Miami Afro-Cuban Orchestra

The UM Frost School of Music and WDNA 88.9FM are pleased to present a special fundraising concert featuring the Miami Afro-Cuban Orchestra, with proceeds benefiting the station. Led by founder and Frost Music professor Alberto De La Reguera, the Miami Afro-Cuban Orchestra is a highly acclaimed large ensemble and a seven-time DownBeat Magazine “Best Latin Group” award winner.

Originally founded 35 years ago as the Frost Salsa Orchestra, the ensemble included members of the world-renowned University of Miami Concert Jazz Band. In its early years, the Orchestra faced a shortage of arrangements for Latin music, inspiring De La Reguera to create his own. He began arranging music by influential artists including Tito Puente, Eddie Palmieri, Gilberto Santa Rosa, and Rubén Blades, while also composing original works rooted in the traditions of Cuban music. His arrangements preserve essential elements of the genre, including call-and-response, while incorporating the distinctive “shout”—five-part harmonized saxophones—as well as brass and woodwinds performed without percussion, a technique known as orchestral soli. Through this innovative approach to arranging and composition, the Miami Afro-Cuban Orchestra has developed a distinctive sound that honors the rich traditions of Latin music while bringing them into a contemporary orchestral setting.

Over the years, the Orchestra has collaborated with numerous Grammy® winners and nominees, including Emmet Cohen, Brian Lynch, Cucco Peña, Shelly Berg, Federico Britos, Dafnis Prieto, Mark O’Connor, Sylvano Monasterios, and many others.