World Renowned Pianists Romance Audiences At MECA

Houston, TX. (Top40 Charts/ MECA) - Multicultural Education and Counseling through the Arts (MECA) kicks off its 2008 Cullen Trust for the Performing Arts Concert Series Friday, January 18, 2008 at the Historic Dow School located in the heart of the Old Sixth Ward.

Artist-In-Residence and MECA alum Alejandro Vela of Piedras Negras, Mexico is joined by Rufus Choi, YAMAHA Artist and winner of the inaugural Jose Iturbi International Music Competition, to perform Romantic Favorites. The program features the musical genius of Franz Schubert, Frederic Chopin, Sergei Rachmaninov, Franz Liszt and Johannes Brahms.

Vela and Choi, both globally celebrated and critically acclaimed artists, will perform personal favorites as well as other famous compositions. Among these is a selection by Franz Liszt, Hungarian Rhapsody no.2 which gained widespread popularity when used by Warner Bros. for their popular cartoon, Looney Tunes.

Longtime friends and former Juilliard classmates, Vela and Choi reunite to collaborate in a virtuoso finale as they perform a four hand arrangement of Johannes Brahms' Hungarian Dances Nos. 1, 2 & 4.
For additional information on this and other 2008 performances contact Armando Silva or visit www.meca-houston.org.

Admission:
$10.00 (all ages) at the door
$6.00 (all ages) Advance Purchase via www.ticketweb.com or at 866-468-7621