Edmar Castaneda to appear in concert on the electric harp on Feb. 16 at SUNY Orange

NEWBURGH — Edmar Castaneda and his electric harp will be in solo concert on Friday, Feb. 16, at 8 p.m. in the Orange Bank & Trust Co. Great Room 101 in Kaplan Hall located at the corner of Grand and First streets on the Newburgh campus of SUNY Orange.
A native of Bogotá, Colombia, Castaneda is a master at skillfully drawing out lush colors and dynamic spirit from his blue harp. It is, indeed, a Columbian harp which is based on the diatonic scale of seven rather than the chromatic twelve notes.
An instrument in the 'unusual category'Since his move to the U.S. in 1994, he has quite literally taken New York and the world stage by storm with the sheer force of his virtuosic command of the harp, revolutionizing the way audiences and critics alike consider an instrument commonly relegated to the “unusual category.”
States the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (newspaper): “The Colombian plays the harp like hardly anyone else on earth. His hands, seemingly powered by two different people, produce a totally unique, symphonic fullness of sound, a rapid-fire of chords, balance of melodic figures and drive, served with euphoric Latin American rhythms, and the improvisatory freedom of a trained jazz musician ... captivating virtuosity, but in no way only virtuosity for its own sake.”
Essential informationTickets can be purchased online anytime at www.sunyorange.edu/arts_comm/ticketing.shtml $12 adults; $10 senior citizens, faculty, staff, and alumni; plus a $ 2.50 online service charge for each online ticket; and free for all students.
Free student admission is available only at the door.
For on-site purchase, the box office opens at 7 p.m. before the performance.
Free, secure parking is available in the Kaplan Hall parking garage entered at 73 First St.
Questions may be directed to Cultural Affairs at 845 341-4891/9386 or cultural@sunyorange.edu
Information is available through the website at www.sunyorange.edu/culturalaffairs.