‘Cubamenco’ guitar Guitarist Robert Michaels will present a concert at Centennial Auditorium in Staples Saturday, Jan. 9, at 7:30 p.m. Guitarist Robert Michaels will present a concert at Centennial Auditorium in Staples Saturday, Jan. 9, at 7:30 p.m.

The concert is a part of the Staples Motley Area Arts Council’s Concert Series. For more information, on this and other concerts in the series, check out the Arts Council’s website at www.staplesmotleyarts.org

Michaels plays in a style that is a combination of Spanish flamenco, Latin jazz, flavored by the music of Cuba. It is passionate guitar music to warm a cold Minnesota January night.

“From the beginning I didn’t play flamenco or Latin jazz in any traditional way. I had experience playing so many other styles that I merely incorporated all of the influences. My style was never planned. I arrived at it spontaneously,” he explains

His CD Arizona, earned Michaels a 1997 JUNO nomination for Instrumental Artist of the Year. His next release, Allegro, won the JUNO for Best Instrumental Album in 2003.

His most current release is titled Cubamenco. According to Michaels, “Cubamenco is a word I created to describe

two cultures of music fused together: ‘Cuban’ and ‘Flamenco’. The listener will hear flavors of the two styles

represented in a non-traditional way, where old world meets new.”

To see where Michaels came from is to look at a fourteen year-old boy growing up in Toronto wanting, more than anything in the world, to learn how to play guitar. Initially his parents doubted his dedication and refused to buy him one.

Undaunted, he picked up a piece of wood, drew on some frets and nailed six pieces of plain string on to it. He then sat in his room for hours on end practicing silent chords. Eventually his parents relented and bought him his first guitar and, according to Michaels, “from that day I soared.”

Coming later in the arts council’s series are gospel singer Robert Robinson, Canadian fiddler April Verch and a chamber music concert with the Pavia Winds featuring Staples Motley native Justin Windschitl. Tickets are available from the Centennial Auditorium Box Office at 218-894-5416 or 800-213-6877. The arts council has two new ways to save on tickets. Anyone purchasing six or more advance sale tickets to any event, or series of events, will receive the special season price of only $10 per ticket. Also any student with proper ID can purchase a student rush ticket one hour before the show for only $1.