What does "Cuatro Puntos" mean?
"Cuatro Puntos" means "four points" in Spanish and is a multi-faceted, arts non-profit organization that uses music for social change and empowerment of the underserved. We have host a multi-cultural concert series, the Music Moves Hartford Street Choir, and Arts Integration programs in school classrooms. Our roster of professional, resident musicians collaborate with local, national, and international guest artists to produce genre-defying and culturally significant concert programing and album recordings. Here music is not a museum- it is a living, breathing part of society and a relevant vehicle for addressing social issues. Our ongoing programming takes place in Connecticut in Hartford, Glastonbury, and Norwich- however we do frequent concerts, school visits, and collaborations around the country and the world. Explore our programs on this page!
OUR MISSION STATEMENT
Cuatro Puntos is dedicated to intercultural dialogue and universal access through the performance, writing, and teaching of music.
OUR EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Kevin Bishop
OUR MISSION STATEMENT
Cuatro Puntos is dedicated to intercultural dialogue and universal access through the performance, writing, and teaching of music.
OUR EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Kevin Bishop
OUR PROGRAMS
- Music Moves Hartford, a participatory music program for those who face homelessness in Hartford, praised as the first of its kind in the Northeast. It operates weekly in two locations: a soup kitchen and a shelter. The resulting Downtown Singers have taken the city by storm as they perform for concerts and cultural events, garnering public and media attention that breaks stigmas and brings awareness to Hartford’s spiraling homeless epidemic.
- Arts / Curriculum Integration in Schools, where highly trained teaching artists go directly into the classroom to tackle a part of the curriculum using music as a catalyst. Over the past few years our teaching artists have made over 50 classroom visits, with topics like: Life Without Music: The Story of Afghanistan (cultural rights/history alignment); Deconstructing Music: Building a Song with Sound Waves (science/physics alignment); Powerful Women: The Story of Composer Florence Price (Black History Month alignment); and The Shooting Gallery: Tackling Neighborhood Violence (social well being).
- Cuatro Puntos Resident Musicians, an ensemble of local professional musicians who seek the highest artistry in their pursuit of cross-cultural programming and recordings. They are hailed by Fanfare Magazine as having a “great depth of sound” and “virtuostic performance”, and have performed extensively throughout the United States as well as in Bolivia, Brazil, England, Germany, the Netherlands, and Afghanistan. They have a recorded a number of albums in collaboration with guest artists and spanning many genres. The Rosegarden of Light with the Afghanistan National Institute of Music (Toccata Classics); Jaipur to Cairo (Métier), and Centennial Cole with Hartford jazz artist Orice Jenkins. 2019 releases will be: The Curve with Iraqi composer Ameen Mokdad (Arkadash Records), and Sounds of Persia with Dariush Saghafi and Reza Vali (Arkadash Records).
Multicultural Guest Artists and Collaborators, an integral part of our organization that brings local and international artists of varying disciplines and backgrounds to collaborate with our resident musicians, arts integration workshops, Music Moves Hartford, and recording projects. Notable artists to date: The Afghan Women’s Orchestra “Zohra” and Junior Ensemble of Traditional Instruments from the Afghanistan National Institute of Music in Kabul; Reza Vali (Iranian American composer); Dariush Saghafi (Iranian American santur master); Orice Jenkins (Hartford R&B artist); Alika Hope (teaching artist, Ray of Hope Project); Ameen Mokdad (Iraq); Sadie Harrison (Australia/UK); Mohamed Shams (Egyptian pianist); Mohamed Farag (Egyptian composer); Gilad Cohen (Israeli American composer); Eden MacAdam-Somer (American Folk Music Artist).
Unique Recording Projects, a collaboration between our Resident Musicians and our Guest Artists. While concerts engage the community at a given time, recorded albums are immortal. Our recordings have received praise and airplay in dozens of countries, and have been featured on the soundtracks of several movies. We currently have four albums: The Rosegarden of Light with the Afghanistan National Institute of Music (Toccata Classics); Jaipur to Cairo (Métier); The Curve with Iraqi composer Ameen Mokdad (Arkadash Records), and Sounds of Persia with Dariush Saghafi and Reza Vali (Arkadash Records). Our musicians are also heard on Centennial Cole with jazz artist Orice Jenkins.
We thrive on community. Get involved! Come help out with Music Moves Hartford, volunteer with us, hear a concert, or bring us your ideas!
At a time when we are bombarded every day by images of the world in crisis, The Rosegarden of Light is a joyful celebration of musicians who share a fundamental right to express themselves through the universal language of music.”
- Blackmore Vale Magazine, review of The Rosegarden of Light album