Onda tropical, I. Rebajado
MEXICAN RARITIES PRESENTS
ONDA TROPICAL
Rodrigo Martínez Torres
SINGLE
05’57’’
4-jul-24
AVAILABLE IN
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We are pleased to announce the digital publication of “Onda tropical, I. Rebajado,” an innovative piece for diatonic accordion and symphonic band, available July 4th.
Created by the talented Mexican composer Rodrigo Martínez Torres, this piece had its world premiere on March 24, 2023, at the Sala Nezahualcóyotl in Mexico City. It stands out for its fusion of Latin American rhythms with the rich sound of a symphonic band. The piece was performed by the Dartmouth College Wind Ensemble, featuring the notable participation of accordionist Abi “La Coreañera” Pak and conducted by maestro Brian Messier.
Abigail Pak, also known as “La Coreañera“, is a multi-instrumentalist and a cumbia enthusiast since childhood. She made her piano solo debut in 2017 at Carnegie Hall, New York, and has since won several national and international awards in classical music. She is the principal percussionist of the Dartmouth College Wind Ensemble and has actively participated in the Symphonic Band of UNAM’s Faculty of Music. Pak has performed as an accordion soloist at UNAM’s Sala Nezahualcóyotl in Mexico City, as well as in various cities across Mexico and the United States. As a cumbia and urban music artist, with over 800,000 followers on social media, she has played at numerous festivals and events in Mexico City, Tlaxcala, and Veracruz. She has also appeared as a featured guest on TV Azteca’s program “Venga la Alegría.” In June 2024, Pak closed the 3rd Sonidero Marathon of Mexico City (Casa del Lago, UNAM) following Sonido La Conga. She has shared the stage with Colombian accordionist Yeison Landero and El Golo de La Milenio.
Rodrigo Martínez Torres is a prominent Mexican composer known for his ability to abstract Latin American musical language in his creations. His work has been internationally recognized and awarded, and he has collaborated with prestigious ensembles and soloists. He is currently pursuing a master’s degree in Sonic Practice at Dartmouth College (NH, USA).
He has been the recipient of grants from the Hopkins Center for the Arts at Dartmouth, FONCA, and the MacDowell artistic residency, as well as the grand prize winner of the Dartmouth College Wind Ensemble Composition Competition in 2020 and the Arturo Márquez composition competition in 2017.
In addition to being a composer, he has played in various ensembles over the past few years, including Coro Delicieux (2015), Orquesta Filarmónica del Nuevo Mundo (2016), Laure Briard (FR, 2017), Monstruos del Mañana (2018), Supersilverhaze (2020), and La Chinaca (UK, 2021). Currently, Rodrigo is promoting a new musical project called Radiotrónica, in which the golden age of radio and the space age find a new voice in Latin American popular music.
“Onda tropical” is a piece for diatonic accordion and symphonic band. It was composed during the fall of 2022 at Dartmouth College, where Rodrigo and Abi forged a special musical friendship through their shared passion for cumbia sonidera. They would meet weekly to improvise cumbias on their instruments: percussion and accordion. This music resonates on every corner of Rodrigo’s hometown and in Abi’s workspace in Germantown, Maryland – the same place where she learned to speak Spanish like a true Mexico City native.
The work’s title has three reasons. First, the composition aims to convey a tropical wave or vibe, so foreign to New England’s autumn weather. Second, the piece’s conception alludes to sonidero culture, where DJs send greetings via radio waves from Mexicans in the United States to their relatives in Mexico. In this way, the composer can extend a greeting to his loved ones in Mexico: “I’m in the United States. I’m doing well. Cumbia plays here too, and I have a great friend who speaks my language.“
Lastly, the piece is structured through musical waves. The words “onda” and “ola” can be translated to the same word in English: wave. The musical events unfold like waves, becoming increasingly louder, more frequent, and more tropical.
This piece was commissioned by the Hopkins Center for the Arts at Dartmouth and is dedicated with great affection to Abi Pak, Brian Messier, and the members of the Dartmouth College Wind Ensemble.
Following the success of the first movement, “Rebajado,” Rodrigo undertook the task of writing two more movements, “Adagio” and “Rayado,” to create a concerto for accordion and symphonic band. The complete concerto will premiere at Jordan Hall of the New England Conservatory in Boston, Massachusetts, under the baton of Dr. Brian Messier and with La Coreañera as the soloist leading the ensemble, on November 3, 2024.
Composer: Rodrigo Martínez Torres
Performed by: Abigail Pak “La Coreañera“ & Dartmouth College Wind Ensemble
Conducted by: Brian Messier.
Executive production: Hopkins Center for the arts at Dartmouth
Recording, mixing and mastering: Hans Mues
Artwork: Francisco Muñoz
Graphic Design: Mercedes Quezada
Label: Mexican Rarities
Recorded in the Sala Nezahualcóyotl at UNAM 2023 ©
