Biography

Seth Asarnow, a native of the Bay Area, has a repertory consisting of hundreds of tangos. He can be heard on recordings that range in style from traditional tango to pop. Mr. Asarnow has both composed film scores and played on film soundtracks, and he works regularly with some of the finest tango dancers in the world. Highlights of his performances include Piazzolla’s Four Seasons with Donald Runnicles and members of the San Francisco Opera Orchestra, as well as concerts with Symphony Silicon Valley, and the Santa Cruz and San Jose chamber orchestras. He recently appeared on NBC's Dancing with the Stars, performing with the cast of the Broadway show Forever Tango. Mr. Asarnow is also the bandoneónist and musical director of the show Tango Adamor, the Los Angeles Tango Festival, and Nora's Tango Week, an annual international conference for the instruction and celebration of tango, now in its sixteenth year in the Bay Area. He also directs and performs often with his Sexteto Tipico, one of the few authentic traditional tango groups in the United States.

Seth Asarnow’s musical influences include Aníbal Troilo, Leopoldo Federico, and Astor Piazzolla, whom he met in 1989. He continues to promote the tango locally, teaching bandoneón and playing both public and private engagements. He made his San Francisco Symphony debut in 2007.

(January 2014)