ARCOMUSICAL presents: BEIRMBATÁ at the University of North Texas

On Friday, November 17th, 2023, Arcomusical offered a presentation of “BERIMBATÁ,“ a performance project that combines both research and creative composing/arranging to present the Lucumí oro seco through the musical voice of the Afro-Brazilian berimbau musical bow. Arcomusical Artistic Director Gregory Beyer was joined by Arcomusical Berimbatá quartet members Jean-Christophe LeRoy, Christian Baugher, and Jonah Payne. This research presentation offered both batá and berimbau performances of twelve of the twenty-two toques for the orishas found in the oro seco, as well as an inside glimpse into the research and creative decision making process involved in mapping this sacred Lucumí religious batá drumming onto the berimbau ensemble that Arcomusical has developed over the past decade. The orisha images seen in the multimedia presentation accompanying the informance are from the following websites: as well as the beautiful watercolor renderings of Hector “Carybé“ Barnabó.