The lively sounds of Michigan’s premier salsa band, Orquesta Ritmo, open the "BackStage Pass" second season 8 p.m. Oct. 6 on WKAR-HD/23.
Recorded live by WKAR in June 2009, the special airs during Hispanic Heritage Month began Sept. 15 and goes to Oct. 15.
Orquesta Ritmo performs salsa covers and original compositions before a live studio audience in the hour-long concert. Rehearsal footage and interviews with the musicians take viewers “backstage” and deeper inside the creative craft of the performance. In the interviews, band members discuss how the group came together, how the individuals got started in music and their specialties.
Musicians in the group hail from Lansing, St. Johns, Haslett, Kentwood, Swartz Creek, Grand Rapids and Davison. Band membners are: Mike Eyia Jr., tenor/baritone sax; Carl Poposki, trombone/arranger; Mike Sailors, second trumpet; Russ McMartin, lead trumpet; Tim Thalen, timbales; Mike Eyia, director/lead vocals/guitar; Rob Mulligan, percussion director/vocals; Oscar Gonzales, vocals/first percussion; Carmelo Sanchez, Latin percussion/back-up vocals; Terry Newman, bass; and Paul Lizinski, keyboards.
Featured selections include “Mama Guela,” “Llego La Banda,”“Malaguena Salerosa,” “La Musica es mi Vida,” “Dejame Sonar,” “Odiame” and “La Salsa Vive,” among others.
Two of Orquesta Ritmo’s BackStage Pass selections, “Dejame Sonar” and “Aguanile” can be watched as “director’s views” at http://youtube.com/wkar. Photographs from the concert are available in hi-res at http://flickr.com/wkar.
BackStage Pass will begin its new season of weekly broadcasts on WKAR-HD/23 in January 2010. Among artists featured in the upcoming concerts are Jen Sygit and Spare Change, Steppin’ In It and Shout Sister Shout, Huckleberry Groove, organissimo, The String Doctors and Big Willy. A third season of concerts will begin production in April 2010. Fans of the show on Facebook will be the first to hear about the free tapings and make reservations.
For additional information about BackStage Pass, visit http://www.WKAR.org.
# # #
Michigan State University has been advancing knowledge and transforming lives through innovative teaching, research and outreach for more than 150 years. MSU is known internationally as a major public university with global reach and extraordinary impact. Its 17 degree-granting colleges attract scholars worldwide who are interested in combining education with practical problem solving.