— This concert is another installment in Flushing Town Hall’s popular Mini-Global Mashup concert series —

Flushing Town Hall’s monthly series of Mini-Global Mashup concerts will continue on Sunday, April 16, with Brazil Meets China.

Curated by renowned klezmer trumpeter Frank London, the concert series presents a different pairing of solo artists each month, showcasing traditional music from around the world and unexpected collaborations that create new and spontaneous sounds.

The April concert will feature Brazilian artists Rogério Boccato and Vitor Gonçalves alongside Chinese guzheng artist Wei Sun.

Brazilian percussionist and educator Rogério Boccato has contributed to projects led by some of today’s top jazz artists, including Maria Schneider, John Patitucci, Fred Hersch, Brian Blade, Kurt Elling, Danilo Perez, and Renee Rosnes. He has also collaborated with popular Brazilian artists such as Toninho Horta, Moacir Santos, Zé Renato, and Vinicius Cantuária. 

He is featured on three Grammy-award-winning albums: Kurt Elling & Danilo Perez‘s “Secrets Are The Best Stories,” “The Thompson Fields,” with the Maria Schneider Orchestra, and Billy Childs’  “Rebirth.”

As a longtime member of the “Orquestra Jazz Sinfônica do Estado de São Paulo,” Boccato has played with Antonio Carlos Jobim, Hermeto Pascoal, Milton Nascimento, Egberto Gismonti, João Bosco, Joe Zawinul, among many others.

Boccato also serves as a faculty member at the Manhattan School of Music, NYU, and of the Percussion department of The Hartt School (University of Hartford), teaching Brazilian Music and Ritmica. 

Vitor Gonçalves is a pianist, accordionist, composer, and arranger from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. After an illustrious musical career in Brazil, playing with such icons as Hermeto Pascoal, Maria Bethânia, Itiberê Zwarg, and many others, he moved to New York City.

Since he arrived in New York City in 2012, he has garnered acclaim and added to his already-illustrious musical resumé. He has performed at Lincoln Center, The Jazz Standard, the Jazz Gallery, the Newport Jazz Festival, NPR’s Jazz Night in America, and as a guest of the renowned Spok Frevo Orquestra for a special performance at The New York Times. He has a thriving solo career and frequently collaborates with figures in the New York jazz scene, such as Anat Cohen, Vinícius Cantuária, Anthony Wilson, Cyro Baptista, and Yotam Silberstein.

Wei Sun is a young guzheng artist from China. She was born into a family of musicians and started her journey at the age of six. She is a certified senior teacher of guzheng and a member of the China National Instrumental Association and the International Guzheng Association. In 2016, she came to the United States as a guzheng performer and teacher at the CBA Cultural and Arts Center.

Wei is now the principal performer of guzheng of the Chinese National Orchestra in New York, she has been invited to perform at the Lincoln Center, United Nations, Columbia University, Flushing Town Hall, Queens College Art Center, and more. She co-founded the trio bands, StringsW and Miss. In October 2017, StringsW held a concert at Carnegie Hall in which they combined Western and Chinese instruments together to rearrange Chinese folk music. Since March 2022, Wei has performed on the Broadway musical show “Noble Family.”

 “Brazil meets China – WOW!” says Ellen Kodadek, Flushing Town Hall Executive & Artistic Director. “Our mini Global Mashups are unique every time – they bring together artists from different parts of the globe who have never played together before with an intimate experience for the audience.” 

Tickets to Brazil Meets China are $15 for general admission or $12 for members, seniors, and students. To purchase tickets, visit: https://www.flushingtownhall.org/brazil-meets-china

For the venue’s full schedule of 2023 Spring events, visit: https://www.flushingtownhall.org/fth-presents

For those unable to attend events in person, Flushing Town Hall has launched Culture Stream. Subscriptions start at $5 per month.

COVID Policy: 

Flushing Town Hall no longer requires visitors or performers to show proof of vaccination against COVID-19; wearing a mask is optional but recommended. For more details, please visit www.flushingtownhall.org/covid-safety

Support Global Arts with a Gift Today!

All gifts of $50 or more give you exclusive Flushing Town Hall Circle of Friends membership benefits, including a Smithsonian membership, ticket discounts, and more! Donations in any amount are appreciated to support the artists and the nonprofit cultural organization as they continue to provide programming and entertainment across New York and the world.

https://www.flushingtownhall.org/circle-of-friends

Flushing Town Hall is a not for profit organization and receives major support in 2022 from the National Endowment for the Arts; New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Kathy Hochul and the New York State Legislature; New York State Assembly Member Ron Kim; The City of New York, Mayor Eric Adams; New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, Commissioner Laurie Cumbo; Queens Borough President Donovan Richards; The New York City Council, Speaker Adrienne E. Adams and New York City Council Members Sandra Ung, Tiffany Caban, Shekar Krishnan, Linda Lee, Vickie Paladino, Lynn Schulman, and Jessica Won; Howard Gilman Foundation, Booth Ferris Foundation, Guru Krupa Foundation, Fan Fox and Leslie R. Samuels Foundation.

To view current donor lists, please visit www.flushingtownhall.org/donor-listings

About Flushing Town Hall

Flushing Town Hall (FTH), a Smithsonian affiliate, presents multi-disciplinary global arts that engage and educate the global communities of Queens and New York City in order to foster mutual appreciation. As advocates of arts equity since 1979, we support local, immigrant, national, and international artists, developing partnerships and collaborations that enhance our efforts. As a member of New York City’s Cultural Institutions Group (CIG), we serve to restore, manage and program the historic 1862 landmark on behalf of the City of New York. FTH celebrates the history of Queens as the home of Jazz by presenting the finest in Jazz performance. We are committed to arts education and hands-on learning for the arts-curious, arts enthusiasts, and professional artists. We serve one of the most diverse communities in the world and strive to uphold the legacy of inclusiveness that has defined our community since the Flushing Remonstrance of 1657.

Flushing Town Hall is a proud member of the Cultural Institutions Group (CIG), a collective of 34 nonprofit museums, performing arts centers, historical societies, zoos, and botanical gardens across all five boroughs with a distinct private-public partnership with the City of New York and a commitment to serving all New Yorkers.

Land Acknowledgement:

Flushing Town Hall acknowledges that we are on the traditional land of the Matinecock People, one of the original tribes of New York and the first people of Flushing, Queens, who live and work on this land to this day. Flushing Town Hall honors their elders who have stewarded this land throughout generations.