March 7, 2020 | 8:00PM
Mandel Hall
Free; Donations requested at the door: $10, $5 students
Caribbean Adventures with Plena Libre
7:00 pm "Voices of the People: An Introduction to Bomba and Plena" — lecture with Anjelica Corbett, McCormick Tribune Lounge
The acclaimed plena and bomba ensemble Plena Libre – this year’s Don Michael Randel Ensemble-in-Residence at the University of Chicago – joins the USO on stage for a vibrant celebration of music from their native Puerto Rico. With an aggressive, tight, yet sensitive style that balances the traditional with the contemporary and the global with the local, group leader Gary Nuñez and the virtuoso vocalists and instrumentalists of Plena Libre bring their signature style to the fore, with the University Symphony as their “back-up band.” For the first half of the concert, the USO explores the “American view” of Puerto Rico and the Caribbean: with George Gershwin’s Cuban Overture, the Tango from Morton Gould’s Latin-American Symphonette, and contemporary Puerto Rican composer Roberto Sierra’s alluring tone poem, Borikén.
No tickets are required for this performance. Seating is first come, first served. Doors will open at 7:30 p.m.