This concert is the culminating process of three months of work with voice students. They will be presenting songs from the jazz, Latin American repertoire --traditional and new bossa nova, landó, Peruvian vals, bolero-- music from Cape Verde like the morna, as well as collective improvisations. 

Vocals: Katheryn Ojeda, Ivette Oliveras, Nineth Pinzón, Gina Rae Foster
Sabrina Lastman - voice teacher
Pedro Rodriguez - guitar

Sabrina Lastman is a vocalist, composer and educator born in Montevideo, Uruguay. Drawing from jazz, Latin American and contemporary music, often integrating extended vocal techniques, Sabrina concentrates her work on jazz projects, and the creation of interdisciplinary performances combining voice, sound, electronics, movement, and visuals. Sabrina has performed at Carnegie Hall, Classical Guitar Association of NY, Blues Alley Jazz, Blue Note, Joe's Pub, Juilliard, CUNY, Yale University and NYU, among others. She has played with musicians such as Fernando Otero, Meredith Monk, Bakithi Kumalo, Tali Roth, Pablo Aslan, Emilio Solla, Pedro Giraudo, David Silliman, The M6, Alexander Norris and Meg Okura. Her album "The Folds of the Soul" was nominated by the Graffiti Award 2008 as one of the best jazz albums of the year. She was awarded grants by the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council (LMCC) & New York City Department of Cultural Affairs (DCA), and the New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA). She has taught at the Hispanic Organization of Latin Actors (HOLA), IATI Theater, Middlebury College, Portland Arts & Technology School, Movement Research, New York Theatre Workshop (NYTW), Actors Movement Studio, Teatro La Tea, Art for Change, Jewish Community Center in Manhattan, and privately at her own studio. She's the co-director of "Vital Vox", a vocal festival exploring the myriad power of the human voice across a multitude of genres by vocal artists creating and performing their own original work. She has toured internationally playing in many musical and interdisciplinary projects from Tango to New Music. Sabrina graduated from The Jerusalem Academy of Music & Dance in Israel, and is also a Feldenkrais Method ATM Teacher. Her next album "The Candombe Jazz Sessions" will be released in March 2012 with ZOHO Music. www.sabrina-lastman.com 

Pedro Rodriguez is a talented musician, guitarist whose stylistic versatility expands into the areas of performing, arranging and composition. During his years as a student at William Paterson University he had the opportunity to learn from and perform with master musicians in the field of Jazz, such as Gene Bertoncini, Cecil Bridgewater, David Demsey, Armen Donelian, Steve LaSpina, Jim McNeely, Paul Meyers, Rich de Rosa, Rufus Reid , Mulgrew Miller, Stanley Turrentine, among many others. His arranging skills have also been in the service for Randy Brecker & The William Paterson University Big Band, The Dead Man Trio, La Banda Del Capitan Corneta, Los Titulares, Midtown Direct Quintet and William Paterson University Jazz Ensembles. Pedro has also been commissioned to write music for film and theater: Dos Hermanos by Alberto Fuguet (2000), En tu casa a las ocho by Christine Lucas (1995), Buick becomes Elektra or the Torrid Zone(2010) directed by Edward Matthews, La casa de Bernarda Alba directed by Martin Rodriguez (2011) awarded by Funds for the Arts in Chile (Fondart), and La Inquisicion directed by Natalia Cuellar (1999). As part of his performing career, recording has been registered in albums such as Bipolar by Los Titulares(2003), Dead Man Plays Dead Man by the Dead Man Trio (2006), Hot Jazz with Roberto Lecaros Quartet (1994), and Perros Dias by la Banda del Capitan Corneta (1994). Pedro has also achieved enormous teaching experience working extensively as a music teacher in Santiago de Chile teaching at PROJAZZ Music School (1998-2000) and the ARCIS University (2000-2003). His teaching subjects were guitar, ensemble workshops, music theory, guitar workshops, arranging, and ear training, among others. His successful achievements of this learning experience will also be presented as a future publication 'Writing and arranging for the guitar' sponsored by eminent figures in the field of both guitar and arranging.