Seraphic Fire's repertoire ranges from Medieval chants to Brahms.
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Miami-Dade Roundup
Grammy-nominated Seraphic Fire begins student composer-in-resident program
ARTS & CULTURE
Voice of Experience
Seraphic Fire’s mission: High-quality performances with cultural significance.
Miami vocal ensemble Seraphic Fire, nominated for two Grammy awards, last year began a student composer-in-residence program with a graduate composition student from the University of Miami’s Frost School of Music. In the program, a Frost student looking to gain experience writing vocal music spends time at the group’s rehearsals, then composes a piece for the group.
The student receives feedback along the way from Seraphic Fire members. The choral group then performs the student’s composition at one of its concerts.
Meanwhile, Seraphic Fire will debut a new composition it commissioned from Miami composer and guitarist Alvaro Bermudez. “Danzas del Silencio” will combine Bach’s orchestral structure with Colombian dance rhythms, performed by a guitar and the ensemble’s 13 voices. Seraphic Fire will debut the piece at the international gathering of choruses, the Chorus America Conference, in Miami Beach.
“We (often) pair new works of music with older works,” says Seraphic Fire Executive Director Rhett del Campo. “There’s a thread that connects the music, the new to the old.” That, he adds, makes it easier for an audience to accept and enjoy a new work.
TECHNOLOGY
- Face-recognition company Kairos closed a $4-million investment, bringing its total funding to $17 million. The company also promoted Melissa Doval, who had been its interim CEO for six months, to CEO; Doval was Kairos’ CFO before taking on the interim role.
- Accelerator program Google Launchpad Start held its first U.S. program outside of San Francisco in Miami, in partnership with venture fund/incubator/accelerator VentureCity.
- Paris-based cyber-security and cloud technology distributor Exclusive Networks opened its U.S. sales headquarters and second U.S. location in Miami-Dade County in April.
AUTOMOTIVE
- Beginning this summer, Miami Dade College will become the first institution in the Southeastern U.S. to offer certificate training for Tesla service technicians. In its partnership with the school, the electric vehicle maker will provide vehicles, equipment, instructor, tools and curriculum for an intensive 12-week program. Students — the first class will accept up to 12 — are paid a stipend equivalent to $9.46 per hour. Only six colleges offer the program currently.
RANKINGS
- A University of Illinois report named Miami the No. 4 most corrupt city in the U.S., based on total federal corruption convictions between 1976 and 2017.
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
- The county’s public-private economic development organization, the Beacon Council, launched Miami Community Ventures, which aims to connect unemployed residents with long-term jobs that pay a living wage.
