Julius Carlson and Adriana Manfredi Give Recital

Stephen Aron, Julius Carlson, Adriana Manfredi

Julius Reder Carlson was a talented and vibrant member of my guitar studio for a couple of years, in the early 00's. He left Oberlin to travel and study tango in South America. After a while I lost track of him and so was surprised and delighted when he was hired as a sabbatical replacement in Oberlin's Musicology department this year. In the interim, he'd gotten an MM in musicology from the Universidad de Chile and Ph.D.s in musicology and ethnomusicology from UCLA., along with his many travels.

We've enjoyed getting reacquainted and I was happy when he decided to give an informal "ad-hoc" recital. He had reconnected with a singer he'd accompanied while at Oberlin the first time (in my Guitar Ensemble class!) and determined to fly her out from California for a collaborative program. The singer, soprano Adriana Manfredi ('01), has emerged as a prominent performer and voice teacher in the LA area, including in the LA Opera. I was happy to encourage them; the program they offered was delightful. 

Atypically, they performed on the floor level of the acoustically extraordinary Fairchild Chapel. (The concert took place on 3/30). Julius set up a screen and showed slides to add another dimension for the audience to enjoy. The program featured some familiar voice/guitar music in a set of Ayres by Dowland and Lied of Schubert. Both were rendered exquisitely. We entered some less familiar territory next, though, in Julius's solo performances of three tangos he learned while in Argentina. They were soulful tango songs in gorgeous solo arrangements. Finally, the duo played five traditional Latin Americsn songs and transcribed off of old recordings by Falu. This was rarely-heard music, played and sung with a compelling depth of understanding. 

It was a terrific program and a delightful addition to our season of guitar events. Many thanks to Julius and to Adriana for a great evening!!

Pictures and the full program follow: