Salsa legends Oscar de Leon and Ismael Miranda shared the stage at the Kupferberg Center of the Arts on Nov. 12. It gave salsa lovers the opportunity to enjoy good music, food and beverages complimentary of Queens College. Oscar de Leon, a Venezuelan native, has been performing salsa hits for decades. He is also known as “El León de la Salsa” (Salsa’s Lion.) Others first noticed his passion for music when he purchased a taxi. But this was not your ordinary taxi — it became known as the “Rumba Taxi.” People would line up outside waiting for the party taxi to take them wherever they had to go. Shortly after,…
-
-
Midtown Men bring the 1960s back
The Midtown Men returned to Queens College on Feb. 21 to perform songs from the 1960s at Colden Auditorium. The Kupferberg Center for the Arts created the event with the original cast of Tony Award-winning musical “Jersey Boys.” The Broadway play first began in 2005 and about a band called The Four Seasons. In 2010, Christian Hoff, Michael Longoria, Daniel Reichard and J. Robert Spencer formed the group. Despite rebranding as The Midtown Men for legal reasons, they played about 2,000 shows and recorded an album. The quartet began the show with The Four Seasons hit “Big Girls Don’t Cry.” After that, they played “Can’t Buy Me Love,” the 1964…
-
Audra McDonald performs at Kupferberg Center for the Arts
Tony-award winning actress Audra McDonald entertained an audience with a night of musical theatre, jazz standards and intriguing anecdotes on Oct. 5 in Colden Auditorium as part of her nation-wide concert tour. McDonald is best known for her Broadway career in acclaimed musicals such as “Ragtime,” “A Raisin in the Sun” and the 2012 revival of “Porgy and Bess.” She also graced the small screen in the “Grey’s Anatomy” spin-off “Private Practice” and guest appearances on “Law and Order: SVU” and “The Good Wife.” The concert contained a wide range of music covering many different genres. The Juliard alumnae’s soprano was highlighted by classics from Gershwin, Irving Berlin and Frederick…
