ARTIST FEATURE: Syncopations and Flamenco Riffs On Virtual Stage

Metronome Online is proud to present Virtual Guitar Orchestra, an act of bringing people together, and share music across the globe. This Covid-19 community based project, recognized by The Library of Congress for its social and cultural impact during the pandemic, has been paving the way for guitar lovers worldwide to play together regardless of being miles apart and in lockdowns. VGO has so far united more than 500 guitarists from all the continents and has provided a unique opportunity for guitar lovers, aficionados, those with more skills and those with less, to play alongside their heroes. While the first project called Kaleidokithara was dedicated to classical music and the second one to the merger of fingerstyle and classical guitar in pieces by Sergio Assad, this one pushes the limit even further.

Flamenco in general is a rhythmically incredibly complex genre and to put it on a virtual stage, with soloists improvising over it, adding to the pile a cajon player and even a dancer, makes this a mission impossible. Adam del Monte, a Los Angeles based flamenco guitarist and composer, has outdone himself. Relampiños, a true step forward, merging flamenco and classical guitar, is a giant artistic leap in its own right. While the great Andres Segovia worked hard to separate the two styles, many guitarists have attempted to be proficient in both. Here we have more than 100 players playing their heroes to advocate for the symbiosis of flamenco and classical guitar. The soloists on the classical side are Angel Romero, Eliot Fisk, Rene Izquierdo, Goran Krivokapić, Rafael Aguirre, Vladimir Gorbach, Anabel Montesinos, Joaquin Clerch, Jiji Kim, Artyom Dervoed, Laura Oltman, Michael Newman, Denis Azabagić, Kyuhee Park, and Evan Taucher, among many others. The sometimes blistering solos mid-piece all come from great flamenco players, including (in order of their solos) Amós Lora, Pedro Sierra, Samuelito, Vahagni, and Adam Del Monte.

Check out the video and listen to the rhythmic complexity, awe-inspiring riffs and beautiful music making that is VGO in Relampiños, a piece by Adam del Monte. Enjoy!