Three students from the classical guitar program at the Frost School of Music shone in major national festivals this year. Their achievements are a testimony to their love for their instrument and to the devotion of their professor, Rafael Padron, director of the classical guitar program.
Patricia Hernández, a senior, and Millet Padron, a new master’s student, and Rafael Padron’s teaching assistant, are two of just nine finalists for the college/professional competition at the Southern Guitar Festival in Charlotte, North Carolina, taking place September 28 and 29. Meanwhile, Antonio Dárias Melis, who graduated with his master’s from the Frost School this spring, won second prize at the New Orleans International Guitar Festival in March.
“Being among the finalists of this competition means a lot to me,” said Millet Padron (no relation to Rafael Padron.) She said her professor has been crucial to her success. “Rafael is a very special person in my life,” said Millet. “His way of seeing music is so special and different.”
Both festivals are among the top gatherings in the United States for classical guitar musicians, students, and lovers of a demanding but richly expressive instrument with ancient roots.
“They have passion for it,” Rafael Padron said of his 16 undergraduate and graduate students. “The guitar is unique. It is like a little orchestra. There are so many possibilities with this instrument.”
Hernández echoed her professor’s appreciation. “I love classical guitar because it has an intimacy and raw sound that is rare in other instruments,” she said. “I stuck with classical music because I loved the challenge, complexity, and depth.”
The Southern Guitar Festival offers workshops, lectures, and competitions for elementary/middle and high school students, college and professional players, and ensemble and non-classical guitar divisions. The New Orleans festival, in that vibrantly musical city, attracts competitors and artists from around the world; performers this year (including Rafael Padron) came from Brazil, Mexico, Morocco, Colombia, Romania, Cuba, and the U.S.
“It is very competitive, and the caliber of performers is very high,” said Padron. Born and educated in Cuba, he has performed with multiple orchestras and headlined guitar festivals across the Americas. He received his master’s in classical guitar from the Frost School in 2003, joined the faculty in 2006, and became program director in 2013. The number of students has doubled under his leadership.
“Professor Padron encourages me to develop my own sound, and push my playing out of my comfort zone,” said Hernández. “He has taught me how to play for the love of music again. Under his mentorship, I learned to tap into the real reason I started, to express myself and to give the audience something new or fulfilling.”
The classical guitar evolved primarily in Spain, from the oud, the ancient Middle Eastern stringed instrument brought there during the Islamic conquest in the 8th century. It became an important instrument in Europe and Spain around the 15th century. Classical guitar music and traditions have been significant in Spain, and the guitar is also central to Spanish flamenco – with its own ancient, poly-cultural roots.
Padron says classical guitar’s Spanish and flamenco legacy often attracts Hispanic students. That is true for Millet Padron, who, as a child in Cuba, became enchanted with the instrument hearing her aunts play. “I remember looking at them while they played the guitar and sang,” she said. “Those moments made me fall in love.”
