There is no better reward than to take tango to everyone…
Multicultural, multi-lingual, trained in academia and thriving outside of it, Winnie is the connector between many worlds. Her specialty is in bringing tango to people who have never heard of tango before.
Winnie has led hundreds of yearly outreach events using live tango music as a vehicle of connection and communication across the US, Asia and Canada in K-12 schools, universities, retirement communities, community-and-professional music schools, medical facilities, dementia homes, farmer’s markets, art galleries and cross-cultural festivals. She was covid-canceled for the big workshop in Danville Correctional Facilities in 2020 – a medium-security all-male facility – but she was rebooked for 2024. The workshop at the juvenile detention center in rural Ohio near Cleveland in October 2022 was one of the most rewarding experiences in her career.
Events Winnie has led range from specialized masterclasses for university composition students at prestigious music departments like the Jacob School of Music, Indiana University; Cultural and Music Appreciation courses at liberal arts colleges like Rose Hulman Institute of Technology, Butler University, St Mary’s College, Notre Dame University, Purdue University, Columbia College Chicago, University of Dayton, University of Pikeville. For Winnie, the most enjoyable school outreach events happen in front of younger audiences: K-12. She has also personally witnessed so many moments where tango brought life and light back to seniors and the infirmed – there is no better reward for Winnie to keep taking tango to everyone, especially to those who cannot come to tango.
Outreach Team
Natsuki Nishijara, bandoneon
Natsuki was born in Japan. She graduated from Toho College of Music at the age of 22 with a Bachelor’s degree in Trumpet.
In 2012, she became interested in Tango and began studying Bandoneón in Tokyo. She traveled to Buenos Aires in 2014 to study with Néstor Marconi and Ramiro Boero. In 2017, she joined the Orquesta Escuela de Tango Emilio Barcarce, directed by Víctor Lavallén, and had the opportunity to share the stage with maestros like José “Pepe” Colángelo, Nicolás Ledesma, Osvaldo Piro, Roberto Álvarez, Daniel Binelli and Mauricio Marcelli.
In 2019, she participated in the concert “Bandoneon Day,” performing arrangements for solo bandoneon (including some of her own arrangements) at the Kirchner Cultural Center (CCK). Natsuki performs in several tango groups and orchestras in the city of Buenos Aires, including the Yazmina Raies Trio and Juan Pablo Gallardo Orquesta, among others. She currently performs as a bandoneon soloist in the tango show, Tango Porteño.
Laura Camacho, bass
Laura is a classically-trained double bass player specialized in tango music, born in Buenos Aires, Argentina. She studied at the Manuel de Falla Conservatory with National’s Symphony principal bassist, later taking lessons with renowned tango bassist Horacio Cabarcos.
During her formative years, Camacho stayed active in youth orchestras, tango, contemporary, and chamber ensembles. Upon graduation, Laura taught double bass and cello at the Buenos Aires Youth Orchestras. She moved to the US in 2009 after being offered a scholarship to study double bass at the University of Georgia with soloist Dr. Milton Masciadri.
She has recorded and toured extensively throughout the USA, Canada, and Argentina with groups like Las Del Abasto and Alejandro Ziegler quartet, as well as her ensemble in the South East of the USA, Athens Tango Project, sharing the stage with artists like Mariano Mores, Sexteto Mayor, and Tanguetto. Laura composed and recorded music for the documentary Eat White Dirt and is the founder and director of the Athens Tango Project, with whom she wrote and recorded the soundtrack for the film Athens Rising: The Sicyon Project.
She divides her time between teaching tango seminars for college music students, dancers and the general public, performing and traveling, and writing and arranging music for Athens Tango Project. The ensemble has recently recorded their first LP, is being performed in classical , jazz, and tango radios around the world, and was recently awarded the Athens Area Arts Grant to expand the ensemble’s educational reach in the region.
