Jonathon Harper

Wellington-based Latin guitarist, singer and composer Jonathon Harper brings his lively and passionate programme of Latin guitar music, including some Spanish classical guitar favourites, flamenco and South American songs. Some of the material will be original, from the Amigos CD, and there will also be new original Latin instrumentals and songs. While living in Christchurch, he formed a Latin band, Amigos, which released an album of his Latin dance songs, sung mostly in Spanish.

Harper finds the Latin style allows for a great range of emotional expression, and he likes to draw his audiences into the emotional world of the music. One reviewer, John Gillies, experienced one of Harper’s concerts as the “audience eavesdropping on an intimate musical treat” where “the guitar pours out its soul.”

Over the last three decades as a full time concert artist both here and overseas, Harper has developed a technique to match his emotional sensitivity. Well respected Wellington classical music critic, John Button, declared Harper to be “a guitarist with a nice sense of style, a developed technique and range of tone colours” and concluded his published review by saying “He is a fine entertainer and he carried his audience with him all the way.”

Harper has worked as a flamenco guitarist with Jane Luscombe (Auckland) Elaine Gibbs (Christchurch) and with the principal performers from the flamenco dance troupe Desde Sevilla. He likes to blend Latin music with other influences found here in New Zealand, and has even composed a Latin/Pacific song fusing Brazilian chords with a Samoan Sasa (log drum) dance rhythm.

Event listed by ChristchurchFolkClub

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