Albums and music:
    Viracocha (2005)   
    Unay (2000)    
    El sariri (1995)      
    Pacha Mama (1991)        
    Chaski (1989)

Home

Chaski performs and records Latin American folk music that features traditional instruments, colorful costumes, cultural insight, Andean dances, and audience participation. Based in Austin, Texas, Chaski has performed together since 1985 and has toured the United States, Costa Rica, Venezuela, England, and Scotland. Chaski is featured on the soundtrack of the 2006 IMAX film, Ride Around the World: A Cowboy Adventure.

"Dear Chaski, I love your music. Thank you for coming. Your music was great.
You were great. I liked the part where the children got to play. From, Evans"

How to book Chaski for your concert series, festival or other event or venue:

1. Explore our website to see what we do.
2. or call us at (512) 320-0613 to tell us what date(s) you'd like to book us and where the event(s) will take place.
3. We will get back to you within a couple of days with our availability and fee.
4. When we agree on the terms, we'll write up a contract and collect a deposit.
5. We'll provide you with promotional and program material as needed.

Home

Blurbs

25-word blurb

Chaski performs Latin American folk music for all ages in programs that feature traditional instruments, colorful costumes, cultural insight, dances, musical demonstrations, and audience participation.

35-word blurb

Chaski performs and records Latin American folk music that features traditional instruments, colorful costumes, cultural insight, Andean dances, and audience participation.  Instruments include flute, zampoñas (panpipes), quena, harp, cuatro, guitar, charango, bombo, maracas, and more.

45-word blurb

Chaski performs Latin American folk music in programs that feature traditional instruments, colorful costumes, cultural insight, Andean dances, and audience participation.  In festivals, concerts, youth programs, and lecture/demonstrations, Chaski plays flute, zampoñas (panpipes), quena, concert harp, Venezuelan cuatro, guitar, charango, bombo, maracas, and more.

98-word blurb

Chaski means “messenger” in the Incan language of Quechua. In the spirit of this Andean traveler, Chaski brings to its audiences music from Latin America and Spain, exploring stirring Andean festival tunes, haunting Sephardic music, spicy Argentine tangos, flashy Brazilian chôros, and much more.  Performances incorporate audience participation, colorful costumes, cultural insight, historical context, and folk dance demonstrations that enthrall even the most fidgety listener.  Audiences join in the clapping, stomping, and singing as Chaski adeptly shares its mastery of such instruments as flute, sikus (panpipes), quena, transverse flute, harp, accordion, Venezuelan cuatro, guitar, charango, bombo, and maracas.

141-word blurb

Chaski transcribes and arranges folk music primarily from Latin America and Spain and performs for all types of audiences.  We capture the essence of the music based on our knowledge of the cultural and historical traditions from which it comes and present it using indigenous and concert instruments.  We are accomplished performers of the following instruments:  flute, quena, zampoñas (panpipes), alto flute, transverse flute, harp, guitar, charango, cuatro, ronroco, bombo, chajchas, maracas, matraka, and various whistles and bird calls.  Our concerts include written and spoken comments describing the music, culture, history, instruments, and dances and we usually wear typical Andean clothing.  We involve the audience by inviting them to clap particular rhythms, stomp their feet when cued, and sometimes come on stage to join us on percussion.  We have independently produced five albums of our repertoire on compact disc and cassette.

Chaski means “messenger” in the Incan language of Quechua. In the spirit of this Andean traveler, Chaski performs music from Latin America, incorporating colorful costumes, traditional dances, cultural insight, audience participation, and musical demonstrations. Chaski has performed together since 1985 and has toured Texas, New Mexico, Arkansas, California, Washington DC, Costa Rica, Venezuela, England, and Scotland under the auspices of Texas Commission on the Arts and other generous sponsors of the arts. Visit www.chaskimusic.com to learn more about Chaski's tours, five recordings, and many instruments.

Biographical Information 

Adrienne Inglis    flutes, zampoñas, quena
Shana Norton    harp, accordion
Dan Dickey    guitar, charango

Chaski [CHAH-ski] means “messenger” in the Incan language of Quechua [KECH-wah]. In the spirit of this Andean traveler, Chaski bring to its audiences music from Latin America, incorporating colorful costumes, traditional dances, cultural and historical insight, audience participation, and musical demonstrations.  Chaski has performed together since 1985 and has toured Texas, New Mexico, Arkansas, California, Washington DC, England, Scotland, Costa Rica, and Venezuela and the auspices of Texas Commission on the Arts, the Heartland Arts Fund, and other generous sponsors of the arts.  Five independently produced recordings, Chaski (1989), Pacha Mama (1991), El sariri (1995), Unay (2000), and Viracocha (2005) feature selections from Chaski’s repertoire on flute, zampoñas (panpipes), quena, transverse flute, concert harp, cuatro, guitar, charango, bombo, maracas and other instruments.  Chaski was featured on the soundtrack of IMAX film Ride Around the World:  A Cowboy Adventure.  Become a Facebook fan of Chaski at http://www.new.facebook.com/pages/Chaski/23537045955.

Chaski began performing classical flute and harp music in April of 1985.  Venezuelan songs that Adrienne’s mother had brought from her homeland gradually made their way into Chaski’s repertoire.  Shana and Adrienne joined the University of Texas at Austin Brazilian and Andean Music Ensembles to learn more about depth and variety of Latin American music.  The success of their expanded repertoire led them to welcome guitarist Dan Dickey into the group in about 1991.

Adrienne Inglis received a Bachelor of Music in Flute at Lewis and Clark College and a Master of Music in Flute at the University of Texas at Austin and has studied with Scott Goff, Karl Kraber, and Bolivian zampoñero Fernando Jiménez. In 1992 she graduated with highest honors with a bachelor's degree in chemical engineering from UT Austin. She teaches flute at Southwestern University and has freelanced extensively as a performing and recording artist in Central Texas for many years.  She recorded on the SpyKids 2, Kill Bill: Vol. 2, and The Children's War film soundtracks playing as many as twelve different flutes. 

Shana Norton graduated with highest honors earning a Bachelor of Music Education from Abilene Christian University and attended the Eastman School of Music, studying with Julia Hermann Edwards and Eileen Malone. In 1995 she graduated from The Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs with a Master of Public Affairs degree. She plays principal harp with the Mid-Texas Symphony and the Hot Springs Music Festival, works for CAMPO and performs frequently with the San Antonio Symphony and Temple Symphony Orchestra.

Instruments

Technical Specification Sheet

• Note:  STAGE MUST BE READY 45 MINUTES PRIOR TO START OF PERFORMANCE
  
• Stage, uncarpeted and sturdy enough for dancing, at least 10 x 12 feet and preferably raised about 15 inches
• Public address system with five microphones (three with booms, one 5' high, one for the harp without a stand) and sound engineer for outdoor performances or for audiences larger than 100 
• PREFERRED STAGE PLOT
• Green room or other private area for resting and changing
• Barrier-free access for loading harp or able-bodied persons to assist
• Well-lit stage so that music and harp strings are easily visible
• Three straight-backed chairs with no arms
• Three sturdy black music stands
• One table about 3 x 6 feet
• Room-temperature drinking water on stage for three people
• Table and chair to sell Chaski’s recordings at performance
• Protection from extreme temperatures and weather

Concert Menu

Important:  The fees below do not include travel and lodging expenses.  Concerts outside of Austin are subject to a minimum fee.

New!!  South American Dance Workshop $600 ($800 outside of Central Texas)
Chaski will perform, teach, and coach a selection from the following dances:  Venezuelan joropo, Bolivian morenada, Peruvian marinera, Peruvian huayno, Bolivian huayño, and Bolivian cueca.  This exciting new workshop suits all ages and dance abilities.  (About 45 minutes)

La costa y la cordillera $2400
This program highlights the striking variety of South American music.  We present African-influenced music from the coast (la costa) of Brazil and Venezuela, songs in the ancient Andean languages of Quechua and Aymara, and love songs, dances, and festival music as enjoyed throughout the Andes mountains (la cordillera).  (About 90 minutes including intermission)

Spain and the New World $2400
Recognizing the musical heritage carried from Spain to the "New World" by the conquistadores, this program takes the audience back a millennium to Spanish Sephardic music and to Incan traditions of the Andes.  As the two worlds meet, the music reflects the inevitable mingling of ideas and creates a spectacular array of classical Spanish compositions, indigenous festival music with subtle touches of the Iberian Renaissance, and Latin American mestizo music that speaks from the hearts of our century's peoples.  (About 90 minutes including intermission)

Concerti $2400
Orchestras may choose from these three selections:  (1) Louis Spohr’s Concertante arranged by Chaski for flute, harp and orchestra, (2) the famous W. A. Mozart Concerto in C major for flute, harp and orchestra, and (3) Three Latin American Dances for indigenous instruments, harp, and orchestra arranged especially for Chaski by David Pinkard.

Back to top           Home

Choral Concerts $1200 ($2400 outside of Central Texas)
Choral groups can enjoy masterful accompaniment with indigenous and concert instruments of such compelling choral works as Navidad Nuestra and Misa Criolla by Argentine composer Ariel Ramírez and Misa trinitaria by Adrienne Inglis.

This special treat for a university, library, or museum concert series or other occasion features the history, culture, and folklore of Latin America and Spain presented with live music, costumes, and explanatory remarks.  (About 45 minutes)

Master Classes for flute, harp, chamber or Latin music $600 ($800 outside of Central Texas)
Chaski offers master classes on standard flute and harp solo literature as well as chamber music for winds, strings, and/or harp.  For those communities blessed with a novice Latin folk group, Chaski will coach the group on stylistic and technical points, answer questions and provide background and repertoire information.  (About two hours)

Weddings and Receptions—ask for quote
Chaski occasionally plays for weddings and receptions, especially for those bridal couples with family ties to South America.  A wedding ceremony ($600 plus travel expenses, if out of Austin) includes 20-30 minutes of background music before the ceremony, any special music during the ceremony, and music for a few minutes after the ceremony as guests exit.  The bridal couple is entitled to meet with members of Chaski once during the planning stages to determine musical selections, cues, dress, locations, etc.  Chaski is available to attend the wedding rehearsal only if paid at the reception music rate indicated below.  Special musical requests may be granted if music is provided well in advance.  Tunes not in Chaski's current repertoire cost $50 extra per tune.  A deposit of $200 is required for Chaski to reserve the date.  No fee discounts are available for weddings.  Chaski plays background music for receptions as well, for any special occasion for $350/one hour, $650/two hours, or $950/three hours, plus travel expenses if out of the Austin area.  Chaski charges a flat fee of $100.00 to bring its own sound system, if the venue is able to provide a functioning electrical outlet.  For every half hour late the event begins, Chaski charges an additional $150.

Repertoire

Ariel Ramírez composed the Argentine zamba Alfonsina y el mar (Alfonsina and the Sea) that tells the tragic story of Alfonsina Storni.  As a rebellious university professor and poet in the earlier part of this century, she led an unconventional, bohemian life.  Suffering from cancer, she chose to end her life by walking quietly into the sea she loved so dearly.  The newspaper for which she wrote a column received her final poem by mail shortly after her death.  This poem served as the basis for the lyrics of this song.  Her statue now stands at Mar del Plata, the site of her suicide.

The inspiring lyrics and beautiful melody of Alma, corazón, y vida (Soul, Heart, and Life) by Adrian Flores, make this Peruvian vals a classic.  "I have only these three little things to offer you:  soul to win you over, heart to love you, and life to live by your side."

The first Latin American song performed by Chaski, Alma llanera (Soul of the Prairie), is a popular Venezuelan joropo composed by Pedro Elías Gutiérrez with lyrics of Rafael Bolívar Coronado. 

Angélica, a zamba argentina by Roberto Cambare, exemplifies the vivid pain of a sad love song so typical of this genre.  "If your affection were an eagle and my poor soul a dove, my trembling heart would bleed in its talons and you would show no pity."

The haunting Peruvian yaraví, Antara, features the quena and quenacho, ancient flutes of the Andes.

Back to top           Home

Back to top           Home

Back to top           Home

La puñalada (The Stab to the Heart), by Uruguayan composer Pintín Castellano, exemplifies the milonga, a dance closely related to the tango.

Las dos puntas (The Two Points) is a Chilean cueca about a traveler who has a sweetheart on each side of the Andean cordillera.  He crosses the mountains back and forth and always enjoys a warm welcome when he arrives.

Chaski interprets and embellishes the Legend theme from Pokémon the Movie 2000 as an Andean yaraví and huayño.  In the movie, the melody plays a crucial role in restoring peace to the world.

Los mamonales (The Mamón Groves), a Venezuelan joropo features the harp and celebrates the orchards of the mamón, a small tart tropical fruit.

The legendary tango singer, Carlos Gardel, recorded the Argentina tango, Madreselva (Honeysuckle), by Francisco Canaro and Luis César Amadori.  Tango argentino, as a dance form, is best viewed as from afar.  The dancers have each succumbed to the allure of the tango’s mystique, its passion, and its uniquely improvisational format.  Each tango belongs to the couple—a communication between themselves only in direct relationship to the invitation of the music and its musicians.

Digno García's Paraguayan melody, Madrecita, demonstrates the beauty of harp music so typical of Paraguay.

This Peruvian huayno features the charango and was composed by the accomplished charanguista, Julio Benavente Díaz.  The title, Mala yerba (The Weed), reflects how unneeded and unwanted an Indian man felt while traveling to the city.

Composed by Adrienne Inglis in the style of a Bolivian huayño, Maysajata cutayana (Inside Out) features the chromatic zampoñas.  The “C” section of the piece has a short theme followed by its retrograde, in which the notes are played in reverse order.

Adrienne Inglis' composition, Misa trinitaria, a six-movement Latin American folk mass, celebrates Trinitarian theology and enhances the familiar Spanish-language worship liturgy with traditional folk musical styles from Perú, Bolivia, Venezuela, and Argentina.  In addition to being incorporated into a worship service, Misa trinitaria may be performed as a concert piece.  This composition may be sung by a treble choir and optional soli men's voices or presented as a chamber piece with the members of Chaski.

Moliendo café (Grinding Coffee), by Venezuelan composers Hugo Blanco and J. M. Perroni, uses Caribbean salsa rhythms to reflect the sounds of grinding coffee in the tropical evenings at the coffee plantations.

A variety of folk instruments demonstrates Christmas music from Latin America.  Niño lindo and Cantemos, cantemos are popular examples of the lively Venezuelan Christmas songs known as aguinaldos and performed tonight on harp and cuatro.  Vamos, Pastorcitos from Colombia uses the quena and its bigger sibling, the quenacho.  Bolivian Christmas music differs from other genres only in its lyrics and use of bird whistles.  Villancico is a Christmas song in the style of an Afro-Bolivian saya.  En nombre del cielo employs three sizes of zampoñas and the lyrics tell of Mary and Joseph’s efforts to find lodging.  Performed on quena and harp, De tierra lejana venimos is a song of the wise men.

Naquele tempo (In that Time), a chôro-serenata by well-known Brazilian composers, Pixinguinha and Benedito Lacerda, shows the softer, more lyric side of the popular chôro genre.  Chôros began in late nineteeth century Rio de Janeiro as groups of serenaders performing European-derived music and grew into a style that blends the popular Brazilian dances, maxixe and samba.

Ojos azules (Blue Eyes) are rare in Bolivia but the lyrics of this huayño are very typical of the altiplano or high plateau region in the Andes mountains.  The melancholic and bitter lyrics tell of taking poison as the only way to forget a lost love.  This hopeless mood characterizes the difficult and brutal life in the Andes.

Street festivals in Bolivia feature endless parades of dancers and bands in elaborate costumes that satirize historical and mythical personalities, including the devil, Spanish conquistadores, and African slaves.  Oruro by G. Rojas Enríquez, named for the Bolivian city, and Mariposa (Butterfly) by Gumercindo Lidicio, are well-known morenadas for which the dancers don intricate masks with exaggerated Negroid features.  Be prepared to clap and stomp your feet when we give you the cue.

A Venezuelan joropo with curiously symbolic lyrics, Pajarillo verde (The Little Green Bird) will get even sleepy toes tapping.

Pájaro chogüí (The Chogüí Bird), a Paraguayan galopa by Indio Pitaguá, recounts the tale of a Guaraní Indian boy hiding in a tree when his mother startles him with her call.  He falls to his death but is magically transformed into a chogüí bird.  Today in the orange groves of Paraguay the song of the chogüí reminds us of the Guaraní boy.

Sanjuanito by Gilbert Fabré epitomizes the style of Ecuador's most well-known musical genre.

Se va el caimán (There goes the alligator man) is a cumbia colombiana composed in 1941 by José María Peñaranda Márquez.

Back to top           Home

Considered a second national anthem, the cueca Viva mi patria Bolivia (Long Live My Fatherland Bolivia) expresses great love and devotion to Bolivia and encourages others to do likewise.

Based in Austin, Texas, Chaski has performed together since 1985 and has toured the United States, Costa Rica, Venezuela, England, and Scotland.  Chaski is featured on the soundtrack of the 2006 IMAX film, Ride Around the World:  A Cowboy Adventure.  Their five CDs feature selections from Chaski’s repertoire from Latin America and Spain on flute, panpipes, quena, harp, accordion, cuatro, guitar, charango, bombo, maracas, and other instruments.

Chaski's Tour and Concert Schedule
Here's how to book Chaski for your event!
Buy Chaski CDs and listen to sound clips at CD Baby!
Visit Chaski's Youtube page!
Chaski on Facebook!

Copyright 1997-2010 Chaski

Home | About us | Reviews | Calendar | Listen | Photo Gallery | Store | Contact us | Links