violin
Christina Day Martinson
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composer
Olivia Pérez-Collellmir
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tenor
Karim Sulayman

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Soprano
Amanda Forsythe
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cello
Cullen O’Neil
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Olivia Pérez-Collellmir

Olivia Pérez-Collellmir is a Barcelona-born pianist, composer, and bandleader whose music fuses classical virtuosity with influences from flamenco and jazz. Described by The Arts Fuse as a “Spanish virtuoso” who adds “a flamenco touch to her chamber jazz,” she has performed internationally at venues including the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, El Gran Teatre del Liceu, and SOB’s in New York, and has appeared with artists such as Rosana Arbelo, Sonia Olla, and Ismael Fernández. A Berklee College of Music alumna and current faculty member, Pérez-Collellmir is the recipient of Berklee’s Piano Chair and Piano Achievement Awards and founded the school’s first Contemporary Spanish Music and Flamenco Jazz Ensemble. Her debut album, Olivia (Adhyâropa Records, 2023), features her original compositions and collaborations with Judit Neddermann, John Lockwood, and others, supported by a Berklee Faculty Fellowship Grant.

George Frideric Handel (1685-1759)

George Frideric Handel, one of the towering figures of the Baroque era, was a composer of remarkable versatility whose music reflects the cosmopolitan influences of early 18th‑century Europe. Among his lesser‑known explorations is his engagement with Spanish language and rhythm. He composed works such as the cantata No se emenderá jamás (HWV 140), written in Spanish for soprano, guitar, and basso continuo, demonstrating his ability to adapt foreign idioms naturally into his style. Handel also drew on Spanish dance forms—like the sarabande, which he often incorporated into keyboard and orchestral suites—bringing the distinctive triple‑meter rhythms and expressive character of Spanish music into the Baroque repertoire. These elements reveal a composer attuned to diverse musical traditions, blending elegance, dramatic vitality, and cross‑cultural nuance.

Antonio Vivaldi (1678-1741)

Antonio Vivaldi, the Venetian Baroque composer renowned for his concertos, also engaged with Spanish musical traditions. He drew on the folia, a dance-based harmonic progression with roots in the Iberian Peninsula, in works such as his La Folia variations for two violins and continuo. Vivaldi incorporated Spanish-influenced dance forms like the sarabande, using slow triple-meter rhythms and expressive syncopations that reflect Iberian stylistic traits. His Lute Concerto in D major (RV 93) further demonstrates a connection to Spanish instruments and repertoire, highlighting the broader European dialogue in which Vivaldi participated. These elements reveal a composer attuned to diverse musical cultures and rhythms beyond his native Italy.

Luigi Boccherini (1743-1805) 

Luigi Boccherini, the Italian cellist and composer who spent much of his career in Spain, developed a deeply Iberian-inflected musical voice through his long tenure at the Spanish court. During his time in Madrid under the patronage of Infante Don Luis, Boccherini absorbed local dance idioms like the fandango and seguidilla, weaving their rhythms and guitar textures into his chamber works. His Guitar Quintet in D major, known as the "Fandango," is a prime example of this fusion. In his evocative string quintet Musica notturna delle strade di Madrid (Night Music of the Streets of Madrid), he captures the spirit of nocturnal Madrid, conjuring street sounds, church bells, and folk dancers with vivid programmatic detail. He also composed the zarzuela Clementina, with a Spanish libretto, reflecting his assimilation into Spain’s vocal and theatrical traditions. Boccherini’s music thus stands at the crossroads of classical elegance and Spanish folk vitality, shaped by his deep personal and professional immersion in Spanish culture.