No strings attached Rodrigo Rodriguez performs with a clear understanding of his mission

Rodrigo Rodriguez began playing guitar when he was 8 years old in his native Quito, Ecuador.

“I came from a family of musicians,” he recalled last week. His father played guitar, and his uncle was known around South America for his six-string.

Rodriguez was something of a guitar prodigy himself, appearing on his own LP when he was just 10.

Launched on a career as a classical guitarist and music teacher, Rodriguez moved to the states and underwent a spiritual transformation 13 years ago after his agent dragged him to a Calvary Chapel service in Costa Mesa, Calif.

“I couldn’t understand how God could have a relationship with a human,” Rodriguez, now 48, said last week from his home in West Palm Beach, Fla. “I went to Calvary Chapel. … That day I got an answer for all of my questions since I was a little boy. I understood that … big checking accounts, big master’s degrees, big fame – they don’t mean [anything] unless these things are put in our Lord Jesus Christ’s hands, for his use in his kingdom.”

Since then, Rodriguez has dedicated his music to Christ, traveling throughout the world to use his guitar as a tool of worship. From Aug. 29 to Sept. 5, Rodriguez will perform at four Bangor and Ellsworth area churches before heading to the Czech Republic to perform with the Prague Philharmonic in October.

“Being in the ministry takes the pressure off me” while performing, Rodriguez said. “Now all I have to do is worship the Lord with the people. The people are no longer the audience … God created music for his own pleasure, God created music for people worshipping.” Rodriguez has released 13 albums over his career, the last four with ResurRecords, a Christian label.

The guitarist said his music is “many different styles, from classical to Latin jazz.”

Rodriguez’s years of training come through in his playing. He is technically excellent; every note is precise. His Latin roots are evident as well, the passion and emotion of his music has a Spanish feel. His guitar playing can sound fit for an opera hall one moment, then fit for a serenade the next.

Rodriguez plays without a band and does not sing. Yet he seems to have no problem creating a layered and nuanced sound using only his guitar. Hearing him play makes clear how Rodriguez can claim to be playing for God, yet never use lyrics to craft his message.

“Instrumental [music] is a very

personal worship experience. … You

can sing the words in your mind. When you sing the words in your mind and in your heart you understand more the meaning of the words. Worship is an attitude of submission, that’s what it’s all about. Be submitted to the Lord,” he said.

If you go …

Who: Guitarist Rodrigo Rodriguez

What: concerts in Maine

Where and When:

. Bangor Baptist Church, 1476 Broadway, 8 and 10:30 a.m. Aug. 29.

. Calvary Chapel, 154 River Road, Orrington, 6 p.m. Aug. 29.

. Pediatric floor, Eastern Maine Medical Center, Bangor, Aug. 30.

. Family Bible Church, Route 3, Ellsworth, 7 p.m. Sept. 4.

. Church of the Open Door, 270 Main Road North, Hampden, 8:30 and 10:30 a.m. Sept. 5.

. Bangor Baptist Church, 1476 Broadway, 6 p.m. Sept. 5.

Admission: Free. Offerings may be taken.

Information: (800) 963-8682.