Event

William Cepeda

Villa Victoria Center for the Arts celebrates Puerto Rican culture with Latin Jazz music icon William Cepeda and his Puerto Rican Explosion. This Boston premiere will feature the best of both worlds; Jazz and Puerto Rican Bomba in a high-energy and engaging performance on Friday November 19, 8:00 pm at Villa Victoria Center for the Arts, 85 West Newton Street, South End, Boston.

William comes from a renowned family, the legendary Familia Cepeda; famous for their performances of folkloric music with African roots, 'Bomba,' and as keepers of traditional Puerto Rican music. Cepeda's formal musical training includes degrees from Berklee College of Music and the Conservatory of Music in Puerto Rico. He attended the Aaron Copland School of Music at Queens College in New York, on a full scholarship, where he was awarded a Master's Degree in Jazz Performance. Cepeda has played and recorded with Latin artists such as Oscar De Leon, Paquito D'Rivera, Celia Cruz, Tito Puente and Eddie Palmieri. As a recording artist, he appears on over 100 recordings as well as jingles and movie soundtracks. Cepeda also played with and learned much from Dizzy Gillespie, one of the founders of Latin Jazz, as well with African superstar Miriam Makeba. In 1997, Cepeda was selected one of the most important and influential Puerto Rican composers. His talent has won him many awards as well as grants from such diverse groups as the American Composers Orchestra, the American Composers Forum, the Association of Hispanic Arts and the Latino Arts Advancement Program. In 2002 Cepeda was honored with a Meet the Composer' New Residencies Program award to be a composer-in-residence at the Conservatory of Music of Puerto Rico for the next three years.