15th August
Members $10 Non-members $15
THE CONCERT PROGRAMME
Wellington based Latin guitarist, singer and composer Jonathon
Harper brings his lively and passionate programme of Latin
guitar music, including some Spanish classical guitar favourites,
flamenco and South American songs. Some of the material will be
original, from the AMIGOS CD, and there will also be new original
Latin instrumentals and songs. While living in Christchurch, he
formed a Latin band, AMIGOS, which released an album of his Latin
dance songs, sung mostly in Spanish.
Harper finds the Latin style allows for a great range of
emotional expression, and he likes to draw his audiences into the
emotional world of the music. One reviewer, John Gillies,
experienced one of Harper’s concerts as the “audience
eavesdropping on an intimate musical treat” where
“the guitar pours out its soul.”
Over the last three decades as a full time concert artist both
here and overseas, Harper has developed a technique to match his
emotional sensitivity. Well respected Wellington classical music
critic, John Button, declared Harper to be “a guitarist
with a nice sense of style, a developed technique and range of
tone colours” and concluded his published review by saying
“He is a fine entertainer and he carried his audience with
him all the way.”
Harper has worked as a flamenco guitarist with Jane Luscombe
(Auckland) Elaine Gibbs (Christchurch) and with the principal
performers from the flamenco dance troupe DESDE SEVILLA. He likes
to blend Latin music with other influences found here in New
Zealand, and has even composed a Latin/Pacific song fusing
Brazilian chords with a Samoan Sasa (log drum) dance rhythm.
“Immediate and telling performance”
- THE PRESS
“Guitarist casts spell on crowd”
- HAWKES BAY TRIBUNE
“Exceptionally moving”
- N.Z. HERALD
“The guitar pours out his soul”
* GISBORNE HERALD
“Carried his audience with him all the
way”
* THE DOMINION POST