The Bandoneón, presented by Emmanuel Trifilio, and the Charango, performed by Patricio Zamorano, complemented the orchestra and enhanced the atmosphere of the Spanish culture. The Bandoneón produces an accordion-like resonance, and it provided a vital element of beauty to the numbers. The Charango creates the timbre of a lute, and has been utilized by Spanish folk musicians for generations. The addition of these extraordinary instruments truly shaped the Latin American ambiance and brought the culture to the Christmas performance.

This flamboyant musician plays the grand piano like a virtuoso, at moments like a possessed demon, releasing the rip-tide tempo changes and atonality that hardly seem possible from a single keyboard.  And throughout both acts, flamenco guitarist Patricio Zamorano’s spirited strumming adds the otherworldly duende-dimension–  the deep and sad, soul sound of the flamenco.