concert on Sunday, April 28 at 7 p.m. in the Temple Family Theater.
—Elizabeth Hansing Moon, Fine Arts Department Chair
Address: 6500 St. Stephen's Dr., Austin, TX 78746
Phone: (512) 327-1213
Phone: (512) 327-1213