Wed Sep 16
Join Brian Urra for an intimate evening of music from Blanca, an upcoming album inspired by family memories, love, and the passing of time. Blending Chilean influences with jazz, improvisation, contemporary textures, and folk elements, the performance tells the story of her grandmother’s life through original compositions filled with nostalgia, emotion, and celebration.
Brian Urra is an award-winning Chilean violinist, composer, arranger, and dancer of Irish music, with over 27 years of experience as a performer and educator. He specializes in jazz, classical, improvisation, contemporary music, and Irish traditions. Brian has performed at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Dizzy’s Jazz Club, Newport Folk Festival, TD Garden, New England Conservatory, Boston Symphony Hall, Sanders Theatre, and many more venues in the USA and Chile. As a composer, Brian has developed his craft through lessons and experiences with award-winning composers and musicians such as Billy Childs, Kris Davis, Danilo Perez, and John Patitucci. He received the 2023 Ravinia Bridges prize composition award and a week to work with Billy Childs, Rufus Reid, and Steve Wilson on their music. He finished his master's degree at the Berklee Global Jazz Institute with noteworthy distinction. As an educator, he joined the Boston Music Project working as a Teaching Artist, Musiconnects as a Resident Teaching Artist, MIT teaching a Seminar in composition and science, and also joined the Berklee Global Jazz Institute as an Academic Advisor.
He is currently finishing Blanca, his debut album of original compositions inspired by past and present memories of his family. The project brings together his Chilean roots and jazz, creating a deeply personal and expressive musical narrative.
Co-Presented with the Embassy of Chile