Waynesburg University’s Fine Arts Department hosted the grand premiere of Latin-American chamber music ensemble Camerata 33. Hosted in the Goodwin Performing Arts Center for the Performing Arts Series, the performance was the group’s premiere.

“It is our debut night as an ensemble,” said Alejandro Pinzon, co-founder of Camerata 33. “We all have our own personal careers so this is our first time as an ensemble and hopefully not the last one.”

The Camerata members are Claudia Quintana Coro, Rick Lang, Sarah Grudbaur, Camilo Jauregui, Stephen Weiss, Leslee Becker and Alejandro Pinzon. For Pinzon and Jauregui, they were very pleased with how the performance went. 

“We are excited, I think the audience was very excited as well,” Pinzon said. “People were standing up, clapping and asking for more. So, I think we accomplished what we wanted. We had a fun night, and it’s hopefully the beginning of many more.”

The ensemble started with the Piazzolla Trilogy by Astor Piazzolla. The Piazzolla Trilogy is made up of “Vuelvo al Sur,” “Milonga del Angel” and “Libertango.” The next piece played was “Poema de Neruda” by Blas Galindo. Next, they performed “Colombian Dances” by Fernando Leon Rengifo. After an intermission, the second part of the show began with a Latin Percussion Improvisation played by Jauregui. Following the improvisation, Pinzon came out and conducted the ensemble for the playing of “Panamanian Dances” by William Grant Still. The final piece was “El Cumbanchero” by Rafael Hernandez Marin. 

“We are extremely happy. I am in my home since I am a teacher here at Waynesburg,” Jauregui said. “So, I am truly happy to have the Camerata 33 here to perform.”

During the performance,  Pinzon took questions from the audience in between pieces. One of the questions was where did the ensemble’s name originated.

“The name comes from a mix of an ensemble that is small – that’s what camerata means – and 33 is the idea of the 33  parallel that is an imaginary line that divides the U.S. and Latin America. Camilo thought of it, and I said what a great name,” Pinzon said.