Distinguished U.S. Pianist and Conductor Benjamin Loeb Offers Concerts in La Plata, Rosario, Buenos Aires, and La Matanza

August 21-27, 2011

Benjamin Loeb

The U.S. Embassy in Buenos Aires presents Benjamin Loeb, accomplished conductor, accompanist, soloist, arranger, and educator in Argentina.

Benjamin Loeb will offer a series of concerts titled “Ragtime! A Tribute to Scott Joplin.” In these performances, Maestro Loeb will take audiences on a journey through the life of U.S. ragtime pianist and composer Scott Joplin.  The concerts will be held at the Pasaje Dardo Rocha in La Plata on August 21, at the Asociación Rosarina de Intercambio Cultural Argentino Norteamericano (ARICANA) in Rosario on August 23, and at the Departamento de Artes Musicales y Sonoras "Carlos Lopez Buchardo" in the city of Buenos Aires on August 26.

Maestro Loeb will also conduct the Youth Orchestra of Chascomús in a special concert at the National University of La Matanza on August 27.

BENJAMIN LOEB’S CONCERT SCHEDULE:

Sunday, August 21, 7:00 pm
Piano Concert: “A Tribute to Scott Joplin”
Location: Pasaje Dardo Rocha, Salón Auditorio, Calle 50 entre 6 y 7

Admission: Free

Organized by the United States Embassy in Buenos Aires, the Municipality of La Plata, Fundación Pro Humanae Vitae, and Fundación Florencio Pérez

Tuesday, August 23, 7:30 pm
Piano Concert: “Ragtime! A Tribute to Scott Joplin”
Location: ARICANA, Auditorium, Buenos Aires 934, (2000) Rosario, Santa Fe

Admission: Free – please confirm attendance via e-mail to aricana@aricanabnc.com.ar

Organized by the United States Embassy in Buenos Aires and ARICANA

Friday, August 26, 7:00 pm
Piano Concert: “Ragtime! A Tribute to Scott Joplin”
Location: DAMus - Departamento de Artes Musicales y Sonoras “Carlos López Buchardo”, Sala Roberto García Morillo (1st floor), Av. Cordoba 2445, Buenos Aires

Admission: Free – limited space available

Organized by the United States Embassy in Buenos Aires, Afro American Music and the Musical Arts Department “Carlos López Buchardo”

Saturday, August 27, 7:00 pm
Concert of the Youth Orchestra of Chascomús led by Conductor Benjamin Loeb
Location: Universidad Nacional de la Matanza, Auditorium, Florencio Varela 1903, San Justo, Buenos Aires

Admission: Free

Organized by the United States Embassy in Buenos Aires, the Fundación Sistema de Orquestas Infantiles y Juveniles de Argentina, the Programa Provincial de Orquestas-Escuela de la Dirección General de Cultura y Educación de la Provincia de Buenos Aires, and the National University of La Matanza

About Benjamin Loeb:

Benjamin Loeb is a native Texan. His projects range from concerts of Beethoven and Bruckner Symphonies to recordings with Yo-Yo Ma of Italian 16th century madrigalists to tours with popular rock musicians to world premieres of the most cutting-edge avant-garde contemporary music.

As the Associate Conductor of the El Paso Symphony Orchestra, Loeb founded and served as both Executive and Music Director of the El Paso Symphony Youth Orchestras – El Paso’s only national-level, NEA-recognized, multiple-orchestra system serving the best young musicians in the El Paso, southern New Mexico and Juarez region.  He held the position of Assistant Conductor for the Haddonfield Symphony for four years and Assistant Conductor for the Greater Bridgeport (CT) Symphony Orchestra for two, and served for three summers as Assistant Conductor for the TodiMusicFest in Portsmouth, VA.  He is the Founder and Artistic Director of the International Conducting Workshop and Festival, now in its ninth year, hosted by orchestras around the world.  He has also served as Director of Orchestras at the Music Institute of Chicago.

As a pianist, Benjamin Loeb’s concerts have taken him around the world to major venues and on radio and TV in New York City, San Francisco, Dallas, Los Angeles, Tokyo, Berlin, Seoul, Shanghai, Wuhan, Guangzhou, Panama City, Helsinki, St. Petersburg and tours across the United States.  He can be heard on many labels having recorded CD’s with violinists Joseph Lin (Korngold and Busoni), Takako Nishizaki (Mozart), and Livia Sohn (Opera Fantasies) on Naxos, Judy Kang for the Canadian Broadcast Corporation, and with soprano Allison Charney on the DSCLabel.  He also has a recently released solo album on Naxos of Joplin Rags and has two recordings in production of Christmas and Children Songs with soprano Katrina Swift.

Benjamin Loeb holds a Graduate Performance Diploma from the Peabody Conservatory in Conducting, as a student of Gustav Meier, a Master in Music from the Curtis Institute and a Doctor in Musical Arts from the Juilliard School in Accompanying and a Bachelor of Arts from Harvard University.