Score Salon:
Francyl Garwyn on Joaquin Rodrigo's Concierto de Aranjuez guitar concerto

October 13, 2003 at Bad Animals

Born in the town of Sagunto, near Valencia, and blind from the age of three, Joaquin Rodrigo (1901-1999) studied in Paris between the two World Wars. Returning to Spain in 1939, he came to prominence the following year with the success of his Concierto de Aranjuez for guitar and orchestra.

The work propelled Rodrigo into the front ranks of Spanish composers, and it has gone on to become one of the most widely performed concert pieces of the past century, though often in transcriptions for instruments other than the guitar. One of the most famous renditions was recorded by jazz trumpeter Miles Davis, who played a rather free adaptation of the work's second movement on his Sketches of Spain album (1965).

Moderating the evening will be award-winning composer Francyl Garwyn. At the age of 15, Francyl began performing professionally as a guitarist and singer. She studied music at Sonoma State College in California, and later received a Paraprofessional Certificate of Training for the Kodaly Method of Music Education in 1979.

Between 1979 and 1996 she also produced six album-length recordings of her own songs as well as works by others. Two of these recordings are for children, and all are available through her independent label, Highreach Music, which also has a published book of poetry taken from 37 of her song texts.

Over the last two decades she has composed a large body of music for church service use for solo works, as well as adult choral works, children's choral works and congregational singing. Her A Contemporary Requiem was performed at Mercer Island Presbyterian Church in November of 2000.

Through the summer of 2000, she collaborated with Allison Crook to compose the film score for the student film, Curro and was awarded the Nell Shipman Award for Technical Excellence for that score.

Francyl is presently employed as an Early Childhood Music Specialist at Northwest Child Development Center in Bellevue, Washington.

Francyl will be accompanied by guitarist Andrew Curry, who will demonstrate the techniques used by Rodrigo in the concerto.

Capitol Music Center is the official sponsor of the SCA Monthly Score Salon.

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