Senior Recital
Violin Around the World
Praise - Caribbean
Islands including Cuba, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Jamaica
Central America including Panama, Guatemala, Costa Rica, El Salvador
North coast of South America including Venezuela, Guyana
New York
Isaac – Violin
Gavin – EUB
Tyler Bothof – Congas
Justin Brown – Drumkit, Timbales
Joey Jagich – Trombone
Joey Gomez – Electric Guitar
Oscar Palacios – Piano
Oscar Fonseca – Cowbell, Guiro, Guira
Harper Lambeth – Clarinet
Abe Lambeth – Trumpet
Trombone – A slide brass instrument from Renaissance Europe, allowing smooth pitch changes. Used in Balkan brass bands and New Orleans traditions. It often provides counter-melodies or harmonic support with expressive glissandi. It has become a very important voice in Salsa music.
Trumpet – A valved brass instrument with a bright tone, central to mariachi (Mexico), Balkan brass, and celebratory folk styles. It frequently carries bold melodic lines in outdoor or festive settings. It is very important in Cuban salsa music and jazz.
Clarinet – Developed in Germany, with wide range and flexibility. Prominent in klezmer, Balkan, Turkish, Latin, and Middle Eastern folk. Its ability to bend pitch makes it highly expressive in modal music.
EUB (Electric Upright Bass) – A modern amplified version of the double bass, used in contemporary folk and fusion. It offers portability while retaining upright playing technique. Variations of the EUB have found a permanent role in salsa music where amplified bass lines are essential to establishing the groove with congas and timbales.
Maracas – Indigenous rattles from the Caribbean and South America, widely used in Latin folk. They create continuous rhythmic texture.
Congas – Afro-Cuban drums played with hands, central to Cuban music. Different drums play complementary parts.
Timbales – Cuban metal-shell drums played with sticks in salsa and Latin folk. They often include cowbell patterns.
Guiro – A scraped gourd instrument from Latin America. Its repetitive patterns drive rhythm.
Guira – A metal scraper from the Dominican Republic used in merengue. It produces a bright, continuous sound.
Cowbell (Latin Music) – Derived from African iron bells and adapted in the Caribbean, the cowbell became a core timekeeping instrument in Afro-Cuban and Latin styles. Made of metal and struck with a stick, it produces a bright, cutting tone that plays repeating rhythmic patterns. It is central in salsa, mambo, and son, where it locks the groove and often outlines clave-based rhythms within the ensemble.