NorteSur
Harp & Oboe, Native Winds
About Us
Classical. Andean Music. Latin American. World Music.
Harp, Oboe, Panflutes, Guitar, Quena, Percussion and Voice.
NorteSur is a new musical proposal which captures the beauty of various time periods while presenting new pieces. Ethno-musicological research brings diverse unconventional instruments such as Quena and Sikus into its vocabulary, creating a loom upon which a tapestry of diverse colors and texture is spun to life.
Rachel Browne
Rachel Browne, harpist with the National Symphony Orchestra of Bolivia from 2004 to 2013, formed NorteSur with oboist and Andean music specialist Eduardo Cassapia. In Bolivia she also taught in the National Conservatory and appeared in several recordings of folk, pop, and contemporary Bolivian music. She holds a Medal of Cultural Merit awarded by the Plurinational State of Bolivia (2013). Prior to her work in South America, she was a Whitinger Scholar at Ball State University and was awarded prizes at competitions by organizations such as the American Harp Society, the Glenn Miller Birthplace Society, and the National Alliance for Excellence. Notable performances include a solo appearance at the Osaka Women University (Japan), a televised recital at the University Cathedral in Los Angeles, CA, and many appearances as soloist with regional orchestras in the United States. Recently she has joined the faculty at Rocky Mountain Summer Harp Program in Colorado as instructor, and regularly performs with NorteSur. She holds a Masters of Music degree from the University of Texas at Austin.
Eduardo Cassapia
Born in the City of La Paz, Bolivia, Eduardo Cassapia studied traditional Andean music at the “Conservatorio Los Andes” and classical oboe in the “Conservatorio Nacional de Música.” The Reina Sofia scholarship took him to Madrid, Spain for oboe classes in 2002, and later he studied oboe with notable instructors in Ulm and in Freiburg, Germany. Memorable performances in Germany include concerts at the Willy Brandt complex (Berlin) Germany. The National Symphony Orchestra of Bolivia welcomed him home from Europe, and he was a vital member there for fourteen years. In 2009 he was a chosen artist for presentations at the Andean-Inuit Encounter, touring cities in Denmark and Greenland, and is appreciated as performer and professor at “OboeFest” (Rosario, Argentina) yearly. Eduardo enjoys remaining on the forefront of new musical projects in Austin and internationally.