Benefit for Puerto Rico at Bard College

Jazz on the Tube Interview with Andres Rivas

Bomplé and an orchestra of Bard students led by Andres Rivas will be performing at a benefit for Puerto Rico at Bard College’s Olin Hall, Sunday, February 25 at 4 PM.

Andres is a graduate of Venezuela’s legendary El Sistema orchestra-for-youth program which he joined at the age of 3 playing the violin. He’ll be debuting a new orchestra, Viva Puerto Rico, made up of players from the Bard Conservatory, the Bard College Orchestra and from Orchestra Now.

Bomplé founder Alberto Pagan-Ramirez hails from Ponce, Puerto Rico, where he studied classical and band music with a concentration in percussion. He moved to Trenton, N.J. in 1997 and relocated to Philadelphia two years later to become involved in Philadelphia’s vibrant Latino communities. He became involved in Fairhill’s Puerto Rican community by volunteering at Taller Puertorriqueno, and was later named to the board of directors.

In the early 2000s, Ramirez began teaching plena and bomba in various churches and after-school programs. In 2003 he formed the drum ensemble Tambueno, and in 2008 he created Bomple, a traveling bomba and plena group. (Source: Jessica Herring and R. Chase Grier, Philadelphianeighborhoods.com.)