Pete Swan Presents: The Tango Guitar Project

($10-$15 Tickets | 7pm show) “The 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 from Argentina, Andres Pantoja from Chile, and Bin Hu from China.

Maximiliano Larrea (guitar) Andrés Pantoja (guitar) Bin Hu (guitar)

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.

The trio is made up of three accomplished soloists. In addition to their trio repertoire, each of the members showcases their individual skills introducing audiences to the beauty of Argentine tango arrangements for solo guitar.

**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 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 he 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. 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.

**Bin Hu** has performed in Austria, China, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Indonesia, Italy, Malaysia, the Philippines, Spain, and the USA, as a soloist, chamber musician, and soloist with orchestra. Among the works he has premiered, one of the highlights of his career includes a world première of a guitar concerto composed by Jorge Rodriguez-Caballero with the Pärnu City Orchestra in Estonia. Among the prizes he received from international guitar competitions, winning the first prize of the 2016 David Russell Bach Prize, a competition judged solely by GRAMMY Award-winner David Russell, has earned Hu a reputation as a Bach interpreter. As scholar and educator, Hu has been invited to conservatories and conferences in China and South American countries to present a variety of topics on Baroque performance practices on guitar. Moreover, his all-Bach CD, Ciaccona, produced by Eudora Records in Spain, has received critical aclaim worldwide.

**Bin Hu** began classical guitar lessons at age 11 with Zhiwei Li, a pioneer and founder of the first classical guitar school in China. He then studied privately in Beijing with Jiajiong Li of the Central Conservatory of Music. His undergraduate studies were with Heiki Maetlik at the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre in Tallinn, Estonia. He then moved to Salzburg, Austria to study with Marco Tamayo at the Universitaet Mozarteum and earned his Master of Arts degree with distinction. He currently holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the University of Arizona and was part of the studio of Thomas Patterson. Within the framework of his studies, Hu also took part in master classes taught by Sérgio and Odair Assad, David Russell, and Ricardo Gallén, among others.