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MIAMI, Fla. (Feb. 25, 2002)
- In order to kick off Florida International University's Fourth
CRI Conference on Cuban and Cuban American Studies, the Cuban
Research Institute will present a concert entitled, " Rene
Touzet: His Music and His Friends" on Wednesday, March 6
at 8 p.m. at the Wertheim Performing Arts Center, located at the
University Park campus, Southwest Eighth Street and 107 Avenue.
The concert is the opening night event for the conference, which
convenes scholars, experts and other individuals from throughout
the world every 18 months to discuss and study the Cuban experience.
The music of Touzet, the famed classical composer of "boleros,"
will be presented by pianists Olga Diaz, Gilbert Macias, Rodolfo
Brito and Lisa Leonard. Vocalists Armando Terron and Tania Marti
will accompany Touzet himself as he plays some of his favorite
pieces.
"Even at 85, Touzet is full of life," said musicologist
Cristobal Diaz Ayala. "Touzet is an icon of romantic Cuban
music and emblematic of that genre."
A composer, pianist, arranger and director, Touzet finished his
formal piano training at the age of 14. When he turned 20 he composed
his first bolero and a short time later he composed No Te Importe
Saber, which was known in the U.S. as Let Me Love You Tonight
and sung by Frank Sinatra and Bing Crosby. By 1944 he was the
director of the orchestra that played in the Casino Nacional in
Cuba. He moved to the U.S. where he recorded several albums and
introduced cha cha cha and afrocuban jazz in the west coast of
the U.S.
For nearly 15 years, Touzet conducted his own orchestra in Los
Angeles called Rene Touzet & His Orchestra, and throughout
his career he created more than 500 compositions.
Most recently he has performed in annual concerts at the Miami-Dade
Auditorium and makes special appearances locally.
Tickets for this concert are $15. For more information call 305-348-1991.
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