Inti-Illimani, the groundbreaking eight-man Chilean ensemble that performs on 30 wind, string and percussion instruments, will make its St. Louis debut at WUSTL.
The one-night-only concert begins at 8 p.m. Oct. 6 as part of the Edison Theatre OVATIONS! Series. Tickets are $30; $25 for seniors and WUSTL faculty and staff; and $18 for students and children. Tickets are available at the Edison Theatre Box Office and through all MetroTix outlets.
Named for a mountain in the Bolivian Andes, Inti-Illimani (literally “son of the Illimani”) was formed in 1967 when its members met as engineering students at Santiago Technical University.
Inspired by Andean folk music, the group quickly rose to the forefront of Latin America’s Nueva canción movement, which combined politically progressive lyrics with traditional forms and instrumentation from Chile, Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador and Argentina.
In 1973, Inti-Illimani was touring abroad when Chilean President Salvador Allende was deposed by dictator Augusto Pinochet. Stranded without homeland or passports — and hearing reports of government reprisals against politically active artists — the group settled in Italy, yet continued to support Chilean democracy internationally and to distribute bootleg copies of their music at home.
In 1988, democratic reforms marked the beginning of the end of Pinochet’s regime. At the same time, the governmental ban against Inti-Illimani was finally lifted and in September of that year they toured Chile for the first time since the coup. In 1990, the group returned home permanently and recently has enjoyed official support as ambassadors of Chilean culture.
Inti-Illimani has recorded more than 40 albums, including most recently Lugares Comunes (2003), Viva Italia (2004) and Inti-Quila, Música en la Memoria (2005). Pequeño Mundo (2006), the group’s latest release, continues its exploration of Latin American and Afro-Latino sounds while also including Italian influences and its first foray into jazz-flavored composition.
Inti-Illimani continues to tour widely and has performed with some the world’s most renowned artists, including Peter Gabriel, Bruce Springsteen, Sting, Pete Seeger, Wynton Marsalis, John Williams and Paco Peña.
The group’s many honors include the 1990 Lion of Venice, a 1997 Human Rights Award from the University of California, Berkeley, and a “best soundtrack” nomination from the British Academy of Music for the film The Flight of the Condor (1982).
For more information, call 935-6543 or go online to edisontheatre.wustl.edu.