Group will also record for XM Radio and Voice of America TV.

April 27, 2007

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	Díle from left, front: Juan P. Chavez; Paulo Stagnaro; Ignacio Long; Gregorio Uribe; Marcelo Woloski. From left, back: Ryan Dragon; Davindar Singh; Billy Buss; Jim Funnell; Alex Gordeev.
	Photo by Nick Balkin

Boston's Berklee College of Music is proud to bring the high-powered Latin ensemble Díle to the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and the Conservatory Project. This group of student all-stars will perform on Thursday, May 24, in the Kennedy Center's Terrace Theater, at 6:00 p.m. The performance is free and open to the public.

Díle—ten pieces, including a full horn section, percussionists, vocals, and violin—creates a deep, soulful, and infectious vibe that brings honor to the artistic tradition of the dance band. The group is led by violinist Juan P. Chavez, whose talents are reflected in the musical passion and ability of every member of the group, which includes Down Beat Award winners, Berklee Presidential Scholars, and full scholarship recipients.

Performing a repertoire that runs from classic '70s New York salsa to contemporary Cuban timba to popular Dominican merengue, from Tito Puente and Celia Cruz to Elvis Crespo and many more, Díle (pronounced DEE-leh, meaning "tell him/her") features some of Berklee College of Music's finest young musicians. Hailing from five nations and three continents, the members were drawn together at Berklee by the Latin music they love.

Spreading their Latin groove beyond the concert hall, Díle's Kennedy Center performance will be webcast worldwide, at kennedy-center.org/millennium. Both XM Radio and Voice of America Television have also invited Díle to tape broadcasts for them while in the nation's capital.

Though just a few years old, Díle has played many of Massachusetts' major music and dance venues, and has also been fortunate enough to perform nationally, already listing New York, California, and Texas on their dance card. All these performances have helped build a large and loyal fan base: in 2006 they broke attendance records at SalsaBoston.com's annual summer festival.

Díle is:

Juan P. Chavez—Leader, Violin/Vocals
Born in Dallas, Texas, Juan Pablo Chavez began his musical studies as a violinist. He attended the Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts, where he studied classical, jazz, and Afro-Cuban performance and composition and received many awards for his talents. At Berklee he is studying with violinist Rob Thomas (Mahavishnu Project, String Trio of New York). Juan is widely recognized for his knowledge of Afro-Cuban music and has taught many classes and workshops, including the 2004 Afro-Cuban Strings Seminar in Tulsa, Oklahoma. In addition to leading Díle, he is currently working on his first album, Salsa for Strings, and is writing a book on contemporary Afro-Cuban violin.

Billy Buss—Trumpet
Playing trumpet since the age of nine, Berkeley, California native Russell “Billy” Buss has received numerous awards, including the Monterey Jazz Festival's full-tuition Jimmy Lyons Scholarship to Berklee, two Outstanding Performance/Soloist awards from the Down Beat Student Music Awards, as well as the Gold Award in Jazz from the National Foundation for Advancement in the Arts. Billy was selected as a 2006 Presidential Scholar in the Arts and was honored by the President in a ceremony at the White House. His talents have allowed him the opportunity to perform at the Monterey, Umbria, and Montreux Jazz festivals; the Dubrovnik Summer Music Festival in Croatia; numerous festivals in Japan; and a variety of clubs in New York. Billy is currently in his first year at Berklee, where he is studying trumpet performance.

Ryan Dragon—Trombone
Currently in his first year at Berklee, Ryan was born and raised in Orange County, California, where he began playing the trombone at the age of 10. Ryan has played in a number of bands, including the California All-State Band, Cal State Fullerton Jazz Band, Johnny Mandel Big Band, Tumbao Melao,the Disneyland Band, and many other top groups in Southern California. In 2006 Ryan recorded his first album, with Los Angeles–based musicians.

Jim Funnell—Piano
Born in Villeneuve-Saint-Georges, France, Jim began playing piano at the age of five. He is currently in his final year at Berklee, where he is studying jazz composition. Jim has received numerous awards and scholarships and is well respected by many excellent musicians for his talents. While at Berklee he has been able to study with Mark Walker, Matt Jenson, George Garzone, Leo Blanco, Hal Crook, Dave Santoro, Joe Lovano, Greg Hopkins, Terry Lyne Carrington, Danilo Pérez, and Ray Santisi and perform with Russell Ferrante and Marcus Baylor of the Yellowjackets, Jean Baylor, Meshell Ndegeocello, David Fiuczynski, the Berklee Heavy Groove Ensemble, and Marcus Miller.

Alex Gordeev—Alto Saxophone
Alex began his saxophone studies at age 11. In 1999 he was chosen as one of the finalists at the prestigious Generations in Jazz competition held each year in Mt. Gambier, Australia by the prominent jazz trumpeter James Morrison. Alex has been fortunate enough to study with classical saxophonist Alexey Volkov and jazz saxophonist Alexander Oseichuk and has numerous awards under his belt, including first place at the 2003 IV All-Russian Young Jazz Performers Competition held in Rostov-na-Donu, Russia. That same year he received a scholarship to study at Berklee, where he has had the privilege of studying and sharing the stage with Joe Lovano, George Garzone, Ed Tomassi, and Darren Barrett.

Ignacio Long—Bass
Born in Patagonia, Argentina, Ignacio began playing bass at age 15. He studied privately in Buenos Aires with Guillermo Vadalá and Cèsar Franov and has received a diploma in sound engineering and music production. He has also studied in New York at the Bass Collective, with Lincoln Goines, Matt Garrison, John Patitucci, Leo Traversa, and Gregory Jones, among others. Ignacio has performed in a variety of styles, including tango, Argentinean folk, candombe, Brazilian styles, salsa, and others. He is now in his final semester at Berklee, with a double major in film scoring and composition.

Davindar Singh—Baritone Saxophone
Davindar, from Redding, California, is a sophomore performance major at Berklee, where he was recently the recipient of the Charlie Parker Endowed Scholarship. A graduate of the Idyllwild Arts Academy, he began studying jazz as a freshman in high school. At Berklee he has studied with Ed Bedner, Ed Tomassi, Walter Beasley, Shannon Leclaire, and Hal Crook. Outside of Berklee he has studied with Marshall Hawkins, Paul Carman, noted Lennie Tristano disciple Harvey Diamond, Rudresh Mahanthappa, Vijay Iyer, Steve Lehman, Peter Epstein, and Tim Berne.

Paulo Stagnaro—Percussion
Born in Boston, Paulo was introduced to music at a young age. He began playing Peruvian cajon at the age of seven, sparking his passion for percussion and Latin music. He began playing congas, timbales, and various other percussion instruments at the age of 16. He began his studies at Berklee in the fall of 2005 and is currently studying percussion with Eguie Castrillo and Ernesto Diaz. While at Berklee Paulo has shared the stage with, among others, Paquito D'Rivera, Dave Samuels, Pedrito Martinez, Diego Urcola, Mark Walker, Edward Perez, former Conservatory Project bandleader Rafael Alcala, and his father and mentor, bassist Oscar Stagnaro.

Gregorio Uribe—Timbales
Gregorio Uribe, a native of Colombia, began his musical life at the age of nine when he took his first drum lessons. With the years he has explored many different styles of music, ranging from pop/rock to traditional Colombian music, which has led to his unique sound. Currently, Gregorio is finishing his studies at Berklee, where he has been honored with the Zildjian Steve Gadd Scholarship. He has shared the stage with Latin Grammy nominee "Mauricio Palo de Agua" and has performed with the legendary Ruben Blades.

Marcelo Woloski—Percussion
Marcelo Woloski, percussionist, was born and raised in Buenos Aires, Argentina. He attended the Berklee International Network partner school in Argentina before moving to Boston to complete his studies as a scholarship student at Berklee. Marcelo's versatility has placed him in high demand on and off campus, performing in numerous shows at the prestigious Berklee Performance Center, as well as Boston's Ryles and RegattaBar nightclubs.

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