Elio Villafranca Solo Piano at Hamilton Stage, Union County Performing Arts Center

A product of Cuba's incomparable (and essentially tuition-free) music education program, pianist-composer-percussionist Elio Villafranca joined the jazz faculty of Juilliard in 2014.

One of his typically border-bending compositions, Cinqué: Suite of the Caribbean—a fusion of jazz with Congolese rhythms, melodies, and dances from Cuba, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, Haiti, and Jamaica—premiered in February at Jazz at Lincoln Center. Elio was recently the soloist in Santa Cruz, Bolivia, when the Orquesta Sinfónica Juvenil performed the work.

In May 2013, Elio Villafranca was among six artists hand-selected by Chick Corea to be part of that year’s Chick Corea Festival at Jazz at Lincoln Center...

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A product of Cuba's incomparable (and essentially tuition-free) music education program, pianist-composer-percussionist Elio Villafranca joined the jazz faculty of Juilliard in 2014.

One of his typically border-bending compositions, Cinqué: Suite of the Caribbean—a fusion of jazz with Congolese rhythms, melodies, and dances from Cuba, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, Haiti, and Jamaica—premiered in February at Jazz at Lincoln Center. Elio was recently the soloist in Santa Cruz, Bolivia, when the Orquesta Sinfónica Juvenil performed the work.

In May 2013, Elio Villafranca was among six artists hand-selected by Chick Corea to be part of that year’s Chick Corea Festival at Jazz at Lincoln Center.

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