ARTURO AND FRIENDS – CLASSICAL CHAMBER

WMS Principal Violist Arturo Ziraldo presents a new take on the “Best of the String Quartet.” This innovative, convention-busting concert links movements of famous, powerful and little- known works into a moving concert of music spanning more than 300 years.

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This concert is part of the following packages:
Premier (12 concerts), Unplugged (6 concerts), Unplugged Plus (7 concerts)

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Arturo Ziraldo is a mult-instrumentalist, singer, and songwriter based in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Growing up singing around the piano with his family at holidays and always listening to music, it was a natural path to a career as a performer. Legend has it, he started keeping time by dancing and moving as a baby before he could talk..

Arturo was raised with a love for the Beatles, Motown, Louis and Ella, and later the blues, the electric guitar, and finally, classical music. After some stumbling on the piano and cello, he found the guitar and the viola, and has never looked back. After hearing a recording of Jascha Heifetz playing the Tchaikovsky violin concerto on the radio, he decided to give classical music a real go.

Classically trained all over the country and the world (Western Michigan University, New England Conservatory, Roosevelt University CCPA, HEM de Genève), Arturo has performed across the globe in the concert halls of Geneva, Berlin, Tokyo, Boston, Chicago, Oslo, Guadalajara, Seoul, and more. In addition to his current positions as Principal Viola in the Kalamazoo and West Michigan Symphonies, he has been a guest in the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Seattle Symphony, Detroit Symphony, and many others.
Arturo is an active viola soloist and chamber musician, particularly championing the music of early 20th century english composers such as Arnold Bax and Benjamin Dale. Much of this music was written for the original viola soloist Lionel Tertis, of whose pedagogical line Arturo is a direct descendant.

However, pop music was his first love. From B.B. King to Joni Mitchell to the Spice Girls, every genre and style of music provides inspiration. Arturo uses the viola, the guitar, a pencil, and his voice to mend weary hearts, open the teary floodgates, cause a no-holds-barred singalong, and bring some hardcore boogies.
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Whether at a classical performance or a basement rock show, Arturo hopes to move the minds and souls of his community and create an engaging and welcoming experience. He loves sharing his work with students in his home and all over the world through private lessons, masterclasses, and his youtube channel.

Come by, stay a while, and get ready to feel something.