My goal and dream is to continue to make flamenco guitar, music and culture accessible to music lovers across the UK
As the first Manchester Guitar Festival draws ever closer, we caught up with some of the musicians performing across the weekend. This week we went behind the scenes with Daniel Martinez as he gears up for his live concert and workshop.
What music will you be playing at the concert and how have you chosen it?
I will be playing my own compositions that form part of my production ‘Art of Believing’. I composed this body of work in 2017 over a couple of months and presented it in October of that same year to a sold out audience in Edinburgh‘s Lyceum Theatre. It all happened so quickly and naturally; from the composing, to the decision to present it, to recording a live album… it just flowed, it was a really special time.
What attracted you to the flamenco guitar as an instrument?
From a very early age I was surrounded by music, my father plays the guitar and the piano (not professionally) and my uncle plays classical guitar, the lute and is a teacher at the Royal Conservatoire of Music of Cordoba where I studied for 14 years. At the age of 7 I already knew I wanted to be a flamenco guitarist as I had fallen in love with the emotion and the harmonies of flamenco guitar. My parents nurtured this love I had for music and learning to play and I truly believe I have them to thank for such a great start in what’s turned out to be a wonderful music career so far.
What do you wish more people knew about flamenco guitar?
My goal and dream is to continue to make flamenco guitar, music and culture accessible to music lovers across the UK! I still feel it’s a relatively unknown art form in this country and nothing makes me happier than showcasing my guitar and spreading awareness of this beautiful music.
What does it mean to you to perform as part of the festival at Stoller Hall?
It’s fantastic to form a part of Manchester’s first ever Guitar Festival! Really happy that I will there to see the first edition and hopefully this will be a brilliant yearly guitar event we can all look forward to!
What’s next for you?
We are embarking on our 2022 ‘Art of Believing’ tour and actually the guitar festival is our first weekend! We will be visiting many cities including Poole, Exeter, London, Bristol, Swansea, Cardiff, Norwich..to name only a few! Then in February 2023, straight after our last concert of the tour in London’s Sadlers Wells, I will be presenting my second production ‘Andalucia’ with a Chamber Orchestra in Edinburgh‘s Usher Hall.
