Spanish guitarist and Guinness World Record holder, Rafael Serrallet, wowed crowds during a performance with the RUFA Chamber Orchestra at the Royal University of Fine Arts (RUFA) this week.
The classical guitarist landed in Phnom Penh to round out his 2023 world tour teaching, rehearsing and performing in the Cambodian capital.
Maestro Serrallet spent four days developing master classes with RUFA guitar students before performing a concert accompanied by the RUFA Chamber Orchestra at RUFA Hall on December 29.
Recognised as a leading interpreter of the Spanish repertoire for guitar music, critics have labeled Serrallet as a guitarist with “outstanding performance gift”.
Serrallet treated the audience to a one-hour Spanish musical journey of classical guitar music, featuring masterpieces by Spanish composers, such as Francisco Tárrega, Isaac Albéniz and Francisco Padilla.
RUFA guitar students also had the chance to perform to the audience to showcase what they learned during the master classes. Together, they performed an arrangement of the Christmas carol ‘Silent Night’.
RUFA Chamber Orchestra also took to the stage to play Josefina Robledo’s music and a piece created especially for the occasion and composed by Serrallet himself, ‘A Mekong Sunset’, a stunning piece of music for the guitar and orchestra that was dedicated to RUFA.
At the end of the event, Chan Vitharo, Dean of the Faculty of Music, and Serrallet handed out diplomas to the students.
With a career spanning 30 years and having played more than 1,000 concerts across 100 countries, Serrallet is said to be one of the most internationally-experienced Spanish guitarists.
He has become one of Spain's global music ambassadors and was awarded ‘The Cross of the Order of Isabel La Catolica’ by the King of Spain in 2020 for his outstanding contributions.
Serrallet also holds a Guinness World Record for being the first musician to play a concert on each continent in 154 days and 22 hours.
