Guitar Orchestra of Barcelona plays the Quick Center for the Arts April 8 | Press Releases

Image: Guitar Orchestra Fairfield University's Quick Center for the Arts presents the remarkable ensemble Guitar Orchestra of Barcelona on Friday, April 8 at 8 p.m. Journalist and broadcaster Robert Sherman will host a pre-concert talk at 7 p.m. in the Kelley Theatre. In honor of the ongoing 20th Anniversary celebration of the Quick Center for the Arts, there will be a reception where dessert and coffee will be served in the lobby following the concert. Tickets are $35. This event is an Arts & Minds presentation and is a featured event in the University's focus on Global Citizenship .

Twenty-five of Spain's most gifted guitarists, led by Director Sergi Vincente, perform the music of their rich tradition in a format that is uniquely new. Charming, passionate, and heartwarming all at the same time, these virtuosi play with a mastery and humor that is a delight to see.

Vincente continues to be a teacher at the Conservatorio Superior de Mùsica del Liceo in Barcelona and has acted as director of the Guitar Orchestra of Barcelona since 1989 when he formed an ensemble of eight of his students with the intention of enriching their academic studies. Over time the ensemble became a much more ambitious project and developed into the twenty-five chair Guitar Orchestra it is today. So far, more than seventy guitarists have passed through the orchestra's ranks, many of them going on to impressive careers as soloists.

Despite touring festivals and performing throughout Spain and Europe, there remains a close connection between the orchestra and the place of its inception. All members of the orchestra are teachers, graduates or master level students of the Conservatorio. This prestigious musical institution also serves as a regular headquarters for the orchestra as its members rehearse and work there on a weekly basis.

The material that the orchestra performs is the fruit of a constant labor of investigation and adaptation. The result is a varied and novel repertoire, made up of works by Baroque composers and contemporary authors, with a strong emphasis on Spanish music.

A glorious evening of music, the Guitar Orchestra of Barcelona takes the humble guitar out of its usual habitat and creates something magical as a result.

Tickets are available at fairfield.edu/quick or by calling the Box Office at (203) 254-4010. The toll free number is 1-877-ARTS-396. Special offers and discounts are available through the Quick Center's e-mail list. Join, by contacting boxoffice@quickcenter.com . Become a fan of the Quick Center for the Arts on Facebook and keep up-to-date with the latest performance news, plus special offers and discounts. Find the Quick Center at www.facebook.com/FairfieldQuickCenter.

Directions: Fairfield University is located off I-95, exit 22 at 1073 North Benson Road, Fairfield, CT 06824. Access to the Quick Center for the Arts is through the Barlow Road gate at 200 Barlow Road. Special Note: From Oct. 4, 2010 through June 30, 2012, the southern end of North Benson Road (Rt. 135) will be closed to traffic on nights and weekends. Round Hill Road intersects with Barlow and provides access to the Quick Center for the Arts.