Maria Flurry long has been fascinated with Flamenco and its world; Spain, castanets, Flamenco culture. This summer, she and husband Henry traveled to Seville where Maria studied castanets and the cajón.  Cajón (pronounced “ka hon’ ”) is a musical wooden box that the musician sits on and, using hands or brushes, plays the front and sides. It originated in Peru and became standard in Flamenco music in the 1970s.

She also wanted to study music in Spain. “In music school, there was a line between life and music, but since school, life has erased that line, and I know how full I can make my life with music. My life, my way of connecting with people, is through music,” she says. For Maria, learning Flamenco music and culture further coalesced those two worlds.

Maria explains that, while in Seville, she studied castanets with teacher Charo Espina and hoped to find someone to teach her the cajón.“By coincidence, we happened to go to a tablau (a Flamenco bar with a high stage in the middle of the room) where we saw a fabulous performance including a cajón player who played with nuance and gutsy passion, Manuel “Lolo” Lozano Fernandez. I asked him if he would teach me.” The course of three lessons opened the door to her for cajón and Flamenco culture.  For instance, in Flamenco, the dancer is the musical conductor and she directs the musicians non-verbally.

It was the same with Maria’s castanet teacher. “Charo played some music and showed me some Flamenco steps, how to use the fan and a five foot long scarf. She illustrated the answer to a question I asked just by dancing for me.” Maria said she was humbled knowing a master dancer was dancing just for her.

Maria said it was a privilege and a blessing to study with her teachers.  “In Gypsy (or “Roma”) culture,  everyone sings, everyone dances, and everyone plays guitar and cajón. Everyone does everything.”

“It jazzed me up.  All my brain is tingling with how to incorporate these ideas and techniques into playing and composing music.” She said her experiences in Spain validate the idea that the heart of music is universally the same.

Maria was asked what will become of her work studying Flamenco, castanet and cajón? She said currently she has arranged one of Scarlatti’s harpsichord pieces for vibraphone, marimba, and she created a castanet part. “This past Friday I used a Flamenco hand dance technique to get the right sound out of wind chimes as I immersed them in water.”

Henry and Maria Flurry perform original compositions when they play in their musical duo, “Sticks and Tones.” (SticksAndTones.com) She said they are working in a new sense of pulse, techniques and rhythmic nuance, “that makes you get up and move.” Some of the rhythmic nuances and accents of the cajón are even sneaking into her timpani practicing for the September 8th AZ Phil concert!

After a manos performance in the middle of July’s Hurricane Beryl in Houston, Maria is looking forward to Sticks and Tones sharing the stage on the Folk Sessions “Angel Band Concert III” September 20th at the Elks’ Crystal Ballroom right here in Prescott. Over the months ahead, Sticks and Tones is performing on several chamber music series around the state and visiting libraries in Yavapai and Pima Counties. Maria, who is Timpanist with Arizona Philharmonic and Flagstaff Symphony, and Principal Percussionist with Sedona Symphony, will join Peter Bay on September 7th for the inaugural Community Lecture Series. It will be a light-hearted look into what a conductor actually does. And, of course, she will illustrate some of her newfound passions during the January 12, 2025, Arizona Philharmonic manos percussion ensemble extravaganza!