The School of Arts & Humanities at The University of Texas at Dallas today announced its 2007–2008 Classical Guitar Season. All concerts will be held for one night only and begin promptly at 8 p.m.
About the Concerts
The Edgar Cruz Guitar Quartet will open the series on Sept. 21 in the University Theatre. Tickets are $20. Cruz, whose repertoire consists of more than 400 songs ranging from The William Tell Overture to Bohemian Rhapsody, returns to UT Dallas with Scott Johnson, Mark Anthony Cruz and Richard Smith. Johnson composes, arranges, records and performs nationally and internationally as a soloist and as guitarist for the band Key West. Mark Anthony Cruz has twice been a featured artist with the Oklahoma City Philharmonic and Ballet Oklahoma and was the guitarist for the Baylor University film project A Significant Journey, and influential guitarist Chet Akins proclaimed Smith “the most amazing guy I know on the guitar.”
Hopkinson Smith, one of the world’s greatest lutenists, will perform in the Jonsson Performance Hall on Oct. 5. Tickets are $20. An internationally recognized leader in the field of early music, Smith has performed concerts and taught master classes throughout Europe and in North and South America. He has produced more than 20 solo albums. Smith teaches at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis, a music academy and research institution focusing on early music, located in Switzerland. The New York Times called Smith “wonderfully personal.” The concert will focus on music by Renaissance composers Francesco da Milano and John Dowland.
Mexican guitarist Raul Olmos will perform Feb. 1 in the Conference Center. Tickets are $20. Olmos has performed in the United States, Canada, Spain, Germany, France, Italy, Denmark, Austria, Norway, Cuba, Turkey, Cyprus, Hungary and the Czech Republic. He is the general coordinator of the International Festival of Guitar of Morelia, which he founded. In 1998, the Morelia University Rotary Club gave him the Professional Merit Award. In 1999, the Hungarian Embassy in Mexico recognized Olmos for his efforts in promoting the cultural interchange between the two countries. In 2000, Olmos’ album “Jose Tocaven Lavin” received the Musical Merit Award from the newspaper La Voz de Michoacan.
On Feb. 22, the famous Romero Quartet will perform at the Eisemann Center in Richardson. The concert and related residency activities are part of a co-sponsorship between UT Dallas’ School of Arts and Humanities and Eisemann Center Presents. The Romero touring ensemble includes Celin, Pepe, Celino and Lito Romero. Spanish composer Joaquin Rodrigo proclaimed, “They are, without a doubt, the grand masters of the guitar.” In addition to many live concert performances, the family has released numerous CDs and appeared in a PBS documentary. In 2006, the Romeros were recognized at the Grammy Salute to Classical Music, at which Recording Academy President Neil Portnow presented them with The Recording Academy’s President’s Merit Award. More information and tickets are available at www.eisemanncenter.com or 972-744-4650.
The 7th Annual Texas Guitar Competition and Festival will take place March 6–8 in the Conference Center. This unique competition, designed to highlight outstanding classical guitar students, will award $6,000 in cash prizes. Past contestants have come from countries such as Uruguay, Brazil, Finland, Nicaragua, France and Australia. On March 6, the festivities will begin with a laureate concert by Marco Sartor. Tickets for Sartor’s concert are $15. Finalists will be announced during this concert. Sartor has performed at concerts and festivals, conducted master classes and appeared in radio and television broadcasts throughout the U.S., Mexico, Spain, Argentina and Uruguay. He has won top prizes in more than 10 competitions in North and South America, including 1st prize in the 2006 Texas Guitar Competition. On March 7, four finalists will compete before local and international judges. The finals are free and open to the public. On March 8, a concert by Michael Chapdelaine and the announcement of the winners will conclude the festival. Tickets for Chapdelaine’s concert are $20. Chapdelaine is the only guitarist ever to win 1st prize in the world’s top competitions in both the classical and fingerstyle genres. He has released 11 albums with songs ranging from Bach to the Beatles. A critic for Acoustic Guitar magazine wrote “… I have seldom heard a more beautiful album … Chapdelaine’s beautiful tone is the nearest to Segovia’s that I can recall.”
Additional information about each event is available on the UT Dallas Arts & Humanities website, http://ah.utdallas.edu. All programs are subject to change. UT Dallas ticket office hours for advance purchase are from 2 to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. To purchase tickets using Visa, MasterCard or Discover during those hours, please call 972-883-2552.
For information about the many musical, arts, theatre, dance and other performances and exhibitions held throughout the year at UT Dallas, please call 972-UTD-ARTS (972-883-2787) or e-mail utdarts@utdallas.edu. Persons with disabilities needing special accommodations may call 972-883-2982, Texas Relay Operator: 1-800-RELAYVV.
About the School of Arts & Humanities
The School of Arts & Humanities at UT Dallas offers a dynamic and integrated approach to education that fosters the critical, creative and communicative skills necessary for success in the culturally diverse, technologically rich and change-intensive environment of the 21st Century. For additional information about the School of Arts & Humanities, please visit the website at http://ah.utdallas.edu.
About UT Dallas
The University of Texas at Dallas, located at the convergence of Richardson, Plano and Dallas in the heart of the complex of major multinational technology corporations known as the Telecom Corridor, enrolls more than 14,500 students. The school’s freshman class traditionally stands at the forefront of Texas state universities in terms of average SAT scores. The university offers a broad assortment of bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degree programs. For additional information about UT Dallas, please visit the university’s website at www.utdallas.edu.
Contact
Kristi Barrus, UT Dallas, (972) 883-2972, kristi.barrus@utdallas.edu