Brisbane based guitarist Gerard Mapstone has performed around the world and has supported the likes of the Buena Vista Social Club, legendary flamenco guitarist Tomatito and singer Estrella Morente, along with Romanian gypsy group Fanfare Ciocarlia and the Gypsy Queens and Kings.

Mapstone won the Queensland Conservatorium classical guitar prize as a teenager. Upon graduating and developing his interest in flamenco he moved to Jerez de la Frontera in Spain where he studied with Jose Ignatio Franco, a renowned flamenco guitarist in Andalucía.

While living in the UK he joined flamenco fusion band Candela. Together they supported Tomatito at the Barbican Theatre in London, along with WOMAD in Reading and the Spiegeltent for the Brighton Fringe Festival. In England Gerard continued studying with Carlos Bonell, guitar professor at the Royal College of Music in London, and guested on two recordings by flautist Philippe Barnes and All Jigged Out, along with DADGAD guitar virtuoso Lee Westwood.

In 2008 his solo guitar album Vuelta al Mundo (around the world) was released independently, and a piece of which he and Cellist Katherine Philp arranged for guitar and orchestra was debut at St John’s Cathedral with the Camerata of St John’s String Orchestra.

The DALeCAÑA Flamenco Company was formed in 2007 by Mapstone and flamenco dancer Sylvia Arroyo. Together with a collective of musicians they created a multicultural blend of gypsy music using flamenco as the base of their inspiration. “Dance is an integral part of DALeCAÑA, bringing choreography and composition to the forefront of our performances”.

DALeCAÑA (put your back into it!) have sold out the Brisbane Powerhouse Theatre twice and have featured in festivals across Australia including Woodford, the Queensland Multicultural Festival, in Canberra at the National Folk Festival along with the Falls Festival and Blues Fest supporting the Buena Vista Social Club at the QPAC Concert Hall.

EN GARDE! Featuring James Sherlock, Shenzo Gregorio and Mapstone is a guitar trio established last year and has been a feature at the Spiegeltent as part of the Brisbane Festival, Queensland Multicultural Festival and Q150 Shed Tour. The group brings and all guns blazing guitar extravaganza to audiences with original works fusing flamenco, Romanian gypsy music and jazz, quoting Beethoven to Paco de Lucia.

Mapstone was also a member of the renowned Doch Gypsy Orchestra, a 27 piece group of Russian, Serbian, Bulgarian and Hungarian singers, brass, percussion, strings and guitarists who performed together over the last eight years playing Balkan gypsy music. Together they performed six seasons at the Powerhouse Theatre in Brisbane, collaborated with The Great Siberian Circus at QPAC in 2008 and with Vulcana Circus in 2009, and at the Sydney Festival supported Fanfare Ciocarlia and the Gypsy Queens and Kings at the Domain. Mapstone also features on their live album Bride in a Red Dress released in 2008.