Compositions, Arrangements and Adaptations for Seven-String Solo Guitar

This lecture-recital presents a selection of original compositions, arrangements and adaptations for seven-string nylon guitar, exploring the instrument as a space for performance, composition, and creative adaptation. Drawing on Rubén Darío López Ospina’s experience as a Colombian guitarist, composer, arranger, and educator, the programme reflects connections between classical guitar practice, Colombian and Latin American musical traditions, and contemporary approaches to sound and musical creation.

The presentation will combine live performance with commentary on the musical and technical decisions behind the works, including the adaptation of repertoire to the extended range of the seven-string guitar, approaches to texture, register, harmony, idiomatic writing, extended techniques, and the relationship between composition and performance. The lecture-recital also considers how arranging, adapting and composing for the instrument can create a dialogue between different musical traditions while expanding the expressive possibilities of the classical guitar.

The session is intended as both an artistic presentation and a reflection on creative practice, connecting performance, composition, arranging, adaptation, and current interests in sound, recording, and artistic research.

Speaker biography

Rubén Darío López Ospina is a Colombian classical guitarist, composer, arranger, educator, and researcher. He holds a Master’s degree in Musical Composition with New Technologies from the International University of La Rioja, Spain, and a degree in Music from the University of Nariño, Colombia, where his final project received the distinction of Meritorious. He also completed advanced studies in classical guitar performance at the Escola Luthier d’Arts Musicals in Barcelona.

He is currently an Erasmus Mundus scholar in the ReSound Joint Master in Sound, undertaking academic mobility at IADT in Dublin, Universidade Lusófona in Lisbon, and the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre in Vilnius.

As a guitarist, composer, and arranger, he has received national and international recognition and has performed in concert halls, cultural centres, and music festivals in Colombia, Canada, Chile, Spain, the United States, France, Guatemala, Peru, and Switzerland. His professional work also includes university teaching, music and guitar education, composition, arranging, and research-creation.

Programme

Wandering
Rubén Darío López (b. 1983)

Capricho Árabe*
Francisco Tárrega (1852–1909)

Prelude, Cello Suite No. 1 in G major, BWV 1007*
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750)

Sights to the Sky
Rubén Darío López (b. 1983)

Espíritu Colombiano*
Lucho Bermúdez (1912–1944)
Arranged by Rubén Darío López

El Sotareño*
Francisco E. Diago (1867–1945)
Arranged by Clemente Díaz and Rubén Darío Lópeza

Study No. 7*
Heitor Villa-Lobos (1887–1959)

Caribe*
Michel Camilo (b. 1954)
Arranged by Mariano Delgado

Variations on a Theme by José A. Morales (Pueblito Viejo)
Original theme: José A. Morales
Arrangement of the theme: Clemente Díaz
Adaptation for seven-string guitar: Rubén Darío López
Variations (Arpeggios and Tremolo): Rubén Darío López
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* Adapted for seven-string guitar by Rubén Darío López