Classical guitarist Ismael Barajas performs Sunday.

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Classical and flamenco guitarist Ismael Barajas was a little surprised by the request: Would he perform a recital with the St. Andrew's Bach Society?

"What does flamenco have to do with Bach?" was his first thought.

Certainly, he can play Bach; there's plenty of music transcribed for classical guitar. And he is a classically trained musician who studied with the premier classical-guitar dynasty, the Romeros of Spain.

But Bach can be physically taxing, and Barajas, fresh from tendinitis surgery on his right hand, didn't think he was up to the task.

"Some of these Bach pieces really demand a lot of stretching and workout for the left hand, and the use of your fingers for your right hand is really demanding," he explained.

Besides, the longtime Tucson guitar virtuoso added with a laugh, "I figured they hear Bach all the time. Maybe it would be nice to give Bach a rest."

Instead, Barajas will perform some classical repertoire at his Bach Society recital on Sunday. Perhaps Heitor Villa-Lobos' Prelude No. 1, he said, describing it as a "very beautiful piece that was taught to me by the Romeros." He also will draw from his extensive flamenco background and perform his own transcription of John Lennon's "Imagine."

"I've always loved that tune. I figured, 'Wouldn't it be good to make it in a flamenco arrangement?' " he said.

Barajas has been performing flamenco — Spanish classical guitar — since he began playing guitar as a child. A Nogales, Sonora, native who immigrated to Tucson as a young boy, he took up guitar after joining his elementary school orchestra and learning stand-up bass, cello and violin.

"My thing about learning to play guitar was not about playing the guitar in the mariachi style. I didn't want to be a mariachi," he said. "In me, I felt this attraction very much to the classical and more so to the flamenco, because that was considered the highest style, the most difficult. I would listen to a lot of classical guitar."

Barajas earned his music degree from the University of Arizona. In addition to studying classical guitar with the Romeros, he studied flamenco under celebrated flamenco musicians Carlos Montoya, Jesus De Jerez and Eduardo Santiago.

The father of nine and grandfather of 10 has earned a living from music, as a performer and teacher. He adapted his styles to include salsa and jazz in addition to classical and flamenco to make himself more marketable to Tucson clubs and restaurants, and he has spent time as a studio musician. He also recorded an album of mostly original compositions with Columbia Records, but the disc has yet to be released. Barajas owns the masters and one day plans to release it. Of course, he notes with a laugh, he's been saying that for years.

Five months ago, he had to quit his regular gig at Casa Vicente, Tucson's lone Spanish restaurant, where he had been one of the resident flamenco guitarists since it opened a few years ago. Barajas, who also suffers from arthritis, underwent surgery to repair tendinitis in his right hand; he is scheduled this summer to undergo surgery for the left. He is confident that, by September, he'll be back on stage.

"I want to get back knowing I can play full-heartedly and not having to play with the intention 'I have to get through it.' I have to be able to feel and get into my music and play honestly for my audience," he explained.

"I feel real good about it. My hands are 95 percent there. Just the fact that I have an audience will push me over to 110 percent."