Hart Community Performing Arts Series presents matinee concert Jan. 28

Julien Labro

Hart Community Performing Arts Series presents matinee concert Jan. 28

HART — The Hart Community Performing Arts Series season continues Sunday, Jan. 28, at 3 p.m. with a concert by Julien Labro and Cesar Garabini in the Hart Public Schools auditorium located in the middle school.

The artists originally scheduled to appear are unable to due to a medical situation, and the series presents Labro and Garabini in their place. 

Heralded as “the next accordion star,” Labro has established himself as the foremost accordion and bandoneón player in both the classical and jazz genres. Deemed to be “a triple threat: brilliant technician, poetic melodist and cunning arranger,” his artistry, virtuosity, and creativity as a musician, composer and arranger have earned him international acclaim and continue to astonish audiences worldwide. Picking up the accordion at age 9, French-born Labro’s earliest influence was traditional folk music and the melodic, lyrical quality of the French chanson. After graduating from the Marseille Conservatory and sweeping first prize in many international accordion competitions, Labro moved to the United States to further pursue his musical dream.

Equipped with advanced degrees in classical music, jazz studies, and composition, Labro draws from his diverse background and eclectic musical influences in his search for new themes and untried concepts, evolving and developing his ideas into new projects. Labro has worked with numerous symphonies, chamber ensembles and collaborators around the world. His albums and busy performance schedule is a testament of his musical journey.

Cesar Garabini

Born in 1987 in Minas Gerais, Garabini is an Italian-Brazilian seven-string guitarist that specializes in Choro, the predecessor to the well known Brazilian music styles Samba and Bossa Nova. Choro began in the 1890s as a mix of European classical and folk with African rhythms, its popularity began in the 1900s and continues to the present day. Music became his passion at the first sound of the guitar. At 13 while walking home from school, he saw two musicians playing classical guitar and it inspired him to take lessons. Cesar has lived in Brazil, Italy, and the United States, and each influenced his playing and growth as a musician, teacher and performer. In 2009, Cesar started putting together Samba, Bossa Nova and Chorinho bands, performing in Florence and other regions of Italy. In 2011, he moved to New York City to expand his musical knowledge.

In the past seven years, he has performed at Jazz at Lincoln Center, Jazz Standard, Birdland, Columbia University, the Museum of Modern Art, with a monthly residence at Barbes. He has worked with Anat Cohen, Olli Soikkeli and Tim Connell. He has been featured on NPR, NBC and Global. Cesar plays many other styles such as Samba, Bossa Nova, Waltz, American Jazz, Portuguese Fado and more. He currently hosts a Roda with Regional de New York at Beco Bar in Williamsburg every other Sunday of the month.

For further information about this concert, or to view the rest of the series schedule for 2024, visit hartseries.org.