THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, June 13, 1996 TAG: 9606130036
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E6 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY CRAIG SHAPIRO, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: 68 lines
IF THE THOUGHT of 18 guitarists strumming away in unison brings to mind a sound akin to acoustic oatmeal - no flavor, no texture - then Orquesta de Guitarras is something of a misnomer.
The Costa Rican ensemble, which makes its U.S. debut tonight in Virginia Beach as part of the Boardwalk International Arts Festival, has received worldwide acclaim for a rich and dynamic repertoire that incorporates both Latin-American and European traditions.
Guitar orchestras in France and Japan are modeled after it.
So is one in Hampton Roads.
``They're bionic,'' said Sam Dorsey, president of the Tidewater Classical Guitar Society. ``When I first heard them, I said, `This is the coolest thing I've ever heard.' The only way I could describe it is it sounds like the Russian Balalaika Orchestra playing salsa.''
Dorsey heard tapes of the orquesta on a 1994 trip to San Jose, Costa Rica, with Angel Morales of the Virginia Beach Mayor's Sister City Commission. There, he met the founder and director, Luis Zambado.
After seeing a performance last October at the International Guitar Festival of Costa Rica, Dorsey began looking for a way to bring the group to America.
That avenue turned out to be, appropriately, the Virginia Beach Center for the Arts' Boardwalk International Arts Festival, an ambitious lineup of music, theater, visual arts, films and dance continuing through Sunday.
The VBCA contributed $3,500 to fly the orquesta to Virginia Beach; $2,000 came from the Virginia Beach Commission for the Arts and Humanities; $1,500 from the Tidewater Classical Guitar Society; and $1,000 from the Tidewater Classical Guitar Orchestra, which Dorsey formed after his 1994 trip.
Virginia Wesleyan College is providing housing, Phillips Oldsmobile is loaning a passenger van and several area restaurants, including the Dumbwaiter in Norfolk, are feeding the musicians. Other contributions have come from the Virginia Marine Science Museum and Blockbuster Music.
Founded in 1982, the orquesta is comprised of teachers, students and alumni of the University of Costa Rica. The repertoire is wide-ranging, drawing on Latin-American pop as well as the works of Bela Bartok and the premier Spanish composer Manuel de Falla.
Orquesta de Guitarras' distinctive, multi-dimensional sound comes from its range of instruments, which, despite the name, isn't strictly guitars in the Martin and Gibson sense, Dorsey said.
Requintas, smaller guitars that are tuned higher, fill roles similar to those of the first and second violins; the larger bajos are the orquesta equivalent of the cello.
``At the very, very bottom is a double bass,'' Dorsey said. ``The sound is more transparent than you would think. It's clearly a full sound, but all the parts are discernible.''
While the orquesta is making its U.S. debut, guitar orchestras aren't new to America, he added. They flourished from the late-1800s to just before World War I.
``The way they solved the ambiguity of the sound of so many guitars was by having guitars and mandolins. This isn't dissimilar to that.'' ILLUSTRATION: Graphic
[Box]
CONCERT FACTS
Who: Orquesta de Guitarras, as part of the Boardwalk
International Arts Festival
When: 7 and 9 tonight
Where: Virginia Beach Center for the Arts, 2200 Parks Ave.
Tickets: $10
Information: 425-0000
Also: 7:30 p.m. Sunday, 17th Street Oceanfront stage; free by CNB