Flamenco Inspiration in Rural Kansas

By Jenny Tritt

Flamenco guitarist Ronald Radford presents his art to students around the country. He describes flamenco’s structure as a complex kaleidoscope using song forms of rhythmic patterns rather than specific melodies. (Photo credit Linda Crandell-Jones)

Ronald Radford, flamenco guitarist and longtime Mid-America Arts Alliance and Heartland Arts Fund regional touring artist from Ballwin, Missouri, spent one week in November of 2002 in Hays, Kansas, presented by the Hays Arts Council. The Hays Arts Council considers its constituency to be the local community, with a population of approximately 19,000, and to an additional extent, many of the smaller communities that comprise northwest Kansas. . The residency gave students in these somewhat isolated agricultural communities a rare opportunity to learn about a unique art form and rich cultural history.

For his audience, Radford verbally paints a picture of the flamenco art form, native to southern Spain, by lacing his program with warm and spontaneous commentary. His performances appeal to all ages and a broad range of musical tastes, from those who like the creativity of jazz and the fun of bluegrass to those who love the classics. A Fulbright scholar and protégé of the legendary Carlos Montoya, Radford is one of only about a half-dozen concert flamenco guitarists touring today; he is widely acclaimed as one of the foremost of these artists and is the only North American among them. His concerts have taken him to universities and concert halls in 15 countries and have included such notable places as New York’s Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center, UCLA’s Royce Hall, and the University of the Americas in Mexico.

Here Radford shows his guitar to students from McCook High School. (Photo credit Linda Crandell-Jones)

In Kansas, Radford provided lecture/demonstrations and performances at 14 Hays-area schools, a combination of elementary, middle, and high schools in rural communities. The 45-minute lecture/demonstrations were adapted to the age of the students with special commentary and questions and answers. Radford's motivational messages included: "Set goals…work hard…believe in yourself…always do your best…discover your talents…follow your dreams!" Radford’s 18-page study guide was used to prepare the students for the school programs. The Hays Arts Council worked closely with the Fort Hays State University Activities Board in the planning, development, and promotion of the public concert. The university's Hispanic student organization, Hispanic American Leadership Organization (HALO), took an active leadership role in the organization and promotion of the public event. Also included in the planning process were various elementary, middle, and high schools in the surrounding area, with the intent to bring art forms into rural communities where they are not otherwise unavailable. The Chamber of Commerce and civic and service organizations assisted with publicity and funding efforts.

Radford’s program supported National Educational Standards both in musical and spoken content as well as in the learning and discovery that results from the activities in his study guide. The study guide contains: 1) Biography of Ronald Radford; 2) Program Description; 3) Essay on Spain; 4) Essay on Flamenco; 5) Discussion Questions; 6) Activities; 7) Crossword Puzzle; 8) Spanish Vocabulary; 9) Poetry; 10) Graphics; and 11) a promotional flyer.
Radford's program encourages students to know that they are each unique and special and that we are all here to use our individual talents to make the world a better place. He shows how success and happiness in life depends on respecting and caring about others as well as being responsible in everything we think, say, and do. Each moment is an opportunity to make a choice that can be a part of the solution to family, school, and world problems. Speaking from his own life experience, he helps students see that every choice has an outcome or result and that we always have the power to choose to do what is right.

Radford calls himself a "compulsive educator." His programs always include messages that encourage students. (Photo credit: Karen Campbell)

As part of the National Education Standards Program, he wore "The Choice for Me, Drug Free" red ribbon and identified himself as a person who has never used any drugs. His positive message pointed out that the greatest success comes from always saying "yes" to the good stuff in life rather than worrying about saying "no" to the bad stuff. Kids quickly understand the idea that what you focus on is what you tend to get more of—so focus on that which is good!

Radford related: "At a rural K-12 school during this project, when, at the beginning of the program I referred to my red ribbon and mentioned that part of my success as a performer was that I was a 'drug free' person who had never used even alcohol or tobacco, most of the students spontaneously broke into applause. They really appreciated the support for a positive lifestyle." At one high school, two girls among the crowd of students who gathered around Radford after the performance said, "We loved your music, but what you said and your positive attitude was just amazing! We have a big drug problem at our school, and I think your message was the most important thing we have ever heard. You've given us some great ideas to use in talking to our friends.

Radford was inspired by flamenco great Carlos Montoya, received the only Fulbright scholarship ever awarded in flamenco, and traveled throughout Spain to learn from the masters of the artform. (Photo credit: Karen Campbell)

In addition to being a performing artist, Radford describes himself as a "compulsive educator." "I love seeing the gleam of appreciation and spark of amazement awakened in the eyes of the hundreds of students in my audiences. I get more real satisfaction from the response at the school programs than from the standing ovation at the evening concert. In fact, many of the high schools did give me a standing ovation, and many of the principals told me that my program was the best they have ever had in the history of their school. You just don't get that kind of appreciation anywhere else! I left every program with the feeling that I had made a lasting contribution to their lives."

Radford also participated in a personal interview for the award-winning program "Kansas Arts Today" on Smoky Hills Public Television, which resulted in a half-hour program that aired in January 2003, along with footage from two of his school concerts. This exposure on public television extended the benefits and impact of his residency.

Radford adapts his performances to the students and provides special commentary. He says he gets more satisfaction from the response at school programs than from the standing ovations at evening concerts. (Photo credit: Karen Campbell)

Hays Arts Council Director Brenda Meder commented, "Perhaps my favorite 'special moment' came when a teacher from Holy Family [elementary school] told me how influenced one of her students was following the concert, when she decided all she wanted for Christmas was a guitar. The young lady is from a financially disadvantaged family and, as such, was included in our local 'Angel Tree' project, in which presents are purchased for children in need. Her ‘Angel Tree’ gift request was indeed for a guitar. I certainly hope she received one. If so, her life may have been forever changed."

Radford said, "The appreciation I received from the Spanish and music teachers at the schools, as well as after the public concert, was very heart warming. I include some of the same educational themes about Spanish music and culture in the commentary at the public concert so that there is a continuity of content in both the concert and the outreach programs for the community.

A young mother approached me after the evening public concert with her 12-year-old son, who had heard my program at his school. She said that he not only insisted that she take him to my concert, but also that for several years he had resisted taking music lessons, and that after hearing me he is now enthusiastic about beginning his guitar lessons. Two self-proclaimed 'hard rocker,' 'cool dude' college students said, 'Your music is the most amazing thing I've ever heard. I can't believe that I just saw this in person!'"

Solo flamenco guitar music, which is sometimes whimsically called "Gypsy jazz," came into its own in the late 1930's, when Carlos Montoya legitimized it as a separate art form distinct from the usual guitar accompaniment of flamenco singing and dancing. Even Montoya's native Spain was slow to accept solo flamenco guitar as a distinctive form until he and others popularized it outside the country, Radford says.It was Montoya who inspired Radford to take up this unique musical form when he was in high school. Radford was dabbling in a more familiar musical outlet—a rock and roll garage band. While on a summer family vacation in Minnesota, his mother brought a $1.98 Montoya record home from the grocery store. "It was love at first sound," says Radford, and he spent the next year copying the style by ear. When the legendary artist came to Tulsa to perform, the young Radford arranged a backstage visit. "I met him and played for him with the intention of asking for his advice as to where I should study in Spain," Radford recalls. But Montoya, impressed with his natural talent, instead invited Radford to study with him in New York as a private student. As soon as he arrived in New York, Radford began studying with Montoya and playing professional engagements, including Carnegie Hall. After a career interruption via the draft board, Radford resumed his studies by touring Spain.

He was the only individual ever to be awarded a Fulbright scholarship in flamenco, but there was no formal method of studying it. He said, "I had to find the individuals who were masters of the musical styles I wanted to learn and track them down." He traveled thousands of miles in Spain, immersing himself in the music and lifestyle of the Spanish Gypsies. "Flamenco is one of the most highly disciplined and complex folk art forms to be found anywhere," he says. "It's structured like a musical kaliedoscope, using song forms of rhythmic patterns rather than specific melodies. The forms serve as a reference point for individual interpretation, which never sounds quite the same way twice. I like to compare flamenco to American bluegrass music, which I also play a little," he says. "It's not an exact parallel, but they're both based on non-written, oral traditions handed down through the generations." To learn more about Ronald Radford, go to http://www.ronaldradford.com. To hear an audio clip of his music, go to http://www.ronaldradford.com/listentocd.html.

Radford is extremely active in the heartland region and is an outstanding example of a touring artist who changes the lives of people, both young and old, through the power of performing art. The opportunity to potentially touch a life is one that is made possible through the regional touring program, and its significance cannot be overestimated.

The Heartland Arts Fund is a joint venture of Arts Midwest and Mid-America Arts Alliance. The Fund was created by combining the artistic and financial resources of our two organizations, the National Endowment for the Arts, and our fifteen partner state arts agencies to enhance community cultural life and increase public participation in the arts. The Fund offers performing arts presenters and artists in the heartland region the most extensive array of presenting opportunities in the country. The Heartland Arts Fund supports projects of high artistic merit in accordance with each applicant’s community standards. The fifteen states comprising the heartland region are Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas, and Wisconsin.

For more information about the Mid-America Arts Alliance, visit
http://www.maaa.org

National Endowment for the Arts
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