Lisa Spraragen is probably not your typical flamenco guitarist and dancer, having grown up in a Jewish family in Brooklyn, N.Y., and Rhode Island.
But Spraragen — who has performed for more than 25 years with guitarist and composer Josué Pérez in the Manhattan-based guitar duo Lisa y Josue — told writer Michael Garry that she has no problem blending into the Hispanic culture in which her music thrives.
Sometimes, though, her occupation raises some eyebrows in the Jewish community. “They think it’s funny,” said Spraragen, who began playing classical and Spanish guitar as a child. “They say, ‘What’s a nice Jewish girl doing with this?’ Then again, people do like the music. We have fun with it.”
Spraragen will bring her music to the Vista on the Hill Concert Series at Temple Beth Elohim in Brewster, N.Y., when she, Perez, and tenor Angel Feliciano perform on Saturday, Feb. 22. The trio is called Cantando así (Singing Like This). Spraragen and Peréz previously performed as a duo for the series’ inaugural performance in 2012.
Their new show, “The Romance of the Spanish Guitar,” includes a mix of flamenco, bolero, Latino melodies, danza puertorriquena and classical guitar. The music’s fiery, romantic spirit and hypnotic melodies make this a nice follow-up to Valentine’s Day. A good portion of the upcoming show will feature just the two guitarists, but Feliciano will contribute to several numbers, singing mostly in Spanish but also in English, Ladino (Judeo-Spanish) and Yiddish. Spraragen will also perform flamenco dance routines.
Spraragen was 9 when she started her musical career after a beat-up guitar, sent by her grandfather, arrived in the mail. Her mother took her for lessons at the famed Henry Street Music School in Manhattan, where she took up classical guitar (her mom’s idea) and started with Spanish songs right away, adding flamenco later.
While she and Pérez play traditional flamenco — a form of music introduced by gypsies, among others in southern Spain — they also incorporate the music’s techniques, modes and scales to “spice up” their Latin repertoire. “Flamenco is exciting and has a mystery to it that attracts people,” she said.
If you go
Cantando así performs Saturday, Feb. 22, at Temple Beth Elohim, 31 Mt. Ebo Road N., Brewster, N.Y. Show time is 8 p.m. and admission is $15 at the door. For further details, call Tony Cataldo at 914-924-0929.