This year a crowd of classical and genre-bending guitarists have performed in the region. And more are on the way with the increased presence of the Sacramento Guitar Society on the concert scene.

That nonprofit is bringing a host of artists to the area next year, and a fitting example of its diverse lineup can be seen in the upcoming appearance of guitarist Muriel Anderson.

Known for her virtuoso fingerpicking, Anderson combines folk, blues, classical and flamenco. She does so by performing on the standard, the classical and the rarely used steel string harp guitar.

She will appear Saturday and next Sunday on Stage Two of Folsom Lake College's Three Stages performing arts center. Anderson will be joined by noted nuevo flamenco guitarist Raughi Ebert, best known for his work with the duo Tierra Negra. Peruvian percussionist Raul Rodriguez and bassist Ariane Cap will also be part of the mix.

Nuevo flamenco has had many iterations since Spaniards Lole y Manuel released the album "Nuevo Día" in 1975, and the Gipsy Kings' 1988 smash hit "Bamboleo."

So what is a Nashville-based guitarist like Anderson, who travels in blues, folk and bluegrass circles, doing in the flamenco realm?

She blames it on a chance meeting seven years ago when she was on tour in Germany, where Ebert and Tierra Negra partner Leo Henrichs are based.

"We jammed at length, and I really mean at length," said Anderson, via the telephone. "We brought our two styles together … and out of that came nuevo flamenco."

Tierra Negra's flamenco music is steeped in music of the Gypsies of southern France. The duo has spent much time in an area called La Camargue, one of the few regions outside of Spain with its own flamenco tradition.

"Everything the Gypsies do comes directly from the heart, so you can learn so much from them," said Ebert. "The music develops directly from the heart to the ear of the listener. That's why it is so emotional."

The coming together of Anderson and Tierra Negra spawned a collaboration on the CD "New World Flamenco," in which Anderson brings the decidedly American string tone of the steel-string harp to bear on flamenco music.

"Nuevo flamenco is a versatile format that allows for more interaction with non-flamenco musicians," said Daniel Roest, president of the Sacramento Guitar Society, and a classical guitarist. "And Muriel is a master at integrating the two musical styles."

It was Roest who lobbied Folsom Lake College to program Anderson. And a sell-out first concert bodes well for future presentations, he said.

Anderson and Ebert will show off their individual musical talents on solo turns during the first half of each concert.

Anderson is well-known among guitarists for her super-clear and lyrical playing, an approach that earned her the honor of becoming the first woman to win the National Fingerpicking Guitar Championship in 1989. She is also highly regarded for performances on the steel-string harp guitar – an instrument that had a short heyday at the end of 19th century.

The instrument looks as if a classical guitar had sprouted a harplike appendage of seven extra strings and a curved neck. The instrument offers Anderson five open bass strings that can be plucked while fingering the guitar. Anderson performs on a modern variant of a harp built between 1890 and 1919.

Her attraction to the instrument was an intuitive one.

Like many musicians, she hears music bounce around her head before she writes it. In one instance, she said, the lower strings of the harp guitar began to resonate in her head as she was working on pieces by J.S. Bach. This was before she had even encountered the instrument.

"I was hearing these low-resonating space notes that were not on my guitar … and then I saw pictures of the harp guitar and knew that's what I needed for these pieces."

Even as a child, Anderson could hear music in her head.

She was born in a Chicago suburb into a musical family. Her grandfather was a saxophone player in John Philip Sousa's band, and her mother played piano. Anderson, her sister and her brother were required to learn the piano. "We did so reluctantly," she said.

At age 4, Anderson was composing songs. At 8, she received a battered guitar.

"I started figuring melodies during drives home. I really was drawn to the way the instrument vibrates when you play it."

She was not shy about performing. In third grade, Anderson played the Glenn Miller tune "Naughty Sweetie Blues" in front of class.

After high school she enrolled in the music program at DePaul University: "I was much more interested in bluegrass and jazz, but classical was the only way I could study guitar at the college level."

The musical detour, which included study with classical guitarist Christopher Parkening, proved defining.

"Studying classical was eye-opening because it brought me together with a lot of string and wind players. And it defined a way for me to play with other instruments," Anderson said.

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