Wednesday, December 9, 2009

Ian Scionti, Flamenco Homecoming




Ian Scionti, flamenco guitarist and AHS graduate, will be performing at the Southern Oregon University Music Recital Hall Sunday, December 13 at 8:00 PM.  He will be accompanied by percussionist Terry Longshore, Director of Percussion Studies at SOU.

Scionti has been living, studying, and performing in Sevilla, Spain, the heart of flamenco music and culture, since 2004. Scionti’s formative musical years growing up in Ashland began with piano study with the late Dave Marston.  He moved on to study guitar with Jeff Ebnother, jazz guitar with Ed Dunsavage, and later classical guitar with Joseph Thompson. While in his formative years in southern Oregon, he performed with local jazz musicians as well as a brief stint with the Jefferson State Jazz Orchestra.

Scionti has studied with and been influenced by the leaders in modern flamenco, including guitarists Manolo Sanlucar, Miguel Ángel Cortés, Niño Pura, and Manolo Franco.  He was introduced to flamenco while pursuing his musical career in New York City. Scionti was inspired to learn more about flamenco, leading him to travel to Spain in the summer of 2003 where he fell in love with the sounds and rhythms of Andalucía. Sevilla has been his home since then.

Scionti has performed throughout the United States and Europe, including Germany, England, France, Greece, and Hungary, appearing both as a solo artist as well as accompanying dancers and singers. For this performance, Scionti will be playing classic flamenco pieces as well as newer songs that respond to the modern direction of this Spanish folk genre.

Terry Longshore is active as a performer, composer, and educator of percussion and has performed throughout the U.S. as well as in Sweden, Mexico, Canada, Brazil, India, and the U.K. He performs regularly as a soloist and with percussion duo Skin & Bones, flute/percussion duo Caballito Negro, and multi-media ensemble Sonoluminescence.  In 2007, Longshore studied the art of flamenco percussion in Spain and has since been active accompanying flamenco guitarists, dancers, and ensembles including guitarist Rafael Cuen Garibi, ensemble Calo Flamenco, and his ongoing project with guitarist/vocalist Grant Ruiz, Dúo Flamenco.  He can be heard on numerous CD and motion picture recordings and has premiered many compositions for solo percussion, chamber ensemble, and symphony orchestra.  Terry Longshore is a Yamaha Performing Artist and an artist endorser for Remo drumheads, Vic Firth sticks and mallets, and Zildjian cymbals and his compositions are published by Go Fish Music.

Longshore holds bachelor's degrees from the California State University at Fresno and Sacramento. He earned the master's and doctoral degrees in contemporary music performance from the University of California, San Diego where he studied under percussion virtuoso Steven Schick.  He has taught at several universities and colleges and currently holds the position of Associate Professor of Music and Director of Percussion Studies at Southern Oregon University.

Tickets for this performance are $15 for general admission and free for students.  Tickets and season passes may be purchased by calling 541-552-6101 or at the Music Box Office prior to the performance.  For more information, please visit Southern Oregon University’s Music Department website at http://www.sou.edu/music  


Friday, December 4, 2009