Musicians
Who Are They?
Emiliano Messiez
Piano
Emiliano Messiez is a Latin Grammy-nominated composer and pianist originally from Argentina and now based in New York City. Known for his versatile and unique sound, he is the founder and director of the Tango Orchestra Típica Messiez, a member of the Romo-Agri-Messiez Trio, and the pianist for the show Forever Tango. Trained in classical music, jazz, tango, rock, and Latin American rhythms, he has performed globally at renowned venues including Lincoln Center, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, and the Houston Grand Opera. As a composer, Emiliano has written several musicals, such as Bordello, the Musical (2019), The Guava Tree (2021), Casa Alfonsa (2022), and The City Dog and the Prairie Dog (2023) among many others.
Sergio Reyes
Violin
Sergio R. Reyes Mendoza is a Guatemalan violinist, composer and arranger residing in NYC. Mr. Reyes Mendoza has performed at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, MoMA, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the Blue Note Jazz Club, among other places. He has shared the stage with internationally renowned artists Frederica von Stade, Clive Lythgoe and Danny Rivera, and Argentine musicians who worked with tango master Astor Piazzolla, such as Pablo Ziegler, Héctor Del Curto, Raúl Jaurena, Daniel Binelli, and others. Reyes studied violin and composition at Interlochen Arts Academy, Brooklyn College Conservatory of Music, and Manhattan School of Music. In Europe he attended the Mozart European Academy (Poland) and the Ecoles d'Arts Américaines (Fointanebleau, France). Passionate about the arts, literature and Guatemalan history, Mr. Reyes Mendoza addresses current Guatemalan and Latin American issues and societal challenges as the core inspiration for his original orchestra, chamber music, choral, and tango ensemble compositions. Recently, he was awarded a NYSCA grant to compose new music for The Harlem Chamber Players to be premiered in the Spring of 2025.​
Rodolfo M. Zanetti
Bandoneon
A native of Argentina, Rodolfo Zanetti plays the bandoneon, a type of concertina particularly popular in that country and an essential instrument in most tango ensembles. Dedicated to playing tango from an early age, he joined the Mancifesta Orchestra and Tango & Punto before co-founding the Quintet Bandó, with which he made well received tours to Washington, Chicago and New York.
Under the auspices of the Astor Piazzolla Foundation, in 2003 Zanetti directed Maria de Buenos Aires, the masterpiece of Astor Piazzolla and Horacio Ferrer. He performed as bandoneon soloist with the Choir of the National University of Cuyo (U.N.C. - Mendoza) and with the Coro de Jóvenes de la Universidad Nacional de Cuyo. In 2009 he founded El Despunte Tango Club, a traditional tango trío. In 2013 he performed as soloist in the very international wine event of Mendoza, the Fiesta Nacional de la Vendimia.
In the United States, Zanetti has performed as soloist with the Pan American Symphony Orchestra at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, the Lisner Auditorium of George Washington University, the Embassy of Argentina, the Organization of American States and other notable venues. In New York he performed as soloist at Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts and Carnegie Hall.
In 2017 he won the First Prize as a bandoneonist at the "Che Bandoneón International Competition" awarded by the Argentine Tango Society at the Stowe Music Tango Festival in Vermont, USA.
In 2018 he participated as a bandoneon player in the album "Vigor Tanguero" by Pedro Giraudo, which has obtanied the Latin Grammy to the best Tango Album.
In 2020 he was a soloist in the recording of the album "Tango of the Americas" which was nominated last year for the best tango album by the Latin Grammy Awards.
Rodolfo Zanetti studied with Jorge Puebla and Hilario Alberto Iribarne on bandoneon, continuing his studies in piano with masters Monica Rizzo and Roberto Urbay at the Faculty of Arts of the National University of Cuyo, Mendoza, Argentina