SALINA, KAN. - Full circle moment brings Rach & Rhapsody to the Stiefel and you can check it out this November in Salina.
4 p.m. Nov. 8 at the Stiefel Theatre for the Performing Arts, 151 S. Santa Fe.
Sergei Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 2 has a special place in Ignacio “Nachito” Herrera’s heart.
The renowned Afro-Cuban jazz pianist first performed the classic concerto in his professional debut with the National Symphony Orchestra of Cuba.
At the time, he was just 12 years old.
In the decades since, Herrera has performed the concerto multiple times throughout his long career and never tires of returning to it.
“It’s very special, a most wonderful piano concerto in its technique, melodies and harmonies,” Herrera said. “Every time I get the opportunity to perform this, I’m thrilled, because every time you play it, you find something new.”
Herrera will be performing the concerto once more, this time with the Salina Symphony during their “Rach & Rhapsody” concert beginning at 4 p.m. Nov. 8 at the Stiefel Theatre for the Performing Arts, 151 S. Santa Fe.
The concert also will feature Franz Liszt’s popular “Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2,” and contemporary composer Michael Schachter’s original piece “Being and Becoming, Rhapsody for Piano and Orchestra,” commissioned for the centennial of George Gershwin’s jazz-influenced classical masterpiece “Rhapsody in Blue.”
Herrera performed “Rhapsody in Blue” with the Salina Symphony during the opening concert of their 2023-24 season, infusing the piece with his personal Afro-Cuban improvisational style. He also will be on piano for the Schachter piece, a tribute and companion piece to the original.
“It’s a completely new piece for me to play, but I took it on as a challenge,” he said. “It has real jazz improvisation in it, which is great, because you don’t have to play everything as written.”
The Rachmaninoff is a different story. Herrera may love to improvise on the piano, but the composition that launched him into the professional performance world will be played more or less “straight.”
“In classical music, you pay more attention to the chords and notes,” Herrera said. “But I still like to put jazz styles into classical music to get a new kind of sound.”
Piano soloist
Two-time Grammy award winner Herrera has performed in many of the world’s most famous concert halls and at prestigious jazz festivals. As a piano soloist with orchestra, he has appeared with the National Symphony Orchestra of Cuba, the Minnesota Orchestra and the Naples Philharmonic Orchestra, among many others.
As a pianist, music director, composer, arranger, producer and recording artist, Herrera has worked with such renowned groups as the Buena Vista Social Club (which he first was invited to join at age 16), Cubanismo and the Afro-Cuban All Stars.
A website devoted to jazz music, All About Jazz, has described Herrera as having “stepped onto the national stage as a fully evolved artist, brimming with confidence, in total command of vast array of traditional and contemporary Cuban idioms, and imparting a virtuosic touch on all aspects of (this) shimmering production.”
Despite his acclaim in the jazz world, Herrera originally was trained as a classical pianist who, by necessity, pivoted to the world of jazz, said Yaniv Segal, conductor and music director of the Salina Symphony.
“Cuba was a satellite of the Soviet Union, and when that collapsed, Nachito switched to jazz,” Segal said. “He became renowned as an Afro-Cuban jazz artist and has made hundreds of recordings.”
Segal said Herrera electrified the audience during his first appearance with the Salina Symphony, where he not only performed a riveting adaptation of “Rhapsody in Blue,” but as an encore played several of his original compositions.
When Herrera was booked to return to Salina this season, Segal said he was inspired to create a piano-oriented concert that would take advantage of Herrera’s “romantic passion” and “enormous sound.”
“With Nachito coming back, we wanted to make this concert very much piano-centered,” he said. “He wanted to come back to Salina to perform the Rachmaninoff, so I asked him while he was here, could he do the Schachter as well.”
Segal said that while Herrera stays true to a composer’s intent, at times his “incredible sense of rhythm comes through.”
“Nachito always brings his unique style to it,” he said. “I’ve never seen someone’s hands move so fast on a keyboard.”
Excited about Symphony
Herrera said he is excited about performing for the second time with the Salina Symphony, who he called professional-caliber musicians.
“When musicians decide to take on the challenge of playing classical pieces, I think they have become professionals,” he said. “This orchestra takes their playing seriously. Yaniv is a great conductor, and he knows what he has to work with. They have a great sound. I’m thrilled that I can come back here.”
During his visit, Herrera also will be working with area student jazz bands at the McPherson College Jazz Festival as well as Kansas Wesleyan University.
“I’m a professional musician now, but I remember when I was a student wanting to learn,” he said. “I love to work with music students, love to be around them. Hopefully, I will give them inspiration.”
Whether he’s performing jazz improvisation or classical masterpieces, Herrera said all music is about sharing and transporting listeners to a higher plane, a spiritual plane if you will.
“Music is about healing, about connection,” he said. “As a musician, I get the spirit and want to share that with an audience. And then to get support from an audience is wonderful. It increases a sense of family, that everyone’s there to have the same experience.
“As musicians, we all work together and work hard to give audiences what they deserve. We’re nothing without our audience. I just want to have fun with them.”
Tickets on sale
Single tickets may be purchased for “Rach & Rhapsody.” Adult tickets are $49 and $45, and student tickets are $25. Student tickets must be purchased at the Stiefel Theatre Box Office. Adult tickets also may be purchased at the Stiefel box office from noon to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, by calling (785) 827-1998 or online at www.salinasymphony.org
Season tickets also are still available for the five remaining mainstage concerts at $200 or $225 for adults and $115 for students.
New subscribers can still take advantage of buy-one, get-one free season tickets for the remaining concerts. Season tickets can be purchased at the Salina Symphony office on the second floor of the Stiefel Theatre from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday or by calling (785) 823-8309.
For more information, contact Salina Symphony executive director Adrienne Allen at (785) 823-8309.