The Lisa Smith Wengler Center for the Arts Presents Canary Islands Timple Player Germán López in Concert

The esteemed timple player from the Canary Islands, Germán López, brings his musical virtuosity to Pepperdine University's Raitt Recital Hall in Malibu for one-night-only on Wednesday, September 28 at 8:00pm. Germán López in Concert will feature López along with Antonio Toledo on Spanish guitar.

The masterful López blends the ancient traditions of his home island with sonic dexterity. The concert, his West Coast debut, will take place at Pepperdine's Raitt Recital Hall located at 24255 Pacific Coast Highway, Malibu, CA 90263. Tickets cost $17 for the public and $10 for full-time Pepperdine students, and are available by calling 310-506-4522 or online at http://arts.pepperdine.edu/events/german-lopez.htm.

Germán López is an esteemed timple player from Gran Canaria, an island making up an archipelago off the coast of Africa, pertaining to the nation of Spain. As a conservatory-trained musician, López blends the ancient traditions of the Canary Islands with musical virtuosity. His instrument of choice, the timple: (pronounced tim-play), is a diminutive 5-stringed instrument intrinsic to music of the Canary Islands. Unlike the ukulele that it resembles, it has a full resonance despite its high timbre, possibly due to its rounded back.

In his eagerness to experiment with new music, always starting from where the timple unfolds naturally, López recently released his albumRoot, which offers his approach to world music and flamenco. Captivated for years by the rhythmic and visceral richness of these genres, López moved into a new musical dimension with his timple on this album, exploring malagueñas (a Spanish dance similar to the fandango), polkas, tajarastes (native music of the Canary Islands), bulerías (a fast Flamenco rhythm), tanguillos (a kind of tango), and rumbas, including original compositions by López himself.

At the age of seven he entered the Conservatory of Music of Las Palmas, acquiring an eventual master's degree in 2001. Since the age of ten, López has been performing publicly, which now includes collaborations with the symphony orchestra of Gran Canaria, festivals such as WOMAD, Circuits INJUVE, and Expozaragoza, among others. He recently starred in the opening ceremony of the annual WOMEX conference (2014) earning himself an unexpected, spontaneous standing ovation.

The Lisa Smith Wengler Center for the Arts at Pepperdine University provides high-quality activities for over 50,000 people from 664 zip codes annually through performances, rehearsals, museum exhibitions, and master classes. Located on Pepperdine's breathtaking Malibu campus overlooking the Pacific, the center serves as a hub for the arts, uniquely linking professional guest artists with Pepperdine students as well as patrons from surrounding Southern California communities. Facilities include the 450-seat Smothers Theatre, the 118-seat Raitt Recital Hall, the "black box" Helen E. Lindhurst Theatre, and the Frederick R. Weisman Museum of Art.