Carrion de los Condes Classic Guitar Event ?

[bigcaminolover]

Good Day!
I guess this falls under Culture.
There's usually a classical Spanish guitar festival in Carrion during the Summer ... I had the luck to attend one of the concerts this summer (2024) and it was amazing.
But I've always thought I had good Google skills but for the life of me I can't find an "official website" for this event ..
Anyone have any info ?

 

[CarolamS]

I have previously attended one of these concerts and can't recommend it enough. They are part of the Classical Guitar Workshops; you can find more information here.

 

[bigcaminolover]

Nice! So it's the website of René Izquierdo. I thought the Classical Guitar thing would have its own website independent of his personal site, and I was trying to find it. One thing I have to note is that the picture on this page: https://www.reneizquierdoguitar.com/international-workshops is not from Carrion de los Condes but from Frómista, to be precise. But okay, it's close enough.

 

[CarolamS]

I believe there is an American who has helped set this up and save the old church but I don't remember his name. I also believe the American was walking the Camino when he came across this beautiful church and had the idea about running the workshops. I could easily have facts wrong though.

 

[Bradypus]

I believe there is an American who has helped set this up and save the old church but I don't remember his name. I also believe the American was walking the Camino when he came across this beautiful church and had the idea about running the workshops. I could easily have facts wrong though.

I met the gentleman in Moratinos - an American doctor - but the evening passed in a slight haze and unsurprisingly I have forgotten his name! I think the project is called Camino Artes and I'm pretty sure @Rebekah Scott will have much more information about it.

PS: I have just been looking again at Rebekah's 2019 book A Furnace Full Of God. Chapter 15 gives a very colourful description of Fred and how the series of guitar concerts began. Certainly sounds like the bloke I met though as it was at a party to celebrate 10 years of Rebekah and Paddy living in Moratinos my memory of the night is highly unreliable. I do remember very clearly that the main event of the evening was a recital in the village church by James Klein on his unique arch harp guitar. An excellent surprise as I had been at his performance in Carrion the previous night too!

 

[Ella L.]

Brilliant post! I, too attended a concert in the little well-on-the-way to being restored church in Carrión de los Condes (September 17/24) and have been wanting to find out more, not just for the music but for the restoration as well! And so far I have had little success. The man behind the project is American (originally from Mexico?) and a luthier, making very high-end instruments using traditional methods and materials. The soloist (from Norway) is the teacher-in residence. The night before, I had attended a concert in Frómista given by the organist from León. I had to give up my original plan to walk the Camino de Levante (too hot) and was still a bit whiny about having to switch to the Francés (at that point, too cold!) That night in Carrión made up for any disappointment. I hope this thread grows!

 

[Theatregal]

Arriving in Carrión de los Condes on September 24, 2023, as I was passing the Ermita de la Piedad, I noticed a sign out front that said "Classical Guitar Concert 6:30pm with students from the the Camino de las Artes International Workshop for Classical Guitar".
There were 6 students playing that night, all from China. Wonderful guitarists and a memorable evening in this lovely little ermita.