FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Press Contacts: March 26, 2012 Rachelle Roe Maggie Berndt Erin Dennis

PACO DE LUCÍA BRINGS PASSIONATE FLAMENCO MUSIC TO SYMPHONY CENTER

Friday, April 20, 2012, at 8 p.m.

CHICAGO — Symphony Center Presents Special Concerts brings virtuoso guitarist Paco de Lucía to Symphony Center on Friday, April 20 at 8 p.m. A champion of the Nuevo flamenco movement, Lucía has achieved great success in a number of genres, including classical, world music and jazz.

Paco de Lucía’s performance will include an anthology of his most well-known repertoire, much of which is featured on his latest recording En Vivo: Conciertos de España. This new CD, his 25th release, features selections from his critically acclaimed live concert tour of Spain in 2010. The album will be released on April 3 in the U.S. For this concert, de Lucía’s lineup features six of Spain’s most celebrated flamenco and jazz musicians, as well as the rising young dance sensation, Farruco.

In 2010, he was awarded an honorary doctorate by the prestigious Berklee College of Music. His 2004 recording, Cositas Buenas, was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Contemporary World Music Album, and it won the Latin Grammy Award for Best Flamenco Album.

PACO de LUCÍA is inarguably one of the greatest living guitarists in the world and one of the great heroes of modern flamenco. He is credited with creating a ―fusion‖ style flamenco influenced by jazz—stretching and embellishing flamenco’s strict structure, but remaining faithful to the soul of its Roma, Muslim and Jewish roots. The most innovative and influential flamenco artist of the last 30 years, de Lucía’s flamenco recordings have had a revolutionary impact, infusing new life into the art form and bringing it worldwide attention. His groundbreaking collaborations with jazz artists (John McLaughlin, Chick Corea and Larry Coryell) and his participation in notable soundtracks have brought him to the attention of a broad audience. De Lucía started rather traditionally. He was born Francisco Sanchez Gomez in Algeciras, a city in the province of Cadiz, in the southernmost tip of Spain. (His stage name is a tribute to his mother.) His father, Antonio Sanchez, a day laborer, played guitar at night as a way to supplement his income. His father, his elder brother Ramon de Algeciras, and flamenco master Nino Ricardo were de Lucía’s main influences. De Lucía’s first performance was on Radio Algeciras in 1958 when he was only eleven years old. Paco de Lucía’s compositional style and the pure intimacy of his dazzling guitar virtuosity make a deeply authentic and universal statement that transcends the folkloric. By adapting the past to the present, de Lucía has awakened a new generation to the power and appeal of flamenco—with his mesmerizing cascades of high velocity notes.

Complete program details follow:

Symphony Center Presents Friday, April 20, 2012, 8 p.m. Special Concert Paco de Lucía, guitar

Antonio Sanchez, guitar Antonio Serrano, keyboard and harmonica Alain Pérez, bass Piraña, percussion Duquende, vocals David de Jacoba, vocals Farruco, dancer Tickets: $30–$85

TICKETS for all 2011/12 Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Symphony Center Presents and Civic Orchestra of Chicago concerts can be purchased by calling CSO ticketing services at 312-294-3000 or 800-223-7114, online at cso.org, or by visiting the Symphony Center box office at 220 S. Michigan Ave., Chicago, IL 60604. Discounted student tickets for select concerts can be purchased, subject to availability, online in advance or at the box office on the day of the concert. For group rates, please call 312-294-3040. Artists, programs and ticket prices are subject to change.

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