Canora Arts Council is to resume its Stars for Saskatchewan concert series with a penultimate performance by a flamenco guitarist.
Eric Harper is to have performances in 16 Saskatchewan communities and he will be coming to Canora on February 6.
Eric Harper is an award-winning flamenco guitarist who “creates a unique sound all his own,” according to information from his website. Born in a small town in Arkansas and raised in Portugal, he began his journey with music when he was seven years old.
“I remember I was in the kitchen doing the dishes when some song came on the radio. Don’t ask me which tune it was because I don’t remember. But what I do remember is the feeling that song gave me. I immediately stopped what I was doing, quickly ran into the living room and just stared at the stereo. My sister called me back to finish the dishes, but I couldn’t move. I was transfixed, mesmerized. I literally couldn’t take my eyes off the stereo. I was so moved by emotion that all I remember thinking was ‘I want to make people feel like that!’” Harper said.
He then began studying music at several reputable schools, including the Conservatory of Music Calouste Gulbenkien in Braga, Portugal; and with reputable teachers such as Craig Alden Dell, a guitarist who studied under Christopher Parkening and Andre Segovia. He now has a degree in film scoring from the Berklee College of Music and a diploma in classical music from the Professional School of Music in Porto, Portugal.
Harper currently lives in Canada while touring around the world to perform concerts in China, Mexico, Switzerland, Israel, and many other countries. He is not only a performer, but a songwriter and film composer. He has performed with Andy Grammer, Cheng Lin, Leonor Dely, Sweet Thing, Current Swell, Ry Morin and Monin Sons. He has composed music for commercials for Adidas, as well as for several television shows such as How I Met Your Mother, Top Gear, Kitchen Nightmares, The Ultimate Fighter, Holidate, My Fair Wedding and Ghost Hunters. He also co-composed music for the film Inseperable, which starred Kevin Spacey.
He has won the Yamaha Young Performing Artists Award and the Guitar Mania Contest of 2014, and he was a finalist in the Morton Gould Competition and the John Lennon Songwriting Competition. Despite his many accomplishments, Harper considers sharing meaningful music his greatest achievement.
“Who really cares about awards if you can’t move someone’s heart? To me, that’s the real reward,” Harper said.
Harper has four CDs that reflect his many styles of music: The Best of Eric Harper,A Very Timely Christmas, Rompera Madrugada and Ribeira.
His concert-goers should expect “floor-stomping, guitar-scraping, rhythm-beating madness combined with a powerful, honey-dipped voice that will leave you touched, moved and inspired,” said information from the Canora Arts Council. His performance will be held at the Canora Composite School auditorium on February 6.
