EL Vito is a traditional Spanish composition, arranged here by Joseph Ichkhanian. Joseph is the head of the Guitar Dept. at the Lebanese National Conservatory of Music in Beirut, Lebanon. (I had the great privilege to meet and work with Joseph in May 2002, when I visited Lebanon as part of a Cultural Exchange Program sponsored by the State Department. I was able to hold workshops and classes in the Universities and Music Conservatories, plus give public concerts, in Lebanon, Jordan, and Bahrain. I am happy to report that the classical guitar is alive and well and flourishing in the Middle East -- but more about that in a later article.)

Joseph is a graduate of the Spanish Conservatory of Music. He studied under Segovia and Narcisco Ypes, among others. He authored and published the first Classical Guitar Method in the Middle East, has performed numerous concerts all over the Mediterranean area, and runs a very successful Guitar Instructional Program, with teaching centers throughout Lebanon. I had asked him if he had any arrangements of traditional Arabic music for guitar, and he very graciously gave me several, which I will share with you in this issue and subsequent Carmel Classical Society Journals. El Vito exhibits a strong flamenco influence, which really has its roots in Middle Eastern music.

Robert McNamara