Jesús Florido & Giovanni Piacentini

Join us for an evening of inspired music with violinist, composer, educator and producer Jesús Florido and composer, guitarist, and educator Giovanni Piacentini, These renowned artists will elevate and celebrate a multitude of musical traditions that span the globe with a variety of genres from pop, classical, rock, jazz, Latin, and more.

About the Artists

Born in Venezuela from Italian ancestry and having lived in the United States since 1989, Jesús Florido has established himself as a versatile musician. His classical training has given him the perseverance and work ethic necessary to succeed in music. His teachers have included Eligiuz Stoiñsky, Larry Shapiro, and Davis Brooks. He also received consistent instruction from Joseph Gingold, Margareth Pardee, and Dorothy DeLay. In addition to classical violin performance, he has studied Afro-Cuban, jazz, rock, and fiddle music. Combined with his Latin American roots, this has produced a unique and eclectic vision of music interpretation.

In light of his diverse background, it is unsurprising that Florido's musical influences are unusually varied, incorporating composers and performers such as Bach, Beethoven, Mozart, Grapelli, Hendrix, Ponty, Shankar, and Santana. These influences have fueled a passion for musical experimentation and motivated Florido to utilize acoustic and electric violins in his recordings and performances.

American fiddler Mark O'Connor recognized Florido when he invited him to teach Latin-style fiddling and improvisation at his Nashville and San Diego camps. Florido has also appeared on CBS Sunday Morning with Mr. O’Connor.

As a classical player, he developed a chamber music career with very successful results as a recitalist. His concerts of the complete Mozart Sonatas in 2000 are a performance highlight.

Sharing his music through teaching is essential to Florido's daily life. As a founding member of the National System of Youth and Children Orchestras in his native Venezuela, known as "El Sistema," he started teaching very young. A highly sought-after teacher, Florido has conducted workshops and residencies in Venezuela, Brazil, Spain, Canada, Germany, Austria, France, Belgium, Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore, and in the U.S. "Music has to be part of every child's development throughout the world," he states.

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Featured in the Los Angeles Times in 2021, Giovanni Piacentini is a highly accomplished and recognized Latino guitarist, educator, and composer, celebrated as one of the most prominent of his generation. Recently praised as “paying homage to the important cultural heritage of music in the west” by Forbes magazine, his original music has been described as “…able to encapsulate tiny, winsome worlds as if passing through a gallery of paintings” (Winnipeg free press), and as “Stunningly beautiful with accessible compositional language.”(The Clarinet Magazine). Giovanni has established himself as a significant voice in Latin American classical music.

He graduated summa cum laude from Berklee College of Music in Boston, MA., earned his MA in Composition under renowned American composer Richard Danielpour and recently earned a Ph.D. degree in Music Composition at the University of California Los Angeles, where he is a Teaching Fellow in music theory and aural skills.

In October 2022 he premiered a concerto for guitar and orchestra dedicated and performed by legendary classical guitarist Eliot Fisk with the Orquesta Juvenil Carlos Chavez in Mexico City, Mexico. He was recently appointed Teaching Artist Fellow by the prestigious Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra. He resides in Los Angeles where he teaches at Mt. San Antonio College, the National Children’s Chorus and the Elemental Music Academy.

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