Paco de Lucía will
be named Doctor Honoris Causa at the Berklee College of Music
in Boston
The ceremony will be on May 8th, 2010 at the College’s
Agganis Arena
Flamenco-world.com, March 25th, 2010
For the first time, a Spanish musician
is going to receive the honorary title from the Berklee
College of Music in Boston. And that pioneer laureate is
going to be Paco
de Lucía. The flamenco guitarist will
be conferred said honor on May 8th, 2010 at the American
college’s Agganis Arena. He will thus join a distinguished
list of ‘doctors’ which already includes leading
international music figures such as Duke Ellington, Aretha
Franklin and David Bowie, among others. The Cádiz-born
maestro chalks up a new recognition in his career, in which
he has already won awards as relevant as the 2004 Prince
of Asturias Arts Prize.
Paco de Lucía’s significance
is still on the rise. Boston University’s Berklee
College of Music will name the flamenco guitarist Doctor
Honoris Causa, upon considering that “his music and
his artistic vision have influenced several generations
of musicians and have contributed to spreading flamenco
to an international audience”, as the SGAE reports.
The official graduation ceremony will take place on Saturday,
May 8th, at Boston University’s Agganis Arena, a venue
with a capacity for over 6,000 spectators.
On Friday the 7th, and on the same stage,
Paco de Lucía’s flamenco will be the star in
a crowded concert in which a group of students from the
Berklee College of Music will perform some scores by the
Spanish musician. They will be previously lectured by composer
and producer Javier
Limón, who will teach them a flamenco workshop,
specifically on bulerías and production, from March
29th to April 3rd.
Such a special recital means a halt on
the road in the international tour which Paco de Lucía
has been on since February. So far, he has already visited
countries like Russia, Germany, Poland, Serbia, Switzerland
and Italy, and will continue from June to November. Said
agenda includes dates as special as June 20th, when he performs
at the 21st Barcelona Guitar Festival; July 17th, with a
concert at the 34th Vitoria-Gasteiz Jazz Festival; July
24th, a stop at the 30th Córdoba Guitar Festival;
and October 9th, when he closes Seville’s
Bienal de Flamenco 2010 at the Teatro de la Maestranza,
a performance whose tickets sold out in a single day.
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