Ensembles
The Latino Arts Mariachi Juvenil, led by Dinorah Marquez, is the flagship ensemble of the Latino Arts Strings Program. In the past 15 years, the group has given more than 500 performances for diverse audiences and venues. The Mariachi Juvenil has been featured with important professional groups such as Mariachi Vargas de Tecatitlan, Mariachi Cobre, Mariachi Reyna de Los Angeles, Aida Cuevas, Mariachi Sol de Mexico, Cuarteto “La Catrina,” Sweet Plantain, Las Cafeteras and La Santa Cecilia, Grammy award-winning Mariachi Flor de Toloache, and the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra’s Home Town Tours, to name a few. This branch of the Strings Program was established to foster cultural pride in our students and to have students become musical ambassadors for our community and our countries of origin throughout the Midwest and beyond.
The Latino Arts Mariachi Infantil, also led by Dinorah Marquez, is an ensemble of younger players ages nine through thirteen. The Mariachi Infantil trains students with all the leadership and performance skills they need to enter the Mariachi Juvenil. Infantil, as well as Juvenil, perform for a variety of events and diverse audiences throughout the Midwest.
The LASP Paax Violins, led by Dinorah Marquez, is a group of advanced violinists composed of mostly high school students. This violin ensemble performs a variety of musical genres ranging from European and Latin American classical music, to Tango, folk, and fiddle music. Students enjoy performing all genres and learning music of great Latin American composers, such as Piazzolla, Ginastera, Moncayo, and Villa-Lobos and more.
The LASP Guitar Orchestra, led by Jone Ruiz, was established to give guitar students an opportunity to perform in a large ensemble. The group explores and performs a wide variety of genres available to the classical guitar, including European and Latin American Classical composers ranging from Vivaldi to Villa-Lobos, as well as guitar orchestra arrangements of more folk and popular styles, such as Son Istmeno, Andean Cueca, Brazilian, and Cuban Samba, among others.
The LASP Cello Choir, led by Trischa Loebl, is a multi-level ensemble that began nine years ago to create the unique and beautiful cello choir sound. The ensemble performs in different configurations that range from all 24 cellos to smaller groups of more advanced players. Pieces range from the rich cello quartets arranged by Erik Nordstrom for Suzuki book one, to the Mozart Contredans, the Concerto in G minor for two cellos by Vivaldi, "Smooth Criminal" by Michael Jackson, to Piazzola’s Invierno and Spring from his four seasons.