Final Bandshell concert to feature David Cedeño and his Orchestra

Jul. 24—New Jersey-based trumpeter/composer/arranger David Cedeño and his Orchestra will conclude the 2022 Berks Arts Bandshell Concert Series on Friday at 7 p.m. in City Park.

The 12-piece orchestra will perform a mix of Latin music (salsa, merengue, Latin jazz and more) and Latin-style arrangements of mainstream pop classics like Chris De Burgh's "The Lady in Red" and Michael Jackson's "I Will Be There."

Cedeño and his band have released 16 CDs, including "From Jersey with Love," "Back from Japan" and "A New Return." They have toured throughout the northeastern United States and Japan, and Cedeño appeared as a trumpet player in the Marc Anthony/Jennifer Lopez movie "El Cantante" (2006) as part of the "Fania All Stars" scene.

Growing up in Newark, N.J., Cedeño got to hear live music up close from infancy.

"All my uncles and my mom played guitar," he said. "They'd come to the house with their guitars, and my mom would sing and also my aunt would do background music, scraping along on a guiro made from a vase."

His two older brothers learned guitar, and then, at age 6, he picked up the bass and the guitar. Soon he was playing bass in his brothers' band — Rafi and His Latin Combo — and at 14, after they moved on, he created his own band and never looked back.

"Only three months after we started, we released a single (45 rpm) with Allegro Records, and had a hit," he said.

By that time, he had added trumpet to his repertoire through his high school's music program. Later, in his 30s, he studied briefly, mainly to solve a shoulder problem, with renowned trumpet teacher Vincent Penzarella, who had played with the New York Philharmonic Orchestra and the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra.

Cedeño's busy concert schedule was halted in March 2020 by cancellations due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but he managed to keep his career going by playing for private outdoor parties thrown by wealthy residents of upstate New York and Long Island.

"They'd have parties in their huge back yards, with about 20 people, and they would dance to our music," Cedeño said. "One of them hired someone to lay 2 feet of sand on 3 or 4 acres to make a beach. Another one had guests like Martha Stewart and Bon Jovi. We did about 10 of those. It was enough to keep us going."

While he said many New York City clubs have not yet gone back to capacity because of lingering COVID threats, he and the band are appearing at more outdoor concerts.

"This year and last year, the desire for live music was so feverish, that even municipalities that never did it before are doing these concerts," he said. "Even libraries are doing it. So, there's a lot going on."

The Bandshell Concert will be preceded by a presentation from a local musical organization beginning at 6 p.m.

Families are encouraged to bring blankets, lawn chairs and, of course, their dancing shoes to City Park to experience great music in a natural setting.

Any weather-related schedule changes are posted on Facebook and announced on local radio stations. Alcohol and smoking are not permitted in City Park, and dogs must be on a leash.

For more information about the Bandshell Concerts, visit www.berksarts.org.