Latin American Guitar Music From the Spanish and Portuguese Diaspora

This lunchtime concert in the beautiful setting of St Martin’s Church celebrates music from the Spanish and Portuguese Diaspora, including works for guitar from Brazil, Venezuela, Uruguay and Paraguay. With solo, duet and ensemble pieces by Barrios, Villa-Lobos and Lauro, the programme includes an indigenous guitar ensemble. The performers include Jeff Alexander, Professor of Guitar at Canterbury Christ Church University, and the classical guitarist Gareth Balch with their invited guests. Retiring collection for St Martin’s Appeal.

The image used here with permission from the artist and the GalleryOfTheUnknown is a painting called "Guitarra Abstracto" by Ottoniel Chavajay, who was born in San Pedro, Guatemala, in 1976. He has seven brothers and sisters. His father was kidnapped in 1980 when Ottoniel was 4 years old - a victim of the civil war which was devastating to almost every Mayan community on Lake Atitlan.

Ottoniel has received widespread recognition for his painting both nationally and abroad. He is also a teacher in a secondary school where he instructs art to students who are seriously interested in pursuing art as a career. Ottoniel believes that art has the potential to preserve, inform and foster an appreciation of Mayan culture and traditions to tourists and people in other countries and can help to preserve his culture. He is also particularly concerned about loss of language and traditions in his own community and feels that art can play an important role in informing and motivating youth to appreciate and take pride in their own culture and to keep it alive.

Event Information

Our lunchtime events begin at 1pm and are free entry, but space is limited, so please book in advance to avoid disappointment. Children aged five and over are welcome if accompanied by a responsible adult.

All the concerts feature introductory ‘listening guides’ prepared by the performers and will be followed by a brief opportunity to discuss the work afterwards.

This venue is near our North Holmes Road campus. The nearest public parking is in on-street bays on North Holmes Road, or Longport Car Park. Our campus car parks are reserved for staff permit holders only.