October is Hispanic Heritage Month, and to celebrate a program of Hispanic music will be performed at the Music House on Fifth Street.
“The house is one of the oldest standing houses in Greenville,” said John O’Brien, owner of the Music House. “I was shocked when I came [to Greenville] to find that there were so few, but I spotted this one within a few weeks of being here.”
A few years later O’Brien noticed the same house that caught his eye was up for sale.
Performing at the Music House Saturday evening is Duo Guitiano with vocalist Ayumi Nakamae. Duo Guitiano, comprised of Carlos Castilla on guitar and pianist Amanda Virelles, specifically focuses on music written for piano and guitar from the nineteenth century to modern music of today.
“I’ve known [Nakamae] for a long time. She’s a very fine singer and a fabulous teacher in she’s the primary energy behind classical music at [Coastal Carolina Community College] in Jacksonville, which has one of the strongest music programs in the community college system,” said O’Brien.
Starting their careers as soloists, both members of the duo earned bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees from universities in Colombia, Cuba, the U.S. and Russia.
“The one thing on the concert that I know is the very famous seven songs of Dufay and they are fabulous,” said O’Brien. “It’s all Spanish music honoring Hispanic Heritage Month.”
O’Brien described the evening of a performance usually entails about an hour of preparation time and includes arranging the music room for an audience and setting out hors d’oeuvres for guests in his home.
Performances at the music house typically have an intermission, during which guests have the chance to enjoy each other’s company and have wine and cheese or other hors d’oeuvres, then the second half of the performance will take place.
O’Brien asked that guests to his music series concerts make a small donation at the door in order to contribute to the music house and the cost of bringing in some of the performers.
“We have concerts in this intimate space, which people seem to really enjoy, and the performers seem to also enjoy,” said O’Brien. “A lot of times [the performers] are people that I know, musicians I’ve performed with, and sometimes I’ve had people come from Russia and France, but they’re mostly from this area but some are from further away.”
The Music House Series concert honoring Hispanic Heritage Month will begin at 7 p.m. Saturday. Reservations for a seat in the music room should be made in advance by contacting John O’Brien directly. Donations will be accepted at the door for entry to the concert.
