Flamenco Guitarist to Perform for Illinois Wesleyan’s Hispanic Heritage Month

October 12, 2004

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. — To round off Illinois Wesleyan’s celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month, noted Flamenco guitarist Ronald Radford will perform at 8 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 16, in the Main Lounge of Memorial Center, 104 University St., Bloomington.

Free and open to the public, the event is sponsored by the Heartland Arts Fund.

A protégé of the legendary Flamenco guitarist Carlos Montoya, Radford has evoked standing ovations on four continents. Having been enthusiastically received at Carnegie Hall and The Kennedy Center, a critic from the Chaska Herald said, “Every once in a while, something magic will happen in a musical performance. No longer are you hearing a succession of rhythms and melodies, but rather the outcry of the souls and generations of people focused through one performer. One of the most soul-stirring performances I have ever heard.”

Radford is the only individual to be awarded the Fulbright Scholarship in Flamenco and has studied in Spain where he immersed himself in gypsy Flamenco music and studied with classical guitar players Andres Segovia and Jose Thomas. His international tours have taken Radford to 15 countries from Canada to Panama and Australia to Switzerland. As a musical ambassador in many Latin American countries, he toured for the U.S. State Department and now is on tour to colleges across the U.S.

Radford’s newest CD, Viva Flamenco, is available worldwide.

Contact: Taylar Kuzniar (309) 556-3181