Duo Chehebar Navarro

We are playing together since 1987, in Bariloche -an Andean town in the Patagonia of Argentina (in the southwest of the country). One of us (Roberto Navarro) plays piano and synthesizers and is the composer of most of the music we play; the other (Claudio Chehébar) plays quena (an aboriginal bamboo flute), sikus and antara (aboriginal panflutes made from reed), moxeño (an aboriginal traverse flute), flute and recorder.

Our music has multiple roots, including rythms from diverse regions of our country but adding our own search. These multiple roots are related with the diverse cultural influences of today and with the diversity of the present population of Patagonia and Argentina. Our music is based in patago¬nian rythms (e.g. loncomeo in "El país de las manzanas") and also in rythms and instruments originated in the northwest of our country (quena, sikus). In much of our music there is a conjuncton of the traditional and aboriginal with the contemporary -in melodies, in instrumental color and in harmonies.

We make full use of the frequently under-utilised and hidden capabilities of the andean wind-instruments (chromatism, counterpoint with the piano, complex melodies), while at the same time trying to conserve strong ties with andean and folk music roots.

Roberto Navarro was born in Entre Ríos province (northeast of the country) in 1952. He studied piano in Concordia -the town where he was born-, later in Buenos Aires and later in Bariloche.

Claudio Chehébar was born in Buenos Aires in 1954. He studied recorder and music in the Collegium Musicum. Later on he studied quena in the "Latin American House" in Buenos Aires, and flute for five years. Later on, he learned to play sikus interacting with northern musicians, and in the "Centro Kolla" of Buenos Aires.

We were selected as part of the delegation of Rio Negro Province to the National Music Encounter (Buenos Aires, 1990). In 1993, we were the musical group selected for the official presentation of Rio Negro Province in the Argentinian Council for Foreign Relations (CARI). We were included in two summer concert seasons of the renowned Camping Musical Bariloche (1992, 1994).

We made several performances in southern Chile.

In June 1994 we were especially invited by Mercedes Sosa to perform their piece "El país de las manzanas" within her series of concerts "En Familia", in Teatro Opera of Buenos Aires (10-11-12-13 june, and 24-25 june).

The duet was the winner in the category "Instrumental Group" in the 1995 Cosquín Festival (Córdoba, Argentina). This is the major folklore and popular argentinian festival.

From September through November 1995 we made their first tour in Europe, with performances in Barcelona; Rome and Bergamo -these two under the auspices of Argentinian Foreign Office-, Firenze, Grenoble, Paris and Abingdon (England).

Roberto Navarro received two consecutive prizes from the Argentine Secretary of Culture, for his production as composer in the Patagonian region, 1991-94; and for 1994-1997 –in both occasions he was the only composer receiving a prize; also, he received the 1997 "Scholarship for Creation in Music" awarded by the National Fund for the Arts.

The duet received the 1997 Prize "Tribuna Musical Argentina" (Argentinian Musical Tribune) awarded by the Argentine Council of Music (member of the International Music Council, UNESCO).

In February 1998 the duet was invited to the Chiloé Musical Week, giving concerts in Ancud and Castro; and to the Artistic-Ecological Festival organised by comité de Defensa de la Flora y la Fauna (CODEFF) in Aysén, Chile.

The duet was part of the programme of special activities of the 5th Llao Llao Musical Week (organised by Marcelo Moscovich, Martín Nijensohn and Abel López Iturbe), in November 1999, and the 13th edition in 2005.

We made a tour to Miami and Mexico in October 2002. In Miami they performed at the Auditorium of the Miami Botanic Gardens and in 3 branches of the Miami Public Library: Central, West Kendall and Miami Beach.

In Mexico, D.F., we performed in the Main Auditorium of the Faculty of Engineering, UNAM (National Autonomous University of Mexico); in the José Martí Cultural Centre; the “Faro de Oriente” Cultural Center; and in the National Museum of Popular Cultures (Coyoacán). We also made a presentation –invited by the city major- in the main square (zócalo) of Taxco city.

In October 2004 we were invited to perform in the “V Festival Musicians of the Provinces”, in Buenos Aires.

In April 2007 we made again presentations in Europe: Modena, Italy (Il Baluardo della Citadella), Bergamo, Italy (Communal Theatre Berdelino, Communal Theatre Loreto, and Caffe Letterario) and Berlin, Germany (Die Wainklang – La Guitarra y el Vino).

In October 2007 we made 2 presentations in Calgary, Canada: Knox United Church and Saint David’s United Church.

For more information see our websites: http://bariloche.org/duo.html - http://ar.geocities.com/duoche