Workshops, clinics and performances by four renowned guitarists from France, Mexico, Costa Rica and Venezuela will highlight the 2018 UTRGV Guitar Festival, which runs April 20-23 on the Edinburg Campus.
“The UTRGV Guitar Festival is a celebration of the guitar and the unique place it holds in the culture of the Rio Grande Valley,” said Dr. Kurt Martinez, the festival’s artistic director.
FRIDAY, APRIL 20
The event opens at 7 p.m. April 20 at the Performing Arts Complex in Edinburg, with a concert featuring two leading figures of the guitar – Rafael Elizondo of Mexico and Ramonet Rodriguez of Costa Rica – performing classical and flamenco guitar.
Elizondo, a classical guitarist, is recognized as an important figure in Mexico´s musical scene whose artistry has earned him more than 10 international awards in Europe and Mexico. With an extensive repertoire as a soloist and chamber musician, he has developed an active career in performance. He is a leading and inspiring teacher of classical guitar, and often is invited to major universities and guitar festivals in the United States and Mexico.
Rodriguez, a Flamenco guitarist, has performed numerous recitals in the United States, Mexico, Guatemala, Venezuela, Ecuador and Nicaragua, and in the main venues of Costa Rica. He has three record productions, two of them under the Sony label, and is a professor at the School of Musical Arts at The University of Costa Rica.
SATURDAY, APRIL 21
Guitarists from all levels can participate in free workshops and clinics from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Performing Arts Complex. Participants are welcome to bring their guitars to play and enjoy.
At 7 p.m. Saturday at the Performing Arts Complex, there will be a special performance by one of the world’s most respected classical guitarists, Judicaël Perroy, of France.
Perroy is widely known as an extraordinary virtuoso classical guitarist and musician, with several international prizes to his credit. In 1997, he captured the prestigious first prize of the 15th Guitar Foundation of America International Competition and Convention, which awarded him a tour of the United States and Canada with more than 60 concerts and masterclasses.
Currently a professor at the Ecole Nationale de Musique d'Aulnay-sous-Bois, Perroy is in great demand as a teacher and has many award-winning students to his credit.
MONDAY, APRIL 23
The final concert of the UTRGV Guitar Festival will be presented at 7 p.m. Monday, April 23, at the PlainsCapital Bank Theatre in the Student Union on the Edinburg Campus.
Classical guitarist Luis Quintero, of Venezuela, will perform a Latin American guitar repertoire.
He was a child prodigy who, at the age of 11, performed in the World Guitar Festival in Martinique, where he shared the stage with John Williams, Alirio Díaz, Leo Brouwer and other world-class guitarists.
When he was just 14, he debuted at Carnegie Hall in New York with the Soloists Orchestra of Venezuela. He has toured throughout the United States, Europe, Latin America, Asia and Africa. He holds a graduate degree in guitar from The Juilliard School of Music.
All UTRGV Guitar Festival events are free and open to the public.
For more information on the festival, call (956) 665-3471.