The Brasil Guitar Duo: Back by popular demand tonight

Rarely in the 34 years that the Shelter Island Friends of Music has been presenting concerts, has the audience demanded the return engagement of an artist.

But that is precisely what has happened with the Brasil Guitar Duo, who dazzled the crowd here only one year ago.

The audience quickly realized that in Joáo Luis and Douglas Lora they were hearing two master musicians who, instead of focusing solely on the music of their home country, were able to draw from a rich vein of sounds from jazz, South American and African melodies and the European classical tradition.

The duo has been playing together for 16 years, in Brazil, in the U.S. and on several highly acclaimed global tours. They have discovered a complementary musical sensibility that allows them to play the music of Bach, Scarlatti and Castelnuovo-Tedesco with a respect for the original style, but with a radiant Brazilian perspective.

The Brasil Guitar Duo will be playing at the Presbyterian Church at 8 p.m. tonight. They will be performing their own distinctive arrangements of the familiar and the new.

The performance is free to all and is presented by the Friends of Music, whose annual concert series depends on the generosity of its audience. Join us at a reception immediately after the performance for a chance to greet the musicians.