Bringing local guitarists out of the woodwork
This year’s opening winter concert takes in music from all over the world and from many different musical eras. Traditional melodies, folk songs, and carols are included and the ensemble will be performing the world premier of two Catalonian carols arranged for the Guitar Society by Oregonian composer Jason Heald.
Venue: Odd Fellows Hall, Corvallis
Free & Open to the Public
Dear Guitar Friends,
I hope you had a great time over the summer with all your activities and reveling in the pleasure generated by the extraordinary guitar talent we had at the 2nd Annual Corvallis Guitar Festival in June. We have a great new season lined up so let’s get together, open our ears, pick up our guitars, and have fun!
The next Guitar Society meeting is approaching and I am delighted to announce that John Mery, will be our featured artist at that meeting on September 10th. John has an extensive background in solo, ensemble, and symphonic guitar performances at the national and international level and his recordings are highly popular on online streaming services. He is a founder member of the famous Oregon Guitar Quartet and he continues to receive critical acclaim. We are very lucky to have him coming here to Corvallis, so don’t miss the opportunity to hear him play. Click here to find out more about him on his website: https://johnmery.com/
At the September 10th meeting we will re-start the open Guitar Ensemble where EVERYONE is welcome to bring their guitar and join in. The ensemble music will be posted to the website one week ahead of the meeting – download the scores and decide which parts you might like to play, print them out and bring to the meeting.
We have confirmed a Winter Guitar Concert series which will take place at the Corvallis-Benton County Library (like last year) that will feature the open Guitar Ensemble and we will practice the pieces we will perform at each meeting starting September 10th . It’s okay if you choose not to be in the concert – still bring your guitar and join in!
7:00 – 7:05pm Welcome
7:05 – 7:35pm Open Guitar Ensemble: check out the music and download from the website one week before the meeting.
7:40 – 8:10pm Open Stage: share your music with us – all solo guitar styles (or ensembles) and all abilities welcome.
8:10 – 8:20pm BREAK and Refreshments
8:20 – 9:00pm Featured Artist: JOHN MERY
Entrance is FREE and open to the public (donations gratefully received).
Location: Odd Fellows Hall, 223 SW 2nd St, Corvallis, OR 97333. The entrance is between New Morning Bakery and Sedlaks Boots and Shoes.
Our Artistic Director Berto Boyd has done a great job lining up top quality featured artists for our upcoming Guitar Society Meetings:
Monday September 10th: John Mery
Monday October 1st: Will Brahm
Monday November 5th: Wenjun Qi
Monday December 3rd: David Tutmark
The Guitar Society has set up a Winter Concert Series in cooperation with the Corvallis-Benton County Library. The first concert will be on Saturday December 15th from 3pm – 4pm and will feature music by local guitar aficionados and the Guitar Society Group Ensemble. All guitarists are welcome to participate in the Guitar Society Group Ensemble section of the program; rehearsals take place at all the upcoming First Monday Guitar Society Meetings, and the music will be posted to the website by September 3rd; download the scores and decide which parts you might like to play, print them out and bring to the meeting.
The Winter Concert Series is as follows:
Saturday December 15th, 3-4pm Guitar Society Group Ensemble and local guitarists
Saturday January 19th, 3-4pm Program TBD
Saturday February 16th, 3-4pm Program TBD
I am delighted to announce that Sonya Springstead and Cody Jaffe have joined the Board of the Guitar Society. Sonya is taking over as Secretary and Cody is taking on the role of Webmaster. It is wonderful to get so much help from the community to continue growing the guitar scene here in the greater Willamette Valley and to keep bringing local guitarists out the woodwork!
I look forward to seeing you on September 10th at our next monthly meeting,
Best Regards,
Jon Sharp
President, Corvallis Guitar Society
THE 2nd ANNUAL CORVALLIS GUITAR FESTIVAL – WOW!
What a fantastic culmination to the first half of 2018 with the 2nd Annual Corvallis Guitar Festival that took place on Friday June 8th and Saturday June 9th at the First Presbyterian Church, Corvallis!
Festival Design by Jennifer Lommers
A wonderful rendition of the world of classical guitar music in the opening concert by maestro Cameron O’Connor including some of his compositions inspired by his arrival here in the Pacific Northwest.
Our Saturday night audience witnessed a brilliant, jaw dropping, virtuosic flamenco performance by Grisha Goryachev. “An alien with extraordinary talent” according to Paco de Lucia, something to which we all agreed!
The Saturday Master class (free and open to the public) was enjoyed by many folks witnessing four local students performing prepared pieces and receiving guidance and insight from Grisha.
The opening free workshop on Saturday featured famous guitars provided by an anonymous Oregon collector. Cameron performed pieces on all of them and Tom described their historical significance to the audience.
The remaining free workshops on Saturday gave everyone a chance to bring out their guitars, join in, and learn from some of the best guitarists/teachers in the region.
A great raffle resulted in this gentleman winning a Cordoba Classical guitar!
Much delight expressed by the people who witnessed the wonderful performances by our two fantastic concert artists, Cameron and Grisha.
Thank you to the Oregon Arts Commission for their support and to our sponsors!
Anne Loewen
Shelton Farretta Guitars
Cordoba
Tom Strini
Jon Sharp Guitars
MiniFlex mic
Cloud and Kelly’s
THE NEXT GUITAR SOCIETY MEETING IS MONDAY SEPT 10TH 7-9PM
Venue: Odd Fellows Hall, Corvallis
Free & Open to the Public
Looking forward, the Guitar Society is taking a break over the summer and we will get back together again at the September Guitar Society meeting.
At that meeting we will re-start the open guitar ensemble in Sept where EVERYONE is welcome to bring their guitar and join in. The ensemble music will be posted to the website one week ahead of the meeting – download the scores and decide which parts you might like to play, print them out and bring to the meeting. We will be working towards a winter guitar concert that will feature the ensemble and we will practice the pieces at each subsequent meeting. It’s okay if you chose not to be in the concert – still bring your guitar and join in!
We are still closing on the featured artists who will perform at the upcoming meetings, so watch this space…
AGENDA MONDAY SEPT 10th
7:00 – 7:05pm Welcome
7:05 – 7:35pm Open Guitar Ensemble: check out the music and download from the website one week before the meeting.
7:40 – 8:10pm Open Stage: share your music with us – all solo guitar styles (or ensembles) and all abilities welcome.
8:10 – 8:20pm BREAK and Refreshments
8:20 – 9:00pm Featured Artist: To be confirmed
Entrance is FREE and open to the public (donations gratefully received).
Location: Odd Fellows Hall, 223 SW 2nd St, Corvallis, OR 97333. The entrance is between New Morning Bakery and Sedlaks Boots and Shoes.
I look forward to seeing you on September 10th at our next monthly meeting,
Best Regards
Jon Sharp
President, Corvallis Guitar Society