Ten-time Grammy Award-winning jazz legend Arturo Sandoval is teaming up with California State University, Northridge’s music students for a live performance during a free screening of the film “For Love or Country: The Arturo Sandoval Story” on Wednesday, Sept. 24, as part of CSUN’s Hispanic Heritage Month celebration.

Sandoval will be joined by members of CSUN’s Jazz A Band and alumni string performers for the performance scheduled to take place at 7:30 p.m. in the university’s Younes and Soraya Nazarian Center for the Performing Arts (The Soraya). Internationally acclaimed music director Angel Velez will be conducting.

“We all can relate, in ways big or small, to the idea of seeking freedom and being allowed to express freely without fear of oppression and Arturo’s story is just that, but on a large and rather scary scale.  His fight for the American Dream is truly inspiring.” Velez said, adding that his wife, composer Micaela Carballo, has taught in the university’s Department of Music. He said that it is through her that he has come to embrace CSUN’s community.

“As I’ve learned more and more about CSUN, its community and its student body, it seems very fitting that this institution would value Arturo’s story and his incredible music and be willing to share it freely with the public,” he said. “What an inspiring gift!”

Born in Artemisa, Cuba, Sandoval started playing music at age 13. He played several instruments before settling on the trumpet. Growing up, he caught the attention of jazz legend Dizzy Gillespie, who quickly took Sandoval under his wing. Gillespie invited Sandoval to tour with the United Nations Orchestra. While on tour, Sandoval, accompanied by Gillespie, entered  the American embassy in Athens, Greece, where he defected. Sandoval became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 1998.

Over the years, Sandoval has earned the reputation as a music virtuoso, captivating audiences around the world. He has won 10 Grammy Awards, six Billboard Awards and an Emmy Award for his work. He has performed at the White House and the Super Bowl. On Nov. 20, 2013, President Barack Obama presented Sandoval with the Presidential Medal of Freedom. He received the Latin Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2023. Just last year, he was a Kennedy Center honoree.

Sandoval’s life was the subject of the 2000 HBO film “For Love or Country” starring Andy Garcia. The film chronicles Sandoval’s life in Cuba, where jazz performances were frowned upon, up to his defection to the United States. Sandoval composed the music for the film’s soundtrack.

“This year marks the 25th anniversary of the release of the film, and we thought this would be a wonderful way to introduce a whole new generation to the music of one of the jazz greats,” said Lorenz Gamma, professor of violin and director of string studies and chamber music in CSUN’s Mike Curb College of Arts, Media, and Communication. “We are also presenting a wonderful, perhaps once-in-a-lifetime, opportunity for our students and alumni to perform alongside a music legend.”

For free tickets to the show and post-concert Q&A with Sandoval visit the following website.