The Berta Rojas & Friends Terrace Theater Concert, March 17, 2004
A Presenter's Perspective

We knew going in to meet with Derek Gordon, (Vice-President of the Kennedy Center and head of the Education department, who co-sponsored this event with the John E. Marlow Guitar Series), that we were going to do it: present Berta Rojas and her friends of the Quarteto del Sur, at the Terrace Theater. Following the meeting, we were a bit troubled by the timing. The performance was to be on a Wednesday, in the middle of a school week, and on the feast of St. Patrick as well! After some agonizing and consultation with our Board of Directors, we decided to accept the date, despite these concerns.

Of all of the concerts we did in our 10th season, this one took the most energy, mainly because of the surprises that appeared one by one and for which we hadn't planned in our budget. When Regis set up the guitar series in the 60’s he organized the work visas for out of country artists and it was easy. Now, it is hard, the office is in Vermont with an unlisted phone number and it costs $1,000 to have your case "considered.” Couple that with an insurance policy which costs a cool $660 for one evening and you begin to sense some of the problems. I won’t go into the per-ticket surcharges of the Ticket office of the Kennedy Center except to mention them here lightly.

In the end, notwithstanding a knockout performance consisting of wonderful solos, fabulous ensemble playing and "smoldering” tango dancers, and even with a sold-out house, the John E. Marlow Series was not even able to cover expenses, let alone contribute anything to its non-profit coffers to allow for a reserve fund against the unforeseen, like 9/11 or the sniper.

For a presenting organization, what could possibly be better than having sold every ticket before the doors even open? The answer is having about 20 tickets still available at the last moment, so that you don’t have to listen to plaintive stories about someone having driven all night to get here from West Podunk and, why should they have to reserve in advance, because that would have cost them a long distance call!

One "rose amongst the many thorns” of being a concert promoter is the joy of being able to watch performers fulfill long held dreams. That evening, watching Berta Rojas and her many, talented friends perform so marvelously before a hushed, spellbound audience, Regis Ferruzza, Artistic Director of the Marlow Guitar Series and I were able, for a brief moment, to simply enjoy the fact that we had enabled these wonderful performers share their artistry with all of us.

The program opened with a set of dazzling solos, sensitively presented by the star of the evening, Berta Rojas. Following this, fellow guitarist, Magdalena Duhagon, joined Berta to form the Rojas-Duhagon guitar duo. They regaled their audience with sounds from Brazil, offered up with musical charm and flawless precision.

Following this, the guitaristic talents of Nestor Ausqui and Marcelo Cornut augmented the musical resources of the Rojas-Duhagon duo. Suddenly, faster than your nephew can say, "transformer-robot”, we were presented with the Quarteto del Sur.

Nestor Ausqui’s arrangements for the quartet were masterful, taking full advantage of scordatura, (altered tunings), and of an oversized bass guitar, played with such expertise by Marcelo Cornut. Listening to the ensemble’s interpretation of selections from Bizet’s Carmen was a treat. As the quartet moved onto the Washington premiere of their arrangement of Rodrigo’s Concierto de Aranjuez, the music became more involved, though never tangled, just pierced by notes darting in and out, reminding us of melodies otherwise played by brass, strings and winds. Most guitarists feel they have more than enough to do while playing the Aranjuez guitar part, as written. So, Berta’s performance was even more stunning when you consider that she had to fill in with extra orchestral parts that couldn’t be handled by the other three members of the quartet!

Things took a dramatic turn when a beautiful, sensuously clad Maria Gonzalez appeared on stage. After a few moments of tantalizing twists and turns, accompanied all the while by tango music knowingly played by the Quarteto del Sur, Mariawas joined by Luis Olivera. Decked out in a dark pin-stripe suit, and replete with a jauntily angled fedora, he seemed the very embodiment of a 1930’s tough guy: elegant with an undertone of danger. He and Maria had come all the way from Uruguay to dance the tango and dance they did! Fortunately, they allowed the rest of us to watch.

Later, the musicians asked me if I thought the dancers drew attention away from the music, to which I replied, "What music?”

Of course! How could anyone’s blood not be stirred by such an incendiary performance? They all laughed as each recognized the truth of the matter.

What an experience: both difficult and rewarding. Nonetheless, next time the Marlow Series presents someone at the Kennedy Center, we’ll walk in with our eyes open and better prepared to deal with the myriad difficulties, in advance! The audience loved it and the musicians had a great time. What more could you want? Well, a newspaper review reflecting that fact so that, on the next occasion, even more Washington area music lovers would know the performer’s names and want to come. Speaking of newspaper reviews, the Washington Post told us they were sending a critic. They even told us his name, and we saved two front row seats for him. He never showed up. Later, when I inquired about it, they simply said, "He just forgot." What a pity for the performers, for the guitar community, for the Washington Post and for the critic: he missed a great concert!

By Tim Healy. President of the International Conservatory of Music and Director of the John E. Marlow Guitar Series

Editing by Larry Snitzler

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