Oscuro Quintet to Perform Concert, Host Residency at Lebanon Valley College

The Oscuro Quintet, Philadelphia’s first tango music ensemble, will visit Lebanon Valley College February 11–12. The group, along with dancers and LVC students, will perform a concert Sunday, Feb. 12 at 3 p.m. in the Bertha Brossman Blair Music Center. The concert, made possible through the Burgner Endowed Fund for Chamber Music, is free and open to the public.

The quintet is comprised of bandoneonist Shinjoo Cho, bassist Benjamin Blazer, violinist Joseph Kauffman, guitarist Jason Klinke, and pianist Greg Strohman, LVC Class of 2008. Their international and diverse musical backgrounds offer a distinct interpretation of tango and a new breed of exciting chamber music. 

As part of their residency program, the Oscuro Quintet will also offer a lecture-demonstration about the history and development of the tango. Learn how it began as an art form among new immigrants and took on a new musical and cultural identity worldwide. This presentation will take place Saturday, Feb. 11 from 10 a.m.– 12 p.m. in Lutz Hall. It is free and open to the public. 

Since its founding in 2006, the Oscuro Quintet has performed at the Kimmel Center, Barnes Foundation, Philadelphia Museum of Art, Painted Bride, and Embassy of Argentina in Washington, D.C., among many on the east coast. The Oscuro Quintet released its first full-length album on Parma Recordings in November 2011 and appeared on WHYY’s TV show “On Canvas.”

The Burgner Endowed Fund for Chamber Music is the result of the generosity of the late Lt. Col. Newton ’32 and Adelaide ’43 Burgner. In addition to establishing the chamber fund, the Burgner’s have a named professorship—Newton and Adelaide Burgner Professorship in Instrumental Music—and The Newton and Adelaide Burgner Musical Instrument Endowment Fund, among other gifts to the College. Adelaide Sanders Burgner was the first female musician in the history of the Reading Symphony Orchestra.

Lebanon Valley College offers numerous public performances by students, faculty, and guests of the College throughout the semester. Visit www.lvc.edu/events for a full schedule of music events.