Classical and flamenco guitar at the Nerja Cultural Centre. 9pm. Tickets €10.
Mark Shurey has been fascinated by the guitar since he first saw one when he was 10 years old. A chance meeting with John Williams at age 12 inspired him to become a student of the classical guitar; however, it was not until 8 years later that he became infatuated with flamenco after seeing a concert by the legendary Paco de Lucia.
After studying with English flamenco guitarist Steve Homes, he traveled around Europe in caravans with a gypsy family accompanying dancers for the flamenco dance troupe “Zambra”. He then formed a flamenco-jazz fusion duo with Latin jazz guitarist Simon Attwood, who he performed with for 2 years.
When he was 27, Mark left his native England and moved to Spain to learn flamenco from the gypsies of Andalucia. There he earned the gypsy name “pimientito”. He studied 2 years with gypsy maestro Ricardo de la Juana and befriended many players and guitar makers. He studied a further 2 years accommpanying guitar for dancers in one of the flamenco dance schools in the Sacromonte caves, Granada. In the last 5 years Mark has furthered his studies with Gerardo Nuñez who is currently the top flamenco player in Spain, and is the only English Guitarist in the world to receive 5 diplomas in guitar technique from this master. He currently resides in Granada.
Apart from regular concerts and recitals throughout Andalucia, Mark has performed at many of the large music festivals in England, Ireland, France and Holland. He has written the music for two Lorca stage productions, “Yerma” and “The Millers Wife”, and made many appearances for radio and TV. He has given lectures on the history of the guitar and on the development of flamenco music in the United Kingdom, Spain, and in the United States.
In 2009 Mark was featured in the BBC radio 4 show “musical migrants”, a documentary about his life and personal experiences in the flamenco world.
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