RICHARDSON, Texas (Aug. 7, 2006) — The School of Arts and Humanities at The University of Texas at Dallas (UTD) today announced its 2006–2007 Classical Guitar Season, featuring concert appearances by three top performing artists and culminating with the 6th Annual Texas Guitar Competition and Festival.
Edgar Cruz will open the series on Sept. 9 in the University Theatre at 8 p.m. Tickets are $15. Cruz, who performs more than 200 concerts yearly, has held the title of Oklahoma’s Best Performing Artist/Acoustic Guitarist for three years in a row.
Cruz’s repertoire consists of over 400 songs, from The William Tell Overture to Bohemian Rhapsody. He has headlined The Chet Atkins Festival in Nashville since 1995 and has performed throughout the Americas and Europe.
On Oct. 6, Angel Romero will perform at UTD’s Conference Center at 8 p.m. Tickets are $25. Born in Spain, Romero made his professional debut when he was only six years old. Since then, he has performed with various orchestras including the New York Philharmonic, the San Diego Symphony, the Boulder Philharmonic, the Royal Philharmonic, the Newton Symphony, the Cleveland Orchestra and the New World Symphony.
In 1986, Romero became the youngest person ever awarded Spain’s Grand Cross of Civil Merit. Three years later, he performed the entire score for Robert Redford’s The Milagro Beanfield War. In 1992, Romero performed with the National Orchestra of Spain in the United Nations General Assembly Hall in a globally telecast concert. He was knighted and presented with Spain’s highest honor, the Grand Cross of Isabel la Catolica in 2000.
Jérôme Ducharme, winner of the 2005 Guitar Foundation of America International Competition, will perform Feb. 16 at 8 p.m. in the Jonsson Performance Hall. Tickets are $15. He was a featured performer on the Montreal Guitar Society’s inaugural and 2004 seasons.
Ducharme has studied guitar with Pierre Morin, Clément Canac Marquis, Jean Vallieres, Oscar Giglia and Stephan Schmidt. He has performed with the Montreal Symphonic Orchestra and had his music broadcast on SRC-CBC radio in his native Canada. Ducharme’s concert will include works by Luìs Milán, Francisco Moreno-Torroba, Jaques Hétu, Matthew Dunne, Juan Mañen and Joaquín Rodrigo.
The 6th Annual Texas Guitar Competition and Festival will take place March 23-24 in the Conference Center. This unique competition is designed to showcase outstanding classical guitar students, who will compete for $6,000 in cash prizes.
Past contestants have come from countries such as Uruguay, Brazil, Finland, Nicaragua, France and Australia. On Friday, March 23 at 8 p.m., the festivities will begin with a concert by Javier Garcia Moreno. Tickets for Moreno’s concert are $20. Competition finalists will be announced during the concert.
At 3 p.m. on Saturday, March 24, the six finalists will compete before local and international judges. A reception, during which the winners will be announced, will follow the finals. The winners will perform a brief concert that evening. Tickets for Saturday, which include the finals, the reception and the closing concert, are $20. Specially-priced tickets for Friday and Saturday events can be purchased for $35.
Additional information on each event is available on the UTD Arts and Humanities website, http://ah.utdallas.edu/. All programs are subject to change. UTD ticket office hours are from 2 to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday and at the door one hour prior to show time. 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 UTD, please call 972-UTD-ARTS (972-883-2787), e-mail utdarts@utdallas.edu, or visit the School of Arts and Humanities’ website at http://ah.utdallas.edu/. Persons with disabilities needing special accommodations may call 972-883-2982, Texas Relay Operator: 1-800-RELAYVV.
About UTD
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 nearly 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 UTD, please visit the university’s website at www.utdallas.edu.