Featuring Cheryl Johnson, tap dancing/vocals; Richard DeLaney, piano; Dave Arenius, bass; and Dave Cohen, drum set; with guest Nydia Padilla-Rodriguez, dance.

The program features music from Corea’s Return to Forever album – including “Crystal Silence” and “Sometime Ago/La Fiesta” – along with “Tones for Joan’s Bones,” “Sea Journey,” and “Windows.” Richard Delaney has reimagined “Armando’s Rhumba” in his arrangement “Armando’s Bomba.”

With the help of these three talented jazz musicians, Cheryl Johnson can realize her dream of playing with the rhythmic melodies and percussive landscapes for which Chick Corea is famous. Hochstein dance instructor Nydia Padilla-Rodriguez joins in on the bomba, a Puerto Rican music and dance form which incorporates an improvised trade between the musicians and the dancers. 

Since 1991, Spotlight on Faculty has highlighted the prestigious Hochstein faculty in a variety of ensembles and musical genres from chamber music and dance to jazz, contemporary, and classical. A key feature of the Spotlight on Faculty concerts is that Hochstein faculty members work together to create their own program and submit proposals to perform on the series.

Each concert begins at 7:00 pm and lasts about an hour. Admission is $10 per person, with a $20 family maximum. Concerts are free to Hochstein students/families, faculty, and staff.

Please note: Audience members will be asked to follow any COVID-19 safety guidelines that are in place at the time of the concert. Click here to view Hochstein’s COVID Safety Information: https://hochstein.org/About/Hochstein-COVID-Safety-Information.

The Spotlight on Faculty concert series is made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Kathy Hochul and the New York State Legislature.