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      Live Music

      Music in the Atrium: Hispanic Heritage Month

      Ev Musicinthe Atrium 1600 HERO

      Know before you go

      In-person event
      Location: Main Atrium

      Included with admission

      This month, our Music in the Atrium series celebrates Hispanic Heritage Month with Latin jazz from Peruvian guitarist José Allende. Enjoy Latin American rhythms from Argentina, Peru, Cuba and Spain.

      September 14: José Allende featuring flutist Kristalis Sotomayor

      September 21: José Allende featuring bassist Youngchae Jeong

      September 28: José Allende featuring pianist Hidemi Akaiwa

      Music in the Atrium is PEM’s live concert series that features local and visiting performers from a variety of musical traditions and styles. Concerts take place on select Sundays from 11:30 am–1:30 pm.

      About our collaborators

      José Allende
      José Allende

      José Allende was born in Lima, Peru, and began playing guitar at the age of eight. Allende is a versatile guitarist, arranger, composer and teacher, always exploring different rhythms, concepts and spirituality in music. He uses acoustic and electric guitars to fuse Afro-Peruvian and other South American and Latin rhythms with contemporary jazz harmonies and meters. He has worked as a musician and educator in Lima, Chicago, Houston and Connecticut, and now performs and teaches jazz, Latin styles and classical guitar around New England. He has taken private lessons with Eloy La Rocha and Andres Prado in Peru, Jon Damian at Berklee and David Doruzka and Danilo Perez at NEC in Boston. He holds a Master's in Modern American Music, including Jazz, Latin, Classical and Free Music Performance, from the Longy School of Music in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He was a member of a quintet invited to give a clinic on Afro-Peruvian Jazz Music at IAJE (International Association of Jazz Educators) in Long Beach, California, featuring the drummer Alex Acuna. Read more about his musical career on his website or find him on Instagram and Facebook.

      Hidemi Akaiwa
      Hidemi Akaiwa

      Hidemi Akaiwa is a Japanese pianist and composer whose music weaves together jazz, microtonality and Japanese aesthetics. After winning classical piano competitions in her youth, she left music entirely — only to return at age 30, leaving behind a corporate career to pursue improvisation and sonic exploration. She earned a full scholarship to Berklee College of Music, where she joined the Global Jazz Institute and Planet MicroJam Institute, studying with Danilo Pérez, Terri Lyne Carrington, Billy Childs, Kenny Werner, Joe Lovano and many others. She received the Toshiko Akiyoshi Composition Award while at Berklee, and later completed her Master’s degree at the New England Conservatory, where she performed with Tim Berne, Kris Davis, Nicole Mitchell, Ingrid Laubrock, Joe Morris and others. Akaiwa’s work blends Zen-inspired concepts, Japanese microtonality and electroacoustic textures, creating soundscapes that are both meditative and boldly contemporary. She has performed internationally across the U.S., Ecuador, Finland, Italy, Germany, China and more. She currently co-leads Japanese MicroJam with David Fiuczynski and performs with Screaming Headless Torsos.

      Youngchae Jeong
      Youngchae Jeong

      Youngchae Jeong is a bassist from Seoul, South Korea, currently based in Boston. Drawing inspiration from jazz, soul, funk and hip-hop, Jeong uses music as a vehicle for storytelling and escape from life’s hardships. He has shared the stage with renowned artists such as Ralph Peterson Jr., Neal Smith, Javon Jackson, Darren Barrett and Michael Mayo. His performances span acclaimed venues including Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola and Smalls in New York City, Scullers Jazz Club, Regatta Bar, Wally’s Café and the Berklee Performance Center. Jeong earned his undergraduate degree from Berklee College of Music in 2018 and completed his Master’s at the Berklee Global Jazz Institute in 2024, under the direction of Danilo Pérez. In February 2025, he released his debut single “Caught in the Wind,” available on all streaming platforms. Find him on Instagram and Facebook.

      Kristalis Sotomayor
      Kristalis Sotomayor

      Kristalis Sotomayor is a Puerto Rican flutist who started learning the flute when she was four years old, guided by her father. When she was six years old, she began more in-depth study at the Escuela Libre de Música de Puerto Rico. At ten years old, she won a competition to play as a soloist with the Symphony Orchestra of Puerto Rico playing Concerto No.2 for Flute by Mozart. Throughout her early music career, she has taken flute lessons with well-known flutists such as Emmanuel Pahud and Jeffrey Khaner. Sotomayor won a full scholarship to Berklee College of Music at the age of fifteen and started her studies when she was only sixteen. As a classical and jazz flutist and during her time at Berklee, she has had the opportunity to play with Grammy-award winners such as Paquito D’ Rivera, Kurt Elling and Tony Succar. Kristalis is a Latin Grammy Cultural Foundation Scholarship recipient and was invited to play at the Latin Grammy Awards in 2022 in Las Vegas.

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