Classical Guitarist Performs Concert

CLASSICAL guitarist MatthewDunlap will visit San José from his homein Florida to perform a concert at theEugene O’Neill Theater in the CostaRican-North American Cultural Centernext Wednesday.His performance is the next in thePromising Artists of the 21st Centuryseries that has brought performing artistsfrom U.S. universities to Costa Rica toentertain the expatriate and Costa Ricannational communities alike, as well as toshare some of their knowledge with studentshere.“I’ll try to put a varied programtogether from the Baroque era up till nowwith a taste of everything in between,”Dunlap told The Tico Times.In a tip of the hat to the country’sSpanish roots, he will perform a piece byturn-of-the-20th-century Spanish composerJoaquín Turina.“Turina combined elements of folkmusic, like Flamenco, in a classical format,”Dunlap said.Other composers in his repertoire willbe J.S. Bach and contemporary Japanesecomposer Toru Takemitsu, to name a few.WHILE here, Dunlap will offerclasses to master’s degree program studentsat the University of Costa Rica andat private music academies. He will alsooffer a concert to the students of LatinAmerican University of Science andTechnology (ULACIT), and a third inCartago, the city east of San José.He doesn’t speak Spanish well, hesaid, but he plans to teach with the help ofan interpreter, if one is available, or byspeaking “in musical terms,” whichwould limit the extent of the lessons, butwould work, he said.He also plans to travel for a short timeto see the rain forests.“I’ve heard the country is just gorgeous,”he said.Dunlap has a wide and internationalrange musical education. His higher educationhas been devoted exclusively tomusic and the guitar.He is now pursuing a doctorate inmusic, specializing in the classical guitar,at Florida State University. He received amaster’s degree in music at the prestigiousPeabody Institute of the JohnsHopkins University in 2002, and hisbachelor’s degree in guitar in 2000Kennesaw State University in Georgia.OVER the summer of this year hestudied at the Academia MusicaleChigiani, under the instruction ofProfessor Oscar Ghiglia, in Sienna, Italy.Throughout his successful professionalcareer, has received multiple awardscrediting him as a prominent player of theclassical guitar in concert.This year, he received the ManuelVelásquez scholarship, awarded by theStetson International Guitar Festival.In 2003, he won first place in theCollegiate Artists Competition inFlorida.Since 2003, he has received a scholarshipas assistant professor at Florida StateUniversity and he also studied at Peabodyas a scholarship recipient.He is an experienced teacher, as well.He has taught at Andrew College inCuthbert, Georgia, and in the Music-Go-Round school in Baltimore, Maryland.THE concert is Oct. 27, at 7:30 p.m.in the Eugene O’Neill Theater in theCCCN building in Barrio Dent, San José,200 meters north of the Los Yoses gas station.General admission costs ¢2,000($4.50), students and seniors pay ¢1,500($3.35). For reservations call 207-7554.