Musical Gems of Latin America at the CAF

As part of the celebrations of the 35th anniversary of the Andean Development Corporation (CAF), the Venezuelan duo formed by Frank Di Polo and Rubén Riera will give the concert Musical Gems of Latin America at 7pm on November 10.

The event is another of the many offerings organized by the CAF cultural and community development department to contribute to the diffusion and projection of regional talent and identity.

The concert is a perfect mechanism for giving the public a select repertoire of the best musical works of universal content, performed outstandingly by these two musicians of national and international reputation. The idea is to delight music lovers who appreciate Venezuelan talent and the merits of this excellent duo, marked by the infinite qualities of their interpretation of our Latin American musical gems.

The program is an interesting selection of works by Andel, Calderón, Marin Marais, Jobim, Piazolla, Nazareth, Rodrigo Riera, Camacaro, Prieto and Fernández, seasoned with arrangements for a combination of instruments such as Viola de Amore and Classical Viola, violin, trumpet, guitar, tiorba and vihuela.

More on Frank Di Polo and Rubén Riera

Frank Di Polo was born in Caracas. He began his studies with maestro Emil Friedman. At 14 he obtained a scholarship to study viola with maestro Francis Tursi in the Eastman School of Music in New York. On his return to the country he joined the Venezuelan Symphony Orchestra. In 1974 he founded, with maestro José Antonio Abreu, the Venezuelan National System of Youth and Children's Orchestras, heading the Civil Society Juan José Landaeta National Youth Orchestra.

His work in the Venezuelan State Foundation for the National System of Youth and Children's Orchestras led to concert tours in Europe, the United States and Latin America, especially the Concertgebouw of Amsterdam; Royal Festival Hall of London; the Colón Theaters of Buenos Aires and Bogotá; the Municipal Theater of Rio de Janeiro; the Fine Arts Theatre of Mexico, and theatres in Osaka, Kobe and Tokyo in Japan. He has also participated the in festivals of Aberdeen, Scotland, and Italy; the Americas in Puerto Rico; Tanglewood in Boston, and Radio France in Montpelier, France.

Polo has been traveling from Mexico to Argentina for 14 years to create and train Youth and Children's Orchestras in those countries. He has been part of the missions of the CAF Andean Traveling Conservatory. He is currently principal director of the Venezuelan Traveling Academy of Violas, and he teaches the viola in the recently created National Orchestra of the Americas.

Rubén graduated as classical guitarist from the Royal Conservatory of Music and Declamation of Madrid, Spain. He obtained his degree in music from the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London. He took graduate studies in Ancient Music in the Manhattan School of Music in New York and obtained his Master’s in classical music.