Pasquale Esposito, Italian tenor

Saturday, February 25, 2024, 3:00 PM
”Viva Italia!”
McAfee Performing Arts Center, Saratoga

PASQUALE ESPOSITO  was born and raised in Naples, Italy. He immigrated to the United States winning the Green Card Lottery in 1998.  He pursued his passion for music by studying at San Jose State University receiving his Bachelor of Arts Degree where he was a distinguished alumnus in 2009.

He is an international crossover recording artist, acclaimed for his pop-opera delivery of songs. Esposito released 9 albums and began touring internationally with his first musical revue: Naples … That’s Amore in 2005.  Thereafter, he toured with his CD of Original Compositions: A Brand New Me (2009) and Il Tempo (2011).

Following the success of spreading his rich Italian culture through music, he embarked on writing and producing his 1st PBS Special: Pasquale Esposito Celebrates Enrico Caruso in 2015. The program was filmed in the historic Castello Giusso in Vico Equense on the Amalfi Coast. Esposito was accompanied by the Orchestra Santa Chiara conducted by Maestro Renato Serio.  The docu-concert pays homage to Caruso by taking the audience on a musical journey in Italy highlighting the life, career and songs that made Caruso an international star.  Maestro Placido Domingo collaborated in the program with an intimate interview. The PBS Special had over 220,000,000 potential viewers coupled with a current live touring version. A CD, DVD and Bluray are available of the Special.

 Esposito had his successful debut at San Francisco Opera in June 2015 with the premiere of Marco Tutino’s Two Women (an opera adaptation of the 1960s film La Ciociara with Sophia Loren, whom he had the pleasure of sharing the stage with in her recent US Tour).  The New York Times stated that Esposito sang with “airy charm” for his performance of Ragazzo del Popolo while the San Francisco Chronicle described Esposito as “a charismatic and dulcet-toned singer.”

In Spring 2018, Esposito released his 2nd Public TV Special on PBS Stations: Pasquale Esposito Celebrates Italian Piazzas.  Esposito was accompanied by the Orchestra Talenti Napoletani conducted by Maestro Adriano Peninno. This docu-concert is a unique musical journey of culture, art, and tradition where Esposito dedicates a song to each of the beautiful piazzas (squares) performed in the prestigious Piazza del Plebiscito in Naples, Italy.  A live concert version of the special followed with a robust 2018/2019 national tour.

 In January 2020, Esposito filmed two new TV Specials in Naples, Italy at the historic Teatro Politeama.  The first is Christmas Special: In the Spirit of Christmas (Summer 2020 release) conducted by Maestro Adriano Peninno and the second is a Special titled: Il Tempo (Time) conducted by Maestro Ettore Gatta.  Pasquale is accompanied in both special by the Orchestra Talenti Napoletani. The second special comprises of a collection of songs that have influenced Pasquale Esposito’s career and personal life over the years. I

Esposito established Notable Music and Arts Organization (www.notbale-music.org), a 501 (c) 3 non-profit charitable organization promoting music education in Spring 2012.  The organization provides music instruction to underserved students in the San Francisco Bay Area and develops and produces educational programming for public television. Esposito travels nationally to major universities and colleges offering Master Classes in vocal technique and also provides private instruction at his studio in San Jose, California.

For more information about Pasquale Esposito, visit www.pasqualeesposito.com.

Sunday, May 19, 2024 at 3:00 PM
“Fire / Light”
McAfee Performing Arts Center, Saratoga CA

Sameer Gupta is a first generation Indian American artist, parent, entrepreneur and educator. Sameer is also known as one of the few percussionists simultaneously representing the traditions of American jazz on the drum set and Indian classical music on tabla. While living in Brooklyn, his own experiences as an artist and his love of many kinds of music from both America and India helped inspire Sameer to become a co-founder of Brooklyn Raga Massive, as well as one of the co-founders of Raga Kids, an Indian music for toddlers education program. Sameer has created a unique musical sound by combining traditional and modern improvisational styles drawing from his dual Indian and American heritage, and has already established himself as an original voice in music today. From bebop to avant-garde jazz, and European classical percussion to North Indian classical tabla, Gupta continues to compose and perform music from a true multi-cultural perspective that now bridges several continents.

Known as one of the few percussionists simultaneously representing the traditions of American jazz on drum-set and Indian classical music on tabla, musician and composer Gupta did not begin mastering the tabla until well into his jazz career in the early in the 2000’s. 

Gupta is a co-founder of the non-profit collective Brooklyn Raga Massive, a group rooted in and inspired by Indian classical music and hailed by The New Yorker as the “leaders of the raga renaissance.” As an established voice in the jazz, world, and fusion music scenes, Gupta is recognized for melding traditional and modern improvisational styles, creating a distinct sound all his own. From bebop to avant-garde jazz, and European classical percussion to North Indian classical tabla, Gupta composes and performs music from a true multicultural perspective that bridges several continents.

Sameer Gupta has performed at Lincoln Center; Birla Auditorium, Kolkata, India; SFJAZZ; Nehru Centre, London; MoMA, NYC; and Yerba Buena Gardens, San Francisco, and has played with Falu Shah, Rez Abbasi, Marc Cary, Wallace Roney, Karsh Kale, Pandit Krishna Bhatt, Ravichandra Kulur, Mysore Manjunath, Prasant Radhakrishnan, Pandit Chitresh Das, Jason Samuels Smith, Pandit Ramesh Mishra, Pandit Anindo Chatterjee, and numerous other luminaries.

Gupta has held workshops on Indian music and cross over drumming styles at The Jazzschool in Berkeley, California and Berklee College of Music in Boston. He has performed the works of Indian classical Orchestral composer Reena Esmail as well as worked at Brooklyn Conservatory of Music and Living Jazz as a teaching artist in New York City and Oakland California school districts.