Student Experience: Miguel Antonio

“I began playing the piano at the age of four and the guitar at the age of seven. Music was my salvation from other troubles, and I had a lot of luck with it at an early age. 

“I started the Recording Technology program at Cedar Valley in 1980. I had attended SMU for the performing aspect of my music, but I also wanted to learn the technical recording skills.  “While I was at Cedar Valley, I got an internship at a recording studio, so I worked part-time while I went to school. I use those recording skills every day now. I record my own music and CDs, so all that experience has paid off. 

“Roger Dismore, Russ Benzamin — all of those guys in Cedar Valley’s Music Department really knew how to communicate. We were also exposed to a lot in that program — every day we saw different musicians, and that was great for me not only musically but also personally. However, I left the Recording Technology program before earning an associate degree because I had the opportunity to go to Spain to tour and to study flamenco guitar. 

“The best part of my education at Cedar Valley was that it was so hands-on. My education was twofold: learning both the technical skills and the people skills. In fact, the most important by-product of the program was learning how to work with people. It’s an asset you can’t buy.” 

Son of a classical pianist, Miguel Antonio studied in his teens with classical guitar masters Andres Segovia, Juan Serrano and Paco Pena. A graduate of Richardson's J.J. Pearce High School, he attended SMU and Cedar Valley before going to Spain to study flamenco guitar under Mario Escudero and Sabrica.  After returning to the U.S., he began working with Jose Greco’s flamenco dance troupe, touring the U.S. and South America between 1983 and 1987. In 1988, he performed a series of solo guitar recitals in Japan, Spain and England and toured with Maria Benitez’s Estampa Flamenca. In 1991 and 1992, he performed and taught in Mexico City at Universidad Oedagogias and Escuela Nacional De Mesia. He returned to the United States to perform in the Broadway show “Man of La Mancha.” 

As a performer and educator, Miguel Antonio combines flamenco, classical and Latin American folk music in his music. Mr. Antonio’s performances have included the International Guitar Festival in Cordoba, Spain; Festival Internacional de Taxco in Guerrero, Mexico; Instituto Mexicano de Flamencologia in Mexico City; Mexico’s Escuela de Bellas Artes; and the American University in Cairo, Egypt. As an accompanist, he has toured with José Greco, the Maria Benitez Teatro Flamenco, Mariano de Cordoba and other performance artists worldwide. He is also a horologist and luthier, restoring and repairing clocks and stringed instruments of all types.

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