By Kelly Corrigan
Classical musician and composer Arturo Sandoval, who discovered his love for music as a boy growing up in Cuba, will share his talent at the Alex Theatre later this month in a concert aimed to cultivate music education in today’s youth.
His Glendale-based institute will also donate proceeds from the show to the Glendale Educational Foundation and Glendale Arts — two organizations that promote the arts and music education among local students.
Sandoval’s performance, titled “Save the Music 2,” comes about a year after his institute’s first performance that helped raise thousands of dollars for music education last year.
Mercy Velazquez, chief executive of the Arturo Sandoval Institute, said she befriended the 10-time Grammy Award winner about 20 years ago, but grew closer to him in the last five or six years after he moved from Miami to California.
Sandoval was born in Cuba in 1949, known for becoming a protégé of jazz musician Dizzy Gillespie. He performs the jazz trumpet, flugel horn, and piano all over the world and has recorded music with artists such as Johnny Mathis, Alicia Keys, Bill Conti and Rod Stewart.
At the 1995 Super Bowl, he performed alongside Tony Bennett and Patti LaBelle.
All the while, raising funds to promote music education in schools has been a priority for Sandoval for years, Velazquez said.
“He wanted to start an institute to help children,” Velazquez said. “He’s been thinking about this for years.”
Since the institute launched early last year, it has provided scholarships, clinics and master classes in which Sandoval has taught local students, including young musicians at Burroughs High School in Burbank.
The institute’s mission is to provide music education to students, no matter their economic background.
A July golf tournament and a November gala that Velazquez is planning will also aim to raise money for the institute, which distributes money to schools that need it, including those beyond Glendale’s borders, Velazquez said.
However, Glendale schools remain a top priority, she added.
Also during Saturday’s performance, a youth band made up of more than 20 students will perform, the majority of them from Glendale schools, said Elissa Glickman, chief executive of Glendale Arts, which manages the Alex Theatre.
“This was kind of a win-win for us,” she said, adding that the event also provides free tickets to local students in Glendale and Burbank to see Sandoval perform.
The benefit concert will begin at 8 p.m. on Feb. 15 at the Alex Theatre, 216 N. Brand Blvd. Tickets start at $25. Special VIP tickets for $175 include a dinner after the show with Sandoval at Far Niente.
Source: Glendale News-Press
