La Guitarra Española | tonebase Scholarship Recap (ft. Phillip Reddin)

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tonebase Guitar

5 min readSep 19, 2018

This summer, we had the opportunity to provide a $1,000 scholarship for a student to attend the La Guitarra Española program in Granada. After receiving many submissions from amazing guitarists all over the world, one thoughtfully written response to our prompt stood out amongst the rest… and so in the end, we selected Phillip! We recently asked Phillip about his experience. Here are his personal highlights as well as some inspiring photos of his time in Granada!

Honestly, I’m not sure how to begin other than I would recommend anyone to participate in the CSU Summer Arts program, regardless of money. Granada changed me not only as a guitarist but on a personal level as well. Money was initially a big factor, but now knowing what I know, I would go regardless due to my overall experience. Here are three reasons why!

1. Masterclasses

Performing in masterclasses for Pepe Romero, Scott Tennant, Vicente Coves, and others was nerve-racking but inspiring. In the past, I haven’t had many opportunities to perform in masterclasses, but I believe they are an invaluable part of becoming a better artist.

Students of various levels also performed and I learned more from watching them than playing myself. It’s nice knowing that most of us have similar issues whether they are performance or technique based because everyone starts at the same place. It’s all about the love for the art and not making it a race to the finish line. As Pepe would say in his Yoda-like way:

“Be one with the guitar…. Then playing becomes as simple as writing your name on a piece of paper.”

2. Flamenco!

In many ways, playing flamenco is completely different from classical, but Kai Narezo managed to make learning it really fun! (Many thumbnails were harmed in the process…) At the end of the program, a handful of us even ended up performing a flamenco set in Granada’s Town Hall.

Since returning to the states, I still have flamenco on the mind. I guess Kai’s influence is leading me towards the dark side…

3. Friendship

Last, I would like to end with the people and friendships that were made. For me, this was one of my favorite parts.

I made a lot of friends in Granada, and I truly believe I will keep these new-found friends till I pass. Everyone was very supportive of one another, and people would go out of their way to help others because we all love the guitar and are all striving to become better musicians.

Many memories were made with coffee, tapas, walking around the town eating sorbet, and of course Shawarma King. Good times, and lots of love.

If you’re thinking about applying for the 2019 CSU Summer Arts guitar program I say do it — you won’t regret it. There are many more things I could talk about, but honestly there’s too much!

Thanks again to tonebase for your generosity, and special thanks to Dr. Scott Morris, and Joanne Sharp who made this program what it is, because it wouldn’t exist without them.

Be good and much love,

— Phillip Reddin

Phillip is a Northern California based classical guitarist. He has been playing guitar since the age of 11 starting with rock, punk, and blues music. At 17 he discovered flamenco music through his first guitar teacher Roberto Corrias, and soon after he fell in love with classical music.
At 20 he moved to San Francisco to attend the Conservatory of Music to study classical guitar under Lawrence Ferrara from 2009–2010. After attending school for one year, he moved to New York City, and soon after Los Angeles. Phillip now lives in his hometown of Placerville (CA), and attends California State University, Sacramento under the guidance of Dr. Richard Savino. Phillip’s future goal is to become a music therapist specializing in end of life care.

Follow Phillip on Instagram (@the.echo24) for more great photos like the ones below!