Flamenco guitarist comes to MAC

Ronald Radford, known as the “american master of flamenco guitar” will be performing in the Mineral Area College Fine Arts Theater on at 7 p.m. Jan. 18.

Tickets for Radford’s concert are $10 for adults and $5 for students. Tickets are now available at the Mineral Area College Bookstore and Eventbrite.com.

Radford is the only North American touring flamenco guitarist out of only about a half-dozen worldwide.

Scottye Adkins, executive director of the Mineral Area Council on the Arts (MACOA) said, “MACOA is waiting with anticipation to present Radford in concert this January.”

“Solo flamenco guitar music, which is sometimes whimsically called ‘gypsy jazz,’ only came into its own in the late 1930s, when Carlos Montoya’s uncle Ramon Montoya legitimized it as a separate art form distinct from the usual guitar accompaniment of flamenco singing and dancing,” said Radford.

Carlos Montoya inspired Radford to take up the unique musical form when he was in high school.

“I met him and played for him with the intention of asking for his advice as to where I should study in Spain,” explained Radford.

According to Radford, it was that “fateful” meeting which led him to studying with Montoya in New York as a private student.

While in New York, he played professional concerts which included Carnegie Hall.

Following his studies in New York, Radford was the only individual ever to be awarded a Fulbright scholarship in flamenco guitar music, but there was no formal method of studying it.

“I had to find the individuals who were masters of the musical styles I wanted to learn,” said Radford.

He traveled thousands of miles in Spain immersing himself in the music and lifestyle of the Spanish Gypsies.

“I like to compare flamenco to american bluegrass music, which I also play a little,” he explained. “It’s not an exact parallel, but they’re both based on non-written oral traditions handed down through the generations. The forms serve as a reference point for the individual interpretation, which never sounds quite the same way twice.”

He is described as approachable, personable and will weave the Gypsy folklore throughout the performance.

Financial assistance for this event is provided by the Missouri Arts Council. 

Ronald Radford, known as the “American Master of Flamenco Guitar” will be performing in the Mineral Area College Fine Arts Theater on Jan. 18.