Yucatan Living

Join us for an evening of Celtic music featuring artists with the Yucatan State Symphony:Ruth Bennett on Harp and Zendra White on Flute.

The artists have arranged distinctively different carols from the rich musical heritage and combined them into a sparkling medley for the evening. This evening will be a highlight of your holiday season!

Cash bar and heavy appetizers.

Reservations: greg.casini@sierraclub.org

Harpist Ruth Bennett is a highly versatile and engaging artist. Equally comfortable as a soloist, chamber musician and orchestral player, she has performed throughout the United States, Latin America, Europe and Japan.

In March 2012, Ruth won third prize in the 2nd Dutch International Harp Contest where she performed Joaquin Rodrigo’s Concierto de Aranjuez in the final stage with the Nieuwe Philharmonie Utrecht conducted by Johannes Leertouwer.

A consistent prize winner in other international and national contests, she received 1st prize in the 2009 National Harp Competition in Mexico City, 1st prize in the Padova International Contest (2011-Italy) and awards at the American Harp Society National Contest and American String Teachers Association Competition.

Ruth plays frequently as a soloist in Mexico and holds the post of Principal Harpist with the Sinfonica de Yucatán. Maintaining an active career between the Latin America and NY, she also substitutes with the American Ballet Theatre Orchestra and has played in a number of Broadway shows. Her CD Concert d’Aujourd hui - music for flute and harp - alongside flautist Alejandro Vasquez is released under the label of Urtext Digital Classics.

Zendra J. White was born in Lafayette, Louisiana and graduated with honors from Louisiana School for Math, Science, and Arts (LMSA) and received with honors, magna cum laude, her Bachelor of Music from Northwestern State University, and studies in Masters of Music University of Houston.

In 2000, Zendra won the Natchitoches-Northwestern Symphony Orchestra concert contest with Howard Hanson Serenade, and also won the same competition in 2002 with Jacques Ibert Concerto. In 2004 she introduced Suite in b minor by JS Bach and Telemann Concerto with the Collegium Musicum Novae Aureliae in New Orleans. In 2005 she won the University of Louisiana at Lafayette concert contest with Symphony G Major Concerto with Mozart and also won place to play by Paul Edmund-Davies to the Texas Air Takemitsu Flute Society.

As a guest flutist she has played with the Orquesta Sinfonica de Monterrey, Acadiana Symphony Orchestra, Las Vegas Music Festival Orchestra, and Orchestra X. She was principal flute with the NNSO, ULLSO, and Acadiana Youth Symphony. She is currently co-principal of the Yucatan Symphony Orchestra.