The Richmond County Orchestra will host two bands in free concert
The Richmond County Orchestra will present TWO bands, The Dal Segno Trio and Utopia Winds, on Sunday, June 5 at 3 p.m. at the Conference House, 298 Satterlee Street, Staten Island, NY 10307 in a FREE concert open to the public. Bring a lawn chair, bring a blanket, bring a friend. For information visit: https://fb.me/e/3nNLDlSyp.
Featured musical groups are the Utopia Winds Clarinet Quartet performing popular classic and Broadway numbers and the Dal Segno Trio with Dr. Darrell Smith on drums, Yago Vazquez on keyboard and David Kingsnorth on bass.
About the performers:
Dr. Darrell Smith
From humble beginnings in the basement of his Staten Island home, to the halls of prestigious Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School (aka “The Fame School”) and the New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music, Dr. Darrell Smith has been recognized for his prodigious talent with numerous awards and honors (including a scholarship to the Manhattan School of Music Pre-College Division and the Principal’s Award for Excellence in Contribution to LaGuardia High School). His educational foundation of some of New York’s most prestigious institutions, as well as the instruction and mentorship of acclaimed musicians like Kenny Washington, Ali Jackson, Dafnis Prieto, Bernard Purdiand Billy Hart, propelled him to success as one of the most sought after young drummers in town.
Dr. Smith recently earned his Doctor of Musical Arts from SUNY Stonybrook as a student and graduate teaching assistant with Jazz Program Director Ray Anderson.
In 2021, Dr. Smith was named Music Director of the Universal Temple of the Arts’ annual Staten Island Jazz Festival.
Yago Vazquez
Born in Vigo (Spain), Yago Vazquez has been an active member of the New York music scene since 2008 after receiving a scholarship to attend the New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music where he graduated with honors in 2010.
His music has received worldwide press acclaim, “his prodigiousness is quite noticeable” – All About Jazz; and in 2018, Vazquez received the “Martin Codax Music Award” for Jazz Artist of the Year.
David Kingsnorth
Bassist David Kingsnorth has performed with the John Abercrombie/Rob Scheps Quartet, Eliot Zigmund, Joshua Breakstone, Oscar Brown Jr., Richard Wyands, Frank Jackson, the New Jersey Ballet and the Orchestra of St. Peter by the Sea, he studied with John Clayton and earned degrees in mathematics and music from the University of California, Berkeley. He also earned a Masters in Classical Performance from Montclair State University, where he studied with Linda McKnight.
Winds of Utopia
Although utopia means “nowhere”, the members of the group Utopia Winds believe that clarinet quartets should be everywhere. Their goal is to present live musical performances for any combination of four clarinets. They perform at parties, street fairs and other events. With over 100 pieces in their repertoire, which spans centuries and includes compositions written specifically for their instruments, transcriptions of famous string quartets and arrangements of jazz and pop standards. When not in quartets, members of Utopia Winds perform with orchestras, opera companies and other ensembles in the New York area. Together they have decades of professional experience.
About Richmond County Orchestra
Founded in 1998, under the direction of Maestro Alan Aurelia, The Richmond County Orchestra
The RCO’s popularity has grown so much over the years that it has been called upon to perform at various venues in the tri-state area, including at Carnegie Hall, NYC; the Guggenheim Museum, Natural History Museum, Fairfield University, Washington Square Park, Asbury Park and more. Tickets to all Richmond County Orchestras
Pictured: Dr. Darrell Smith