ORQUESTA ESTELAR CUBAN BIG BAND
Click image above for digital concert
¡Cuidate, Quedate en casa!
Orquesta Estelar is a community based Cuban big band, We play a wide range of glorious Cuban and Latin music and welcome all comers. The band is run by myself Sara McGuinness and Elpidio Alegria with the help of wonderful percussionist Bill Bland. As professional Latin musicians we wanted to share our passion for playing this wonderful music. Many members have been in the band for years and we have a constant flow of musicians who pass through and learn Cuban music with us. In normal times we rehearse weekly with the band at SOAS and do monthly performances.
During these extraordinary times communal music making has been hard hit. As musicians we are all too painfully aware of the isolation and desperation caused by the pandemic and feel the loss of live music in our lives. We have done some online session with the band and are working on a programme for the coming months. We decided to do a lockdown song with the band because we wanted to give the members something tangible to work towards and an output that they could feel proud of. At the same time, it was a learning process for all, they had the challenge of recording themselves solo, where they had always heard themselves as part of a group. They also had the chance to express themselves and have a lot of fun with the filming process.
The song is a short salsa tune that Elpidio and I composed. It says (predictably) Take care, stay home! We hope that you enjoy it.
Thurrock Festival 