Dear Guitar Friends,
Thank you to all of you who came to see the Jaxon Williams concert last month at the Troubadour in downtown Corvallis. It was wonderful to hear such a great young talent perform here in town and I am sure this is not the last we will see of him. Jaxon is a Fulbright Scholar who is now heading down to the University of Southern California where he will begin his Doctorate studies with William Kannengiser of the Los Angeles Guitar Quartet and we wish him all the very best.
Over the summer there have been some changes to the Corvallis Guitar Society Board:
Firstly, I am delighted to announce that Mickey Jones has agreed to join the Board effective immediately. Mickey brings with him a wealth of experience as a guitar performer and as a guitar teacher with a highly regarded national reputation. We look forward to working with Mickey to further our Society goal of promoting classical guitar and related styles from an educational, appreciation, and performance perspective.
Secondly, Carson Wille has decided to step down from the Board in order to have more time to devote to his own business and family. I would like to thank Carson for his diligence and assistance in helping establish and grow CGS during our first eighteen months. Thank you Carson!
I am pleased to announce that Corvallis Guitar Society is now officially a 501 (c) (3) registered public charity. This means that donations to the Society are tax deductible. I also wish to announce that we are establishing a Featured Artist Fund (FAF) with the goal of creating a fund to support the featured artists who perform for us at our monthly ‘first Monday’ meetings. Donations to the fund can be made via the paypal link on the website home page or at the members meeting.
Upcoming Events:
Because the first Monday of September falls on Labor Day, there will NOT be a Corvallis Guitar Society meeting on Monday September 5th.
The next Guitar Society meeting will therefore be on Monday October 3rd. It will take place as usual on the third floor of Gracewinds Music, Downtown Corvallis (please use rear entrance). I am thrilled to announce that our featured artist will be classical guitarist Scott Kritzer from Portland. Scott is an internationally recognized and critically acclaimed guitarist with a long concert career including performances at Carnegie Hall and the renowned Wigmore Hall in London. This is a great opportunity to hear, talk to, and learn from a true professional with a rich career. Don’t miss it!
You can find out more about Scott Kritzer on his website:
http://scottkritzer.com/
The agenda for the October 3rd Meeting is as follows:
7:00 – 7:05pm Welcome
7:05pm to 7:30pm Open Ensemble
Bring your guitar, footstool and join in. Music can be downloaded from the website one week ahead of time.
7:30 – 8:10pm Open Stage (please share your music with us – all ages and abilities welcome)
8:10 – 8:20 pm BREAK and Refreshments
8:20pm – 9pm Featured Artist Scott Kritzer
Finally, I would like to reflect on the lovely memorial service held on Saturday August 20th for former Board Member Michael Fridley. It was a musical celebration of Michael’s life featuring 15 performances by friends and relatives. Berto, Marlys, Tom and I were honored to perform ‘The Water is Wide’ on behalf of the Guitar Society as a tribute to Michael. Happy Trails Michael!
Thank you and Best Regards,
Jon Sharp
President, Corvallis Guitar Society