Duo Nuevo Mundo performing Postcards: Music for Flute & Guitar from Argentina, Cuba, Brazil and Beyond
Leslie Neighbor Stroud, flute, and José Lezcano, guitar
Join Grammy nominated guitarist José Lezcano, praised by Fanfare Magazine as a “superb guitarist as well as first-rate arranger and composer,” and flutist Leslie Neighbor Stroud, noted by American Record Guide for her “rich, velvety sound,” heard on MSR Classics and Centaur/Naxos records, performing “Postcards” - tangos, ballades and more by Piazzolla, Merlin, Villa-Lobos, Ibert, and Lezcano.
DUO NUEVO MUNDO
Dr. José Manuel Lezcano, guitar
Acclaimed as both a virtuoso guitarist and a prolific composer, Dr. José Manuel Lezcano has performed across the globe, embracing classical repertoire, Cuban and Hispanoamerican traditions, and his own original works. He has appeared at Carnegie Recital Hall, the NYC NorthSouth Consonance Series, and festivals in Cuba, Trinidad & Tobago, Spain, Ecuador, Colombia, Peru, Brazil, China, Germany, Poland, and the Czech Republic. He has performed concerti with orchestras including the Orquesta Solistas de la Habana, the National Symphony of Ecuador, the National Symphony of Peru, the Orchestra of Tolima, the Loja Symphony, the Quito Chamber Orchestra, the Portsmouth Symphony, the Granite State Symphony, and the South Carolina Philharmonic. A sought-after guest artist, Lezcano has appeared at numerous chamber music series throughout New England and in South Florida.
Lezcano’s compositions reflect his Cuban-American heritage and draw on jazz, Spanish folklore, and early music. His honors include two Grammy nominations, first prize in the MTNA National Guitar Competition, the NHSCA Individual Artist Fellowship, two NHMTA Composer of the Year awards, the KSC Distinguished Research Award, and a Fulbright Award for research and performance in Ecuador. His guitar concerto recording has earned praise from Fanfare Magazine, and his flute guitar duo First Light (Alry) was named Best New Published Composition of 2025 by the National Flute Association. He is Professor Emeritus & Lecturer at Keene State College. For more information please visit: www.joselezcano.com
Leslie Neighbor Stroud, flute
Noted by American Record Guide for her “rich, velvety sound” and “command of all the difficulties,” by Fanfare Magazine as “undeniably captivated by Stroud’s brilliant performance,” and The Flutist Quarterly for her “confident, winning performances” Ms. Stroud’s performances include at Dartmouth College, Boston University, St. Gaudens National Historic Site, Accueil Musical at L’ Eglise Saint-Merry, New Salem Museum and Fine Art Academy, the Wadsworth Atheneum, the New Britain Museum of American Art, and with Musicians of the Old PostRoad, the Savannah Symphony Orchestra, the Baltimore Chamber Orchestra, Opera North, Northern Stage and the New Bedford Symphony Orchestra. She is a founding member of Acacia Chamber Music, Trio Camerata, and Cameo Baroque. Ms. Stroud’s performance of Paul Hindemith’s Herodiade is housed in the United States Library of Congress, and she appeared as the flutist in Nora Jacobson’s 2023 PBS award-winning documentary, “Passion in a Pandemic.”
Ms. Stroud and pianist Matthew Odell’s recordings include Sonatas for Flute and Piano,
by Gary Schocker (2019 Centaur/Naxos) and, with cellist Peter Zay, In All Directions: Chamber Music for Flute, Cello and Piano by Michel Merlet (2024 MSR Classics).
Ms. Stroud has taught at the Johns Hopkins University’s Center for Talented Youth, and as a founding member of the innovative Schools Music! series with the New Bedford Symphony Orchestra. A graduate of the Peabody Conservatory of Music, her teachers include Britton Johnson, Timothy Day, Lois Schaefer, Walfrid Kujala, Gary Schocker, and Yaada Weber. For more information please visit: www.lesliestroud.com
