UNM-Gallup to host award-winning guitarist

Independent Staff

Omar Villanueva, an award-winning guitarist originally from Matamoros, Mexico, will perform in a free concert on Wednesday evening at UNM-Gallup. [Courtesy Photo]

GALLUP — Omar Villanueva, an award-winning guitarist, will perform in a free concert at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, April 11 at UNM-Gallup's Calvin Hall Auditorium.

Villanueva, a native of Matamoros, Mexico, is completing his master's degree in Classical Guitar Performance at the University of New Mexico under the guidance of music professor Michael Chapdelaine.

Villanueva started his musical studies at Mexico State Conservatory, where he obtained his first degree in Classical Guitar Performance under the guidance of Francisco Gil. He has won awards in two music competitions in the United States, including first place in the 2004 Joyce Walker Competition, organized by the Professional Music Teachers of New Mexico, and first place in the UNM Concerto Competition of 2005. Villanueva also won a second prize in the first Chamber Music Competition of the Mexico State Conservatory in 2003.

Villanueva has performed for audiences in the United States and Mexico in several music festivals, including two 2002 Festivals Internacional de Otoo in Matamoros, the 2001 60 Festival Internacional de Tehuacan Puebla, the Festival de la Frontera 2001 in Matamoros, the Festival San Juan del Rio of 2002, and the 2004 and 2006 New Mexico State Fairs.

Among his Master Class teachers are Antonio Lpez of Mexico, Manuel Espinas of Cuba, Thomas Patterson of the United States, Lorenzo Micheli of Italy, Paul Odette of the U.S., Stephen Robinson of the U.S., and Carlos Prez of Chile.

Villanueva has been awarded several scholarships in Mexico and the United States. He was awarded the FONECAT Scholarships of 2006 and 2006 in Tamaulipas, Mexico; Friends of Music Scholarship at UNM; Hector Garcia Scholarship at UNM; and Mexican Consulate Scholarship Jose Teran for 2005.