Victory Players

THE MIFA VICTORY PLAYERS RETURN TO HOLYOKE WITH NEW PROJECT 

“PUERTO ABIERTO (OPENPORT)”

Music Exploring the Legacy of the Caribbean & Puerto Rico

 

HOLYOKE, MA - Returning to Holyoke after January’s successful “Because I Could Not Stop,” performance, MIFA Victory Theatre presents “Puerto Abierto (Open Port)” the Victory Players 2024 Holyoke Residency and Concerts. 

Residency runs May 20 - June 1, 2024. The public concerts will be held Friday, May 31, 2024, at 7:30 PM, and Saturday, June 1, 2024, at 7:30 PM, at Holyoke Media Studio, 1 Court Plaza (23 Suffolk St.), Holyoke, MA. Tickets are $22.00 and are on sale now at www.mifafestival.org.

 

“Puerto Abierto (Open Port),” celebrates the open exchange of ideas in the Caribbean-American and Puerto Rican communities in the United States. The Victory Players will explore the legacy of the Caribbean and Puerto Rico as a rich confluence of ideas and influences. “Puerto Abierto (Open Port),” includes premieres of completed commissioned music by composers Eric Lemmon, Cole Reyes, Nicholas Villane, and Julio Elvin Quiñones. Performed by the MIFA Victory Players ensemble Nathan Ben-Yehuda (Piano), Linda Hwang (Cello), Giovanni A. Pérez (Flute), Robert Rocheteau (Percussion), Eric Schultz (Clarinet), and Justin Ouellet (Violin) with Tianhui Ng, Music Director. 

 

The residency and concerts will include newly commissioned composers Odaline de la Martinez, Sonia Morales, and Luis Quintana, who will workshop and rehearse with the ensemble during the residency.  Excerpts of their works-in-progress will be performed at Friday and Saturday’s concerts. The composers will then have the rest of the year to complete their compositions, which will be premiered in full in the June 2025 Holyoke Residency and Concert.  Bios and headshots for all Composers, Ensemble, and Music Director are available at www.mifafestival.org and www.victoryplayers.org

 

Education and Outreach

As part of the Victory Players annual residency, the ensemble will give educational concerts for students from Holyoke’s E. N. White School and South Hadley’s Plains Elementary School. Additional community events will be held at Holyoke Media in collaboration with Nueva Esperanza and Holyoke High School.