Wesito & Friends
Authentic Latin Music with a Classical Twist
Wesito & Friends is a unique mix of classical and Latin musicians, performing Wes Dyring’s innovative instrumental arrangements of classic Latin American popular music.
Members include Seattle Symphony and other outstanding classical musicians together with some of the top performers in Seattle’s Latin music scene.
Wesito & Friends has performed at The Triple Door to sell-out audiences and to critical acclaim at Benaroya Hall, as well as at other venues.
Covering a wide diversity of styles—son, danzón, guaracha and mambo from Cuba, Colombian cumbia, bambuco and vals, boleros from Mexico, Argentinian tango and zamba, to name a few—Wesito & Friends reaches for the heart of performances by such luminaries as Beny Moré, Celia Cruz, Cachao, Compay Segundo, Roberto Faz, Lucho Bermúdez, Silva y Villalba, Los Panchos, Agustín Lara and Carlos Gardel.
“Wesley Dyring is a musician who is making folk music part of his soul. Wesley is Latin in his heart.”
—M. Nélida Mendoza, Tú Decides
“Their program was sheer delight…. Dyring did a masterly job of arranging the music for the two types of instruments which blended seamlessly together…. I can’t wait to hear them again.”
—Philippa Kiraly, The Gathering Note
Wesito Arrangements
Wes Dyring has arranged well over fifty popular compositions from Latin America, many of which have been performed by Wesito & Friends. He also has new material waiting in the wings for a performance opportunity. All of Wesito’s arrangements are created in the spirit of honoring the incredibly rich music of the cultures of Latin America so near and dear to his heart.
In most of the arrangements, the solo strings—viola, violin and cello—are the “voices,” while the majority of the other instruments are authentic to the style of the originals. The strings are played with such vocal expression and phrasing that one is transported back to the time and place of the originals, while without the restriction of lyrics, the mind and heart are free to wander to other realms.
Wesito & Friends Musicians
Jeannie Wells Yablonsky, violin
Wes Dyring, viola, violin, tiple colombiano
Roberta Downey, cello
Kevin Krentz, cello
Zart Dombourian-Eby, flute, piccolo
Steve Mostovoy, trumpet
Joe Kaufman, bass
Alex Dyring, bass, tiple colombiano, guitar, percussion
Michael Nicolella, guitar, requinto
Peter Caruso, guitar, requinto
Andrés Rodrigues, guitar, requinto
Pedro Trujillo, guitar
Fred Hoadley, piano, tres
Diego Coy, maracas, güiro, guacho, bombo, quena, zampoña, tiple colombiano, coro
Pedro Vargas, bongó, timbales, congas, maracas, bombo, coro
Ricardo Guity, congas, tambora, maracas, coro