Celebrate Valentine’s Day with En Canto at Open Space

Who doesn’t need to warm up come February on Vashon? Open Space presents a sizzling great Valentine’s Dance, with Brazilian music from the extraordinary En Canto. Come for romance, or to dance, or just to have a lively, fun time! A great event for all ages. Valentine’s Day, Saturday, February 14; Doors open at 7:30pm, and the evening kicks off with a dance lesson at 8!

From the Northwest, En Canto brings you music as rich and varied as the people and places of Brazil: forró and baião from the northeast, bossa nova and choro from Rio, and sambas from the neighborhoods of every city and town. These lively, danceable rhythms and exotic melodies get everyone onto the dance floor!

Early Bird tickets are available until February 1, for only $10! Then tickets are $12 in Advance and $15 at the Door. Tickets available at Vashon Bookshop and brownpapertickets.com.

En Canto formed three years ago and is made up of a fabulous group of musicians, led by Brazilian-born vocalist Adriana Giordano draws her inspiration from the deep well of Brazilian song. Her voice is pure and unadorned, from the source of the rich musical traditions of Brazil. Her influences include Elis Regina, Joyce Moreno, Tom Jobim, Milton Nascimento, Baden Powell, Joao Bosco, Gilberto Gil, Djavan, Chico Buarque, Caetano Veloso, Filo Machado, Monica Salmaso, Dani Gurgel, Tatiana Parra, Giana Viscardi, Clara Nunes, Luiz Gonzaga, Hermeto Pascoal, Egberto Gismonti, and Duo Assad. Ms. Giordano has dazzled Seattle audiences since 2010, performing with her other band, Adriana Giordano quartet. She also currently hosts a weekly live music jam, EntreMundos, along with Seattle’s premier musicians, in north Seattle.

A unique member of Seattle’s music scene, Jamie Maschler she has played accordion since the age of four. Jamie graduated from Cornish College of the Arts with a Bachelors in Music and has won several national and international accordion competitions for jazz, classical, and original compositions. She has performed as a featured soloist at Benaroya Hall in Seattle and recorded at some of the top studios in Seattle, including London Bridge, Avast, Elliott Bay Recording Company, and Clatter and Din. Ms. Maschler now works at Petosa Accordions, the last accordion manufacturer in the United States, while pursuing a very active career in Seattle and the greater Northwest area.
Multi-instrumentalist, producer, and bandleader, Rosalynn De Roos graduated from Cornish College of the Arts in 2005, with a Bachelors of Music degree in clarinet performance. Ms. De Roos traverses the wondrous world of Brazilian music, exploring and expressing herself in the musical styles of forró, xote, baião, chorinho, samba, and maxixe. In addition to performing with En Canto, she is a featured performer in Choroloco, Underground Swing, and The Brazillionairs. She has also performed as a featured guest on Sonarchy Radio, KEXP, Raízes on KBCS, and KUOW’s “In the Studio” with host Dave Beck.

A Seattle-based musician trained in classical flute, Meese Agrawal Tonkin graduated from the University of Washington with a Masters of Music degree in Flute Performance 2012. Meese regularly performs classical, Latin, and Hindustani music around the Seattle area, as well as in other countries including Brazil, Spain, and Italy. In addition to performing with En Canto, Ms. Tonkin performs with the flute and accordion duo, Ellas, with colleague Jamie Maschler. She was selected to participate in the Festival do Inverno in Domingos Martins, Brazil, in 2012, as well as the Bay View Music Festival in 2011, in the Burgos Chamber Music Festival in Spain 2007, and in the Rome Festival Orchestra in 2006, all on scholarship.

Mike Withey has played piano since he was 7 and Brazilian music since 2005. Classically trained, he started playing rock and roll for parties at Beverly Hill High School in the sixties, where he first fell in love with Tom Jobim’s music—the bossa nova—although, he notes, he could never play it until later. In addition to playing keyboard with En Canto, Mr. Withey also has performed with two other Seattle bands: No Jive Five (jazz standards) and Thursty Love (Latin and pop) and regularly attends California Brazil Camp. Having practiced law for 42 years, he is now slowly exiting the legal profession to play more music and write a murder mystery and international spy novel.

Adam Kozie started playing music at age 11 and drums at age 17. He studied at Cornish College of the arts and holds a BA in Jazz Performance. Currently, in addition to performing with En Canto, Mr. Kozie plays in the choral trance pop group Pollens, the electro-rock band Snowman Plan, and the chamber rock orchestra The B’shnorkestra, among many other projects.

Martin Strand is a versatile bass player who performs in Seattle and the greater Puget Sound area. Making Seattle his home while attending Cornish College of the Arts, Mr. Strand has become a first-call bassist for various groups that range stylistically from jazz to rock and more. No matter the setting, Mr. Strand brings strong musicality, solid time, creative solos, and open ears to make every performance one not to miss.