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.

 

[Rebekah Scott]

Yes, this is an ongoing thing! Asociacion CaminoArtes is the organization, Fred Sheppard is the mind behind it, and Rene Izquierdo is the academic/artist who runs the summertime show and guitar master classes.
Fred spends half his year in Spain, building guitars and running around doing various concerts and projects.
The Hermita de la Piedad has just undergone a remarkable internal overhaul, after the white plaster began flaking away and a series of murals was discovered underneath. Expect a big announcement soon, as Fred is sure this is the greatest thing to hit Carrion since Rabbi Shem Tov!