Paco Peña embodies both authenticity and innovation in flamenco. As a guitarist, composer, dramatist, producer and artistic mentor, he has transformed perceptions of this archetypal Spanish art form.

Born in the Andalucian city of Córdoba, Paco Peña began learning guitar at the age of six and made his first professional appearance at the age of 12. In the late 1960s he left Spain for London, where his recitals of flamenco music captured the public imagination.

Known worldwide for his contributions to and explorations of flamenco music, it should come as no surprise that readers of America’s Guitar magazine judged Paco Peña Best Flamenco Guitarist of the Year for five consecutive years. He has also served as Artistic Director of the celebrated Córdoba International Guitar Festival, and the world’s first Professor of Flamenco Guitar at the Rotterdam Conservatory of Music.  

Since 1970 Peña’s company of dancers, guitarists and singers have graced the world’s most prestigious stages in a succession of groundbreaking shows. The Paco Peña Flamenco Dance Company’s landmark 1991 production Misa Flamenca (a flamenco mass) premiered at London’s Royal Festival Hall, and was followed by a staging at the 1992 EXPO in Seville. The production firmly established flamenco into the realm of large-scale music theatre, with regular seasons in London and festival appearances in Edinburgh, Adelaide, Amsterdam, Athens, Israel, Istanbul, Singapore and Hong Kong.

Paco Peña’s latest works include Flamenco Requiem, A Compás! and Flamenco - VOCES y ECOS, and Flamenco in Concert. For this coming season, a select company of musicians, singers, and dancers will be accompanying the guitarist for a North American tour in February/March 2011. The company will perform selections from Peña’s new production Flamenco Vivo; which sets out to explore the deeper and more complex elements of Flamenco music. Audiences will be taken on a journey right to the heart of Andalucia, packed with all the intensity, depth and raw energy that have become this maestro's trademark.