Spanish Guitarist Retirement Villages
Increasingly I am receiving communications from event organisers at Retirement Villages.
Often, they are organising a Spanish themed dinner and feel that a Spanish guitarist would be the ideal accompaniment.
I very much enjoy playing for these events, whether they be large retirement villages or smaller care homes.
Quite recently I played for one such event and would like to tell you about it to give you an idea of what I can offer.
It was a large retirement village with a large dining room.
Now, I always say to myself make no assumptions and that was indeed the right attitude for this event.
A number of people approached me and we chatted about their own experiences of living in Spain and going to see Spanish guitar and flamenco concerts.
For my recital I included the following styles:
Popular well known Spanish classical guitar pieces
Some strong flamenco pieces
Gentle swaying South American styles
One person explained to me that he had lived in London and played classical guitar in his twenties.
He used to attend classical guitar concerts at the Wigmore Hall. He told me that he remembered those concerts when I played such pieces as Asturias by Albeniz and Recuerdos de La Alhambra by Tarrega.
Another person liked just general Spanish guitar music and enjoyed the Brazilian Sound of Bells by Pernambuco and the Romance Anonimo which has been used in so many films.
As a special request a lady asked me to play Cavatina which was used as the theme to the movie The Deer Hunter starring Robert de Niro.
As for amplification, if needed I like to keep it low, just enough to help without overpowering.
So, I guess what I am saying is that I love to play for Retirement Homes, to meet and chat to people and to give joy with my wide repertoire of Spanish guitar music.