News & Events
Electric Violinist Lorenzo LaRoc Helps Launch Hispanic Heritage Month at City Tech
September marked the beginning of New York City College of Technology’s 2008 observance of Hispanic Heritage Month. In celebration, the College hosted a September 15 performance by acclaimed Dominican musician Lorenzo LaRoc. If you are a regular subway rider you may have seen him featured in the “Music Underground” series.
La Roc is a native New Yorker and an electric violinist, composer and arranger, who began playing the violin at age eight. While classically trained, he is gifted in a diverse array of styles, including jazz, rock and Latin music. He studied at the Julliard School of Music, the Guitar Study Center in New York City and the Creative Music Studios in Woodstock.
Very soon after graduating from college, LaRoc was hired as a solo electric violinist to perform with Warner Brothers recording artist, Sheila E. Several years later, he formed his own group of New York City musicians called Masterpiece. Masterpiece is now comprised of cutting edge musicians who have worked with many Grammy-award winning artists such as Dizzy Gillespie, Ray Charles and Whitney Houston.
LaRoc’s signature trademark is his custom-made five-string Plexiglas electric violin. The intensity and passion with which he plays expresses not only his musical versatility, but also his deep love for and commitment to what he does.
He has generated much attention since his appearance on the Fox network's hit variety show “Thirty Seconds to Fame.” He fulfilled a life-long dream to perform at Avery Fisher Hall at Lincoln Center in New York City, which warranted national television coverage. He has received write-ups in The New York Times that documented his artistic achievements and has appeared on CBS, NBC, ABC, CNN and VH1, in addition to FOX.
LaRoc has performed at Carnegie Hall, The United Nations, Jacob Javits Convention Center and St. John the Divine Cathedral. He also performs extensively for all grade levels in the New York City Public School system and is establishing a non-profit organization called JFK (Jazz for Kids) dedicated to providing musical instruments and scholarships to the children of underprivileged families. JFK brings artists into the classroom and also provides an interactive website for children to learn about Jazz.
The LaRoc performance was the first of a series of programs at City Tech to celebrate the rich history of Hispanic culture. You can enjoy the music of Lorenzo LaRoc at
http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendID=46480929.
09/23/08
