($12 GA $20 Preferred + DICE Fees | 4:30pm Show) “Tango Guitar Project” is a new tango trio, unique in its instrumentation in the United States. The group is composed of three highly trained classical guitarists from three different countries: the project’s creator and director, Maxi Larrea, who recently published a tango guitar book and also has been awarded with the Master-Apprentice Artist Award for 2023 from Southwest Folklife Alliance, Misael Barraza-Diaz, a Mexican flamenco guitarist who has received 10 first places in international competitions. and Andres Pantoja from Chile, with multiple international awards and albums recorded.
The Project performs new compositions and original arrangements, showcasing a repertoire of traditional and contemporary tango pieces, including works by renowned contemporary tango composer and bandoneon player, Astor Piazzolla.
Maximiliano Larrea is a nationally certified classical guitarist from Rosario, Argentina. Currently, he lives in Tucson, Arizona, where he continues to build his career as a tango and folklore performer, arranger, composer, and educator. In Argentina, he has participated in some of the leading tango and folk music festivals, including the World Tango Festival and Championships, and the Pre-Cosquin Festival where he was recognized as a competition finalist. Most recently, he was flown to Argentina in Fall of 2022 to participate in the acclaimed World Guitar Festival, directed by legendary folklore guitarist Juan Falú. While living in Buenos Aires, Larrea performed with, and directed, multiple tango groups and recorded on numerous tango albums. Internationally, he has toured with tango bands in Europe, North America, and East Asia. In the United States, Larrea has lead tango and folklore groups, worked with university tango ensembles and tango summer camps, and developed his career as a solo artist. His first album of original compositions for solo guitar, Donde Termina el Río/Where the River Ends, was released in 2020. In 2021 received a grant from the Arizona Commission on the Arts to publish a book of guitar tango arrangements to be presented throughout Tucson and Phoenix, published in 2023. He has also been awarded with the Master-Apprentice Artist Award for 2023 from Southwest Folklife Alliance to teach tango guitar. When not composing, arranging, or performing, Larrea runs a home studio where he teaches popular guitar styles to local and international students of all ages and skill levels. For more information, see www.maxilarrea.com.
Andrés Pantoja was born in Chillán, Chile, in 1981. He started his guitar studies at the age of 13 with Professor Edith Vásquez, his mother. He completed his undergraduate studies in Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile with Professor Oscar Ohlsen. After graduating with the highest honor award, he continued his studies under the guidance of Luis Orlandini. He is currently pursuing a DMA (Doctor of Musical Arts) in performance with Professor Thomas Patterson in The Bolton Guitar Studies Program at the University of Arizona in the United States. He has performed in the United States, Switzerland, France, Brazil, Colombia, Argentina, Venezuela, Bolivia, and Uruguay and in the most important festivals in Chile. Moreover, he has been featured in TV programs, radio programs, and as a soloist along with ensembles as prestigious as the Santiago Philharmonic Orchestra, Chamber Orchestra of Chile, and the University of Santiago de Chile Classical Orchestra, among others. He has premiered solo works and chamber music, in addition to the Concert for guitar and orchestra”…y truncaron tu canto…” by the Chilean composer Víctor Ortiz.
Misael Barraza-Diaz is a Mexican guitarist who has won ten international competitions in classical guitar, as well as over thirty regional and national guitar contests. He has a DMA in guitar performance from the University of Arizona, in addition to two Master’s degrees in classical guitar (Spain & USA). Nevertheless, the artist has also mastered the art of flamenco guitar, an area in which he is most active today. His hunger and devotion towards the andalucian artform led him to study in Spain several times throughout his career.
In 2010, Misael was awarded first prize at the Concurso Nacional de Flamenco in Albuquerque (NM) at the prestigious Festival de Flamenco. Since then, the artist has become one of the top flamenco guitarists in the United States, and is sought after for his skills as a soloist and as an accompanist. He constantly performs with the top flamenco companies in his area: Flamenco del Pueblo Viejo, Flamenco Por la Vida, Julia Chacon Flamenco Theatre, Phoenix World Arts Collective, Yumi la Rosa Flamenco, and La Emi Arte Flamenco, as well as maintaining a thriving solo guitar career.
