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Press Releases
'BIKEncerto: a concerto for solo bicycle and orchestra' (By composer Reynaliz Herrera) On Tour!
PR Contact: Reynaliz Herrera | Ideas, Not Theories
ideasnottheories@gmail.com | 617-420 5448
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
“BIKEncerto: a concerto for solo bicycle and orchestra” (By local composer Reynaliz Herrera) goes ON TOUR! (With 2 local performances)
(March 30th, 2026) --- After releasing a critically acclaimed and award winning album of the same piece in 2023, (Somerville) local percussionist/composer (and “Live Arts Boston” grantee) Reynaliz Herrera, will take her piece “BIKEncerto: a concerto for solo bicycle and orchestra” ON TOUR this Spring/Summer featuring herself as the bicycle percussion soloist & her company “Ideas, Not Theories” as the ensemble/orchestra. Tour stops include Boston, Beverly, Virginia, Arizona, and New York!
“BIKEncerto: a concerto for solo bicycle and orchestra” ON TOUR!
TOUR INFORMATION:
~ APRIL 15th (7:30pm) | VIRGINIA | Shenandoah University (Armstrong Hall) | FREE.
~ APRIL 19th (7pm) | ARIZONA (Flagstaff) | Interference Series (The Beaver St. Theater)
~ MAY 13th (2pm) | BOSTON | GBH's The Culture Show (Performing live for the live studio audience of the GBH's Boston Public Library Studio) | FREE
~ MAY 30th (1pm) | BEVERLY, MA | The Cabot | TICKETS: HERE
~ JUNE 6th (7:30pm) | QUEENS, NY | Trans-Pecos | TICKETS go on sale soon! (Prices TBA)
ABOUT REYNALIZ HERRERA & IDEAS, NOT THEORIES:
Included in The Boston Globe’s “The best of Boston music” 2023 list, Boston-based and originally from Mexico, Reynaliz Herrera is a multi-award winning performing musician, percussionist, composer and producer.
Ken Field (WMBR/WOMR radio host & president, JazzBoston) describes her work as “not just a gimmick-- this music is substantive and new, and deserving of recognition independent of the unique instrumentation.”
Lauren Daley from The Boston Globe states "Think “STOMP” with Bicycles. That’s the foot-tapping vibe you get from Boston bike-percussionist Reynaliz Herrera’s performances”.
Reynaliz Herrera is the founder, director, composer, scriptwriter, and lead performer of “Ideas, Not Theories” a theatrical percussion company for unconventional instruments that features Reynaliz’s original music for bicycles and other unconventional instruments.
For the last 13 years, and since completing her studies in 2012 at Boston Conservatory (Now Boston Conservatory at Berklee), the focus of Reynaliz Herrera’s musical work has been to explore the different capabilities of the musical bicycle by composing and performing her own original music for this atypical instrument. Throughout the past years, Reynaliz has composed 6 full length bicycle pieces, all of them exploring and using the bicycle as a musical instrument in different ways.
She performs these original compositions in the form of programs with her company "Ideas, Not Theories". Programs include a Bicycle Orchestra, a Bicycle Rock Band, a Full Staged Theatrical Show, and a Virtuosic Bicycle Solo.
Over a decade removed from the conservatory, her newest composition “BIKEncerto: a concerto for solo bicycle and orchestra” represents a reconciliation of Reynaliz’s found voice in the bicycle with her classical background.
MORE ABOUT “BIKEncerto”:
With her work “BIKEncerto: a concerto for solo bicycle and orchestra”, Reynaliz challenged herself to explore the bicycle as a musical instrument in a more mature, nuanced and in-depth way, “I want to treat these types of instruments (unconventional percussion and bicycles) as seriously as you would treat a violin, and show that they are capable of making interesting, complex, colorful and sophisticated music” (Reynaliz says).
“BIKEncerto” features the bicycle as a soloist instrument, accompanied by a strings and woodwinds orchestra. She uses each movement to highlight a specific characteristic of her instrument, whether its designing a “tires keyboard” in Tires Movement by adjusting each tire’s PSI, conjuring melodic fragments from the tuned rods in Spokes Movement, or playfully exploring diverse parts of the bike, like the frame tubes, chainwheels, and wheel rims in Metallic Movement. With a catalog of countless bike sounds, Reynaliz brings an innovative and playful DIY, yet thorough and serious approach to percussion and orchestral music, tracing her found objects roots from performing with her mother’s contemporary dance company as a teenager to now create music that is at once groove- based, humorous and playful, as well as it is uplifting and thought provoking.
“BIKEncerto” has received many accolades, including: The Global Music Awards, inclusion in The Boston Globe’s “Best of Boston Music” 2023 list, The Intercontinental Music Awards (Nomination), and “The World Entertainment Music Awards” (Nomination).
LINKS to ALBUM of “BIKEncerto”:
Album on Bandcamp:
-Album on Streaming Platforms: https://
ON THE PRESS:
"One of the more unusual releases of the year is Reynaliz Herrera's BIKEncerto: a concerto for solo bicycle and orchestra. Boston-based Herrera incorporates bicycles and bicycle parts as musical elements, but it is not just a gimmick-- this music is substantive and new, and deserving of recognition independent of the unique instrumentation.”
— The Boston Globe-- The best of Boston music: artist, albums and tracks of 2023. Ken Field-- WMBR/WOMR radio host & president, JazzBoston.
(James Sullivan and Noah Schaffer- Globe Correspondents).
"Herrera's exuberant music successfully incorporates musical styles like classical, atonal, minimalistic and pop/rock. Uplifting fun listening for all ages, regardless of personal musical preferences."
"Virtuosic solo bike melodic and percussive tapping and drum-like rolls ground the tempo, while showing off Herrera's musicianship..."
"As a composer and soloist, Reynaliz Herrera focuses on the use of the bicycle as a musical instrument, and the number of interesting sounds she obtains is fascinating..."
"... reminiscent of the Gamelan-influenced music of Lou Harrison..."
"The tires themselves have a rudimental/tabla-like sound, similar to that of the solo drum in Bob Becker's "Mudra".
"I recommend you check this out!"
— Joseph Van Hassel from "Percussive Notes" (Percussive Arts Society's Journal)
ABOUT THE BOSTON FOUNDATION’S “LIVE ARTS BOSTON” PROGRAM:
In 2024, Reynaliz Herrera got awarded a $30,000 award/grant from The Boston Foundation's "Live Arts Boston" 2024/2025 program, this Tour is made possible thanks to the support of the grant.
MORE ABOUT THE BOSTON FOUNDATION’S “LIVE ARTS BOSTON” PROGRAM:
https://www.tbf.org/
MORE ABOUT THE ARTIST:
Reynaliz Herrera has performed throughout NorthAmerica, Caribbean Islands, and Europe.
Since 2012, she has brought "Ideas, Not Theories" to perform in venues including, The Percussive Arts Society International Convention, Institute of Contemporary Art Boston, MIT Museum, Peabody Essex Museum, Interference Series (Arizona), Bridgetown International Arts Festival (Barbados), The Space Between 2024 at McGill University, International Festival of Arts & Ideas (CT), Currents New Media Festival (New Mexico), Harvard Museums of Science and Culture, The Flea Theater NY, etc.
Other awards received by Reynaliz include the National Arts Center of Canada’s "My First NAC Award", MTV Latin America’s "Agent of Change Award", National Youth Award (Mexico), The Josie Music Awards (Nomination), and the Festival PERCUBA International Percussion Competition in Cuba.
Aside from her work with "Ideas, Not Theories", Reynaliz has also performed with renowned ensembles, artists and venues, such as the National Arts Center Orchestra of Canada (soloist), Double Edge Theater Company, Danza Contemporanea en Concierto, Iva Bittova, and in venues like SXSW, Revolutions International Theater Festival (NM), MIT’s Kresge Auditorium, Teatro Amadeo Roldan (Cuba), and countless others.
TOUR’s CREDITS:
Producer: Reynaliz Herrera
Composer: Reynaliz Herrera
Performers:
Reynaliz Herrera (Bicycle Percussion Soloist)
Ideas, Not Theories (Ensemble/Orchestra)
For Full List of Credits: https://www.
FOLLOW REYNALIZ HERRERA & IDEAS, NOT THEORIES ON SOCIAL MEDIA
Facebook: facebook.com/
Instagram: @ideasnottheories
WEBSITE: https://www.
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For media inquiries, reviews, and interview requests, please contact:
Reynaliz Herrera | (617) 420- 5448 | ideasnottheories@gmail.com
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