I'm sad to report that Dr. Enric Madriguera, one of the most pivotal figures in the classical guitar community in Texas in general and Dallas/Fort Worth specifically, has passed away. I began my guitar studies with him at Eastfield College in 1995 (a program he had chaired starting in 1976). He helped me get my start as an aspiring professional guitarist and musician and many of the things I learned from him in those early stages remain firmly fixed in my mind today. Please read on to learn a bit more about him:
Dr. Enric Madriguera was the Russell Cleveland Endowed Professor of Guitar Studies at the University of Texas at Dallas. Madriguera performed as a solo guitarist locally and internationally. In 2001, he toured Vietnam performing and teaching in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh Conservatories of Music. In 2002, he was invited to the International Festival at Charles Darwin University, Australia. Most recently, he performed at The Rust Festival in Burgenland, Austria, the ChamberArt Festival in Madrid, and the Ramon Noble Festival in Pachuca, Hidalgo State, Mexico. Enric Madriguera received a Fulbright grant to perform and teach in Mexico for a period of one semester during the 2009-2010 academic cycle.
Having formed a guitar duo in 1996, Madriguera and his late wife, Sabine Madriguera, performed in festivals in the Americas and Europe including prestigious halls such as the Sala Manuel M. Ponce at the Palace of Fine Arts in Mexico City and the concert hall of the Villa de Madrid for the Guitar Society of Spain. They performed with the Plano and Mesquite Symphony Orchestras in Texas. In Mexico, the duo was featured with the Guanajauto Symphony Orchestra. Duo Madriguera's CD Music of Europe, Asia, and the Americas is on the Encore Label.
Enric has performed and recorded with the New Music Ensemble Voices of Change: Voces Americanas, A tribute to Eduardo Mata; Frida -- Concert Suite, by Robert Xavier Rodriguez, on the CRI label; Voz y Guitarra with soprano Kathryn Evans featuring songs by composers John W. Duarte and Ernesto Cordero; Guitars of the Americas, with Felix Casaverde of Peru, on the Documentary Arts Label; and Old World/New World. His final album, Remembranzas de Mi Guitarra, was released in 2015 and features a number of compositions by his one time teacher, Andres Segovia.
Madriguera was a co-founder and artistic director for the Texas Guitar Competition and Festival, and the Guitar Series at UT Dallas. The Texas Competition attracts an elite level of competitors from around the world. He directed the festival for 22 years enabling those competitors from all over the world to be exposed to some of the greatest living concert guitarists including David Russell, the Los Angeles Guitar Quartet, and many more.
As opportunities to pay tribute to him emerge I will pass that information along. In the meantime, I'm sure you'll join me in wishing Ric's family, friends, and current and former students the best during this very difficult time.
