Sheldon Urlik, a collector of classical and flamenco guitars, has donated 51 instruments from his collection to Arizona State University’s School of Music, Dance and Theatre. The gift, which ASU values at about $1.4 million, spans more than a century of guitar making, from an 1869 Francisco González to a 2015 instrument by Marshall Brune. Urlik gave the collection to ASU in 2024, and students now use the guitars for performances, study and rental, rather than seeing them kept as private possessions.
A collection built over decades
Urlik is an international collector of classical and flamenco guitars who documented his holdings in A Collection of Fine Spanish Guitars from Torres to the Present, first published in 1997. A revised second edition appeared in 2016. According to ASU, luthier Richard Bruné, the collection’s initial appraiser, praised Urlik for collecting flamenco guitars with the same care as classical ones. Bruné said Urlik wanted the collection to trace the evolution of the Spanish guitar from the Torres model to the international instrument now known as the classical guitar.
The guitars span more than a century
The donated instruments run from the 1869 González to the 2015 Brune, and most of them date from before 2000. Guitars played at ASU’s “Recuerdos de España” concert last fall included an 1869 Francisco González, a 1926 Antonio Emilio Pascual Viudes, a 1956 José Ramirez and a 1968 Manuel de la Chica. The collection also includes a Rafael Casana guitar made in 1910 and a Manuel Ramirez guitar from around 1910. ASU describes the collection as documenting the evolution of traditional lutherie, from early instruments built before standardised design to later guitars whose more consistent construction supports the projection sought by contemporary performers.
A student found the right guitar for a competition
Davide Picci, an Italian doctoral student who came to ASU through the Fulbright Program, was preparing for an international-level competition when he arrived and needed an instrument that suited him. Martha Masters, assistant professor of guitar and president of the Guitar Foundation of America, gave him the chance to select a guitar from the collection. After working through a few instruments, he chose a 1981 Martin Fleeson. Picci said he felt a strong connection with it the first time he played it, and Masters said the instrument is making a difference in what he can express from the stage.
Students can play guitars they could not afford
The collection has also reached students who could not easily buy a professional instrument. Luis Rodriguez, a Bachelor of Music student in music therapy, had been told by instructors that he had outgrown his entry-level Córdoba but could not afford an upgrade. Through the collection he rents a 1990 Thomas Humphrey guitar, which he says gives him a wider range of colour, volume and expression. Caleb Bailey and Veronica Kreeger, both second-year Doctor of Musical Arts students in guitar performance, played historic instruments from the collection at the “Recuerdos de España” concert. Kreeger performed on the 1926 Pascual Viudes. Masters said access to a truly professional-level guitar would have been out of reach for many of these students, and compared the effect to giving a computer science major a state-of-the-art computer.
Urlik decided to sell, then to donate
Masters has known Urlik for more than two decades through the Guitar Foundation of America. When Urlik was ready to sell his collection about six years ago, he reached out to her for help. He sold almost half of the collection independently and then chose to donate the remaining 51 guitars to ASU. Masters called the chance phone call that brought the instruments to ASU “a lightning stroke of luck for me, ASU and the musical world.” Urlik said he is glad the instruments are still teaching, echoing a saying he attributed to guitarist Pepe Romero: “Every guitar is a teacher.”
The collection could support future musicians
Urlik also supported the possibility that some of the instruments of greater interest to collectors may eventually be sold. Any proceeds would help fund maintenance of the collection, guitar-programme scholarships and visiting artists. Audiences can hear more instruments from the collection at ASU Guitar Night on Feb. 24 at Katzin Concert Hall on the Tempe campus.
A private collection became a student resource
What began as Urlik’s personal passion is now an educational resource for a new generation of players. The 51 guitars preserve instruments from different eras while letting students play them rather than view them behind glass. For students such as Picci and Rodriguez, the collection provides professional-level instruments at a formative point in their careers.
