Lesher Center & DRAA presents Spanish Harlem Orchestra
The Company in “Club Havana”
Photo by Joseph Sinnott
Digital Programs
Beginning in 2024, Lesher Center’s Headliners Series adopted the use of digital programs meant to be viewed on mobile devices. By cutting our paper use and eliminating substantial printing costs we are sustaining our mission to elevate the arts in the greater Contra Costa region.
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Announcing the 2024/25 Headliner Series
At The Lesher Center Support Lesher Center More from Fiesta Cultural About Spanish Harlem Orchestra
Program Details
Approx 90 minutes with no intermission
Welcome
Welcome to Fiesta Cultural—the Lesher Center’s week-long celebration of Latin American arts and culture.
Throughout the year, our Lesher Center Presents series brings audiences entertainment and inspiring artistic voices from across the globe. Through our Headliners Series, Center Repertory Company theatrical productions and Bedford Gallery exhibitions, over 250,000 arts enthusiasts engage with our programs, and we’re thrilled to have you with us today!
Fiesta Cultural is a true coming together of diverse genres, mediums, artists, and themes at this beautiful home for the arts. We are thankful to the many participants behind-the-scenes, on our stages, external community leaders
Whether this is your first or 100th time at the Lesher Center, we invite to explore our programming and learn more about the thrilling events coming up. This is YOUR center, and we look forward to sharing the stories, sounds and spirit that make up our community with you.
Peggy + Carolyn
Peggy White
Executive Director, Diablo Regional Arts Association
Carolyn Jackson
General Manager, Lesher Center for the Arts and those participating in our outdoor street-fair for helping to make this extraordinary week come to vibrant life.
Featuring world-renowned artists, the Lesher Center Presents Headliners series showcases a diverse range of artists and genres— from Broadway powerhouses to the newest superstars of Jazz, Dance, World-Music!
The 2024/25 Headliners Season includes:
A FIRESIDE CHAT WITH RITA MORENO
September 18, 2024
Actress, dancer, and entertainment icon—the ‘EGOT’ winner sits down to discuss her eight-decades of life in entertainment and passion for Arts Education.
360 ALLSTARS
October 26, 2024
BMX, beatbox, and breakdance collide in this internationally acclaimed performance troupe!
MS. MONÉT
January 11, 2025
A fan favorite from NBC’s The Voice, the Bay Area native and jazz singer rising star has toured with Boz Scaggs, Michael McDonald, Johnny Mathis and more!
STELLA COLE
January 18, 2025
Straddling the world of jazz, pop and musical theater, this multifaceted performer’s star is fast on the rise through her fresh interpretations of songs from Barbra Streisand to Billie Eilish.
MANDY PATINKIN IN CONCERT: BEING ALIVE WITH ADAM BEN DAVID
February 20, 2025
From Evita to The Princess Bride to TV’s “Homeland”, the Broadway legend and powerhouse actor
COLLEGE NOTES A CAPPELLA
February 21-22, 2025
The sold-out event returns as the nation’s top collegiate A Cappella performance groups gather for this only-at-the Lesher Center event!
DANCE THEATRE OF HARLEM
March 14-15, 2025
The celebrated multi-ethnic dance company celebrate Black culture and empowerment through the arts for all.
TERENCE BLANCHARD
The world-renown Grammy Awardwinning jazz trumpeter—and San Francisco Jazz’s Executive Artistic Director—celebrates the 20th anniversary of his critically acclaimed recording, Flow.
MIGUEL ZENÓN
April 11, 2025
The internationally acclaimed Grammy Award-winner has been hailed as one of the most influential saxophonists of his generation.
MARIACHI REYNA DE
LOS ANGELES
June 13, 2025
America’s first allfemale mariachi ensemble makes their Lesher Center debut Summer 2025.
All shows on sale now! Save 20% when you choose one of our minibundle packages, or choose six or more performances from any of the below shows and save 25%! Click below to learn more!
Learn More
The Headliners Series is brought to you by the Lesher Center and Diablo Regional Arts Association.
About Spanish Harlem Orchestra
Spanish Harlem Orchestra, the three-time Grammy® winning Salsa and Latin Jazz band, sets the gold standard for excellence in authentic, New York style, hard core salsa.
Whether in a concert hall or at an outdoor jazz festival, there is no easing you in, they come at you full force, from start to finish. Their energy on stage and their rich sound and musical precision leave audiences mesmerized until the last note is played. With an unwavering respect for the music’s storied history, the ensemble’s thirteen world-class musicians and vocalists come together to create an unparalleled musical experience.
Now celebrating 20 years of excellence, SHO, as they are known to fans, is dedicated to the sounds
of the barrio (Spanish Harlem, NYC). Their music is characterized by the raw, organic and vintage sound defined by the genre. They are on a mission to keep the musical legacy of salsa dura (hard salsa) alive and expand its audience to those who love great music, not just Latin music. Grounded in the past, while focused on the future, they strive to keep the music relevant, creating a unique and fresh approach. With eight CD’s and five Grammy nominations, this powerhouse orchestra is aware that it is crucial to continually push themselves and raise the bar. Their 2018 release “Anniversary” won the 2019 Grammy® Award for “Best Tropical Album”. On their latest 2022 release, Imágenes Latinas, SHO stays true to their purpose
with a fresh slate of new songs and arrangements dedicated to the memory of iconic New York salsa and Latin Jazz group, Conjunto Libre and its members Andy Gonzalez, Jerry Gonzalez, Barry Rogers, and leader Manny Oquendo.
History
After two decades of session work, composing, arranging and producing, band leader Oscar Hernández was approached by producer Aaron Levinson in 2000 about the idea of assembling and recording a Latin jazz orchestra. The result was Un Gran Dia en el Barrio, the 2002 debut recording from Spanish Harlem Orchestra that scored a Grammy nomination for “Best Salsa Album” and a Latin
Billboard® Award for Salsa Album of the Year. Based on the success of their first CD, Hernández and SHO began touring and wowing audiences all over the world.
Recordings
Their first Grammy win came in 2004 with their follow-up album, Across 110th Street, a reference to Harlem’s southern boundary. Featuring Ruben Blades as guest artist, the combination proved to be explosive and featured Blades singing in the style of salsa dura that many of his fans longed to hear.
Released in 2007, United We Swing earned yet another Grammy nomination. The album features Paul Simon as special guest singing a burning rendition of his hit “Late in The Evening” – SHO style. Their
second Grammy® winning album, Viva La Tradicion, was released in 2010 on the Concord® Picante imprint. Their 2015 selftitled release Spanish Harlem Orchestra on Artistshare® featured jazz legends Chick Corea and Joe Lovano, and their most recent release Anniversary (Artistshare), featuring trumpet great Randy Brecker, was a winner at this year’s 61st Annual Grammy® Awards. Spanish Harlem Orchestra expanded their repertoire in 2020 with the release of The Latin Jazz Project. After flashing glimpses of their Latin Jazz prowess over the course of their previous six recordings, SHO goes ‘all in’ on The Latin Jazz Project, their first full length Latin jazz release. A litany of top-tier jazz artists join the ensemble
as featured guests soloists: Kurt Elling, Miguel Zenon, Tom Harrell, Dave Liebman, Bob Mintzer, Joe Locke, and others. Now with Imágenes Latinas in 2022, the first SHO release under Hernández’ new imprint Ovation Records, Spanish Harlem Orchestra stays true to their purpose to honor the tradition of great Latin music, being hailed as “the leading light of the salsa reconstruction movement” (Newsday).
Band Leader Oscar Hernández has long been considered one of the most prominent pianists and arrangers in the Salsa & Latin Jazz scene. He is all about tradition. Born into
a large Puerto Rican family living in the Bronx, it was the nearby Spanish Harlem neighborhood that shaped his cultural musical sensibilities. The soundtrack to this bustling enclave in the ‘60s, emanating from any given window on any given day, was a mix of Latin Jazz and American pop radio. Hernandez started playing the trumpet at age twelve; he switched to piano shortly thereafter. By the time he finished his teen years, he was making a living as a professional musician and gigging with some of the most talented Latin Jazz artists of the ‘70s. He spent much of the ‘80s producing, arranging and playing piano for Panamanian vocalist Rubén Blades while simultaneously leading his own band, Seis del Solar. In the 90’s Hernandez produced a
recording titled “Dance City” which received a rave review in the NY Times and led Paul Simon to call him as arranger/producer & musical director for his Broadway show “The Capeman.” Oscar also received acclaim as music arranger on Gloria Estefan’s hit 2015 Broadway musical “On Your Feet”.
Learn more about Spanish Harlem Orchestra at SpanishHarlemOrchestra.com.
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Fiesta Cultural 2023 Street Fair, Chavalos Danzas por Nicaragua, photo by Ben Krantz Studio
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