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January 24, 2003

Classical guitarist presents concert in warm, relaxed style

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Classical guitarist Robert Bluestone will bring his informal style and virtuoso musicianship to Purdue University's Fowler Hall during a solo concert at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 30.

Admission is $9. Tickets can be purchased at Purdue box offices or charged by phone at (765) 494-3933 or (800) 914-SHOW. Bluestone is presented by Purdue Convocations.

Bluestone says his concerts are warm, relaxed affairs.

"I talk a lot in my concerts, adding humor and anecdotes that I hope will bring the music to life," he says. "Guitarists have a bad reputation as being very formal and very cold in concerts. I try to go the other route."

The guitarist gives his audience a personalized show, drawing from his extensive musical training and research into the history of the guitar and its repertoire.

Bluestone will play works by Bach, Negri and Frescobaldi, among others. The program features an eclectic blend of music from the European tradition and more recently composed works from Latin America.

"There has been a great renaissance in the Americas in which composers have written for the guitar because it represents the spirit of the culture today," Bluestone says. "This music is warm and tonal. It speaks to the heart."

During his 20-year career, he has worked and studied with such masters of the guitar as Michael Lorimer and Jose Tomas. He studied under Manuel Lopez Ramos at the prestigious Instituto del Atte Guitarristico in Mexico City and was the first foreign musician invited to join the teaching staff there.

Bluestone attributes the guitar's popularity as a concert instrument to its broad range of tone and color. He points to Beethoven's description of the guitar as a "small orchestra in itself."

He has toured extensively throughout the United States and Central America and has played concerts in Mexico City; Tegucigalpa, Honduras; San Salvador; Australia; and New York City's Carnegie Hall.

Bluestone's reputation is based nearly as much on his work as an ensemble player as his solo performances. He has performed with the Santa Fe Opera, Orchestra of Santa Fe Ensemble, Desert Chorale, Helios Quartet, Serenata de Santa Fe, the Animas Chamber Players and the Four Corners Opera.

A New York City native, Bluestone now lives in Santa Fe, N.

CONTACT: Larry Sommers, Purdue Convocations, (765) 494-5045, lsommers@purdue.edu;  https://www.convos.purdue.edu.

Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; purduenews@purdue.edu


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