NYDIA ‘LIBERTY’ MATA — Rooted in the rhythms of her native Cuba. Nydia “Liberty†Mata is a dynamic percussionist and electrifying performer. Composer, arranger, and co-founder of the Latin Caribbean duo Harpbeat, Nydia is best known for her recording credits with Laura Nyro, Isis, and Latin Fever. She has performed with such legends as Dizzy Gillespie, Patti Labelle, Art Blakey, and Pete Seeger as well as playing for former President Bill Clinton at the Labor Research Association’s 24th Annual Labor Awards Dinner in NYC.
She has appeared at Concert Halls and Universities throughout Canada, South America, and the USA including; Carnegie Hall, Town Hall, Nassau Coliseum, the Beacon Theater, the Bottom Line, and the Palace of Fine Arts at the San Francisco World Drum Festival.
In recent years multi-talented percussionist extraordinaire, Nydia “Liberty†Mata has added the magic of the Steel Pan to expand her rich tapestry of sound and continues to share her passion for teaching “from the inside out†with her private students and the women who answer to “the calling of the drum†at the Born to Drum Women’s Drum Camp in Northern California.