William had started a television programme on GBC showing viewers how to play the guitar at around the time he started to teach Charles. After two and a half months William took him down to the studio and he gave his first public performance on live television. He believes the opportunities he had to perform on GBC and also in a few concerts during those early years in Gibraltar, gave him invaluable experience. He also remembers with great affection the lessons in composition he had with Hector Cortes who was indefatigable in his work with the youth of Gibraltar at a time when there was precious little on offer as far as music was concerned. Charles says that he was fortunate in having such an outstanding teacher in William Gomez. William had studied with Narcisco Yepes, one of the great guitarists of his generation. Yepes was an innovator who used a guitar with ten, rather than the traditional six, strings and so devised a new approach to guitar playing. This was all passed on to William who, when Narciso was out of Madrid playing concerts, was sent to study under Quintin Esquembre Tarrega’s student since the age of 14 and cellist in the Madrid Philharmonic. Francisco Tarrega (1852-1909) is an especially influential figure in the history of the guitar, establishing the modern way of playing and helping to develop
the way the instrument itself was made, in collaboration with luthiers - especially Antonio de Torres. William was of course influenced by the innovative playing of Yepes and at the same time through Esquembre, by the then more traditional approach of Tarrega. Thus, there is a direct lineage from Tarrega through Yepes and Esquembre to William Gomez and then to Charles, who for almost forty years has passed on these traditions to his students at the Royal College of Music. At 16 Charles decided that he aspired to be a professional guitarist and whilst waiting to reach 18, he worked at Allied Bakeries and then as a messenger boy in Galliano’s Bank. In 1971, with a generous grant from the Ferrari Trust, he entered the Royal College of Music, London as a student. It is difficult to get into this College as places are sought by aspiring professionals from all over the world. After an audition he was offered a place and started the three year course. The student is allocated a professor and the instrumental lessons are on a one to one basis with no student doing the same standardised course. Each course is tailored to the requirements of the student although of course, the student has to meet the requirements set by the College in a series of exams and assessments. The instrumental lessons are complimented
with classes and lectures on musical history, theory, harmony and counterpoint to name but a few. In his second year at the RCM, Charles was the first guitar student to be invited to play a concerto with the College orchestra, performing Joaquin Rodrigo’s ‘Concierto de Aranjuez’. This was followed by his professional debut at the Purcell Room in London’s iconic South Bank Centre. This came about because the booked guitarist had to withdraw and Charles, still a student, took his place. A bonus was his first reviews in the national press. After three years, in 1974, he graduated from the Royal College with a certificate signed by the Director Sir David Wilcox and an Associate of the Royal College of Music (ARCM) diploma. Life as a professional meant giving concerts and teaching both privately and in schools. In 1978, at the young age of 25, he was appointed Professor at the Royal College of Music; a coveted position held to this day. There are another two Professors of guitar in the College. Today he performs concerts extensively in the United Kingdom and abroad. His first BBC Radio 3 programme was well received and was included in ‘Pick of the Week’. This led to more work and a regular flow of broadcasts for BBC3 Radio. Soon after his solo debut, he married Helen Kalamuniak. They played many times as a duo which requires rigorous practice as each has a separate, individual style. Helen took a break from her musical career to have three children and trained to become a Chartered Accountant. She is now Director of Finance at St Charles Catholic Sixth Form College. The good news is that they have started to play together again. In 1975, they premiered their transcription of J.S.Bach’s ‘Goldberg Variations’ at the Purcell Room. BBC Radio 3 later
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GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE JUNE 2015