Corvallis Guitar Society

Category: Events

  • March 2018 Newsletter & Upcoming Events Vol 1

    Dear Guitar Friends,
    I am still smiling after witnessing violist Kimberley Fitch and guitarist James Bishop Edwards performing as one of the best duets I have ever heard in terms of musical tonality, choice of music, (featuring a world premier by Roseburg OR composer Jason Heald), and sheer fun. Thanks to everyone who came out. Details of the next meeting will figure in Vol 2 of this month’s newsletter, but I wanted to highlight some local guitar events that are coming up in the very near future:

    OSU Guitar Ensemble Inaugural Performance!
    Friday, March 16 at 5:30pm
    Benton Hall room 303 (third floor)
    FREE!

    Dr. Cameron O’Connor directs the OSU Guitar Ensemble in an eclectic performance of large ensemble and duo music by Mozart, Debussy, Ben Folds, and Studio Ghibli.

    Flamenco Pacifico
    March 23 @ 7:30pm
    Majestic Theatre Main Stage
    Tickets: $28-30 Available online: https://app.arts-people.com/index.php?show=77438

    Premiere Flamenco music & dance ensemble led by Berto Boyd returns to the Majestic to take listeners on a journey through a musical landscape that can be haunting and deeply moving, due in no small part to the spine-tingling duende, or trance-like spirit unleashed by the music. Additionally, this concert will feature special guest artist and dancer Melissa Cruz from the Bay Area.

    Duo demitasse Spring Concert Presented by the Corvallis Guitar Society and Corvallis Arts Center
    Sunday April 8th 2018 3pm – 5pm
    Corvallis Arts Center
    Tickets $25 Available at Grass Roots Books and Music, Corvallis, and on line at Brown Paper Tickets: https://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/3355559
    We are very pleased to be working with the Corvallis Arts Center to present the spring concert on the afternoon of Sunday April 8th at the Corvallis Arts Center, downtown Corvallis. This promises to be a fantastic musical experience featuring two top flight musicians who will be performing a combination of solo and duet works. You can check out more about these two great talents on their respective websites:
    The local Guitar maestro Cameron O’Connor
    http://www.cameronoconnor.com/video.html
    Pianist Hui Wu
    http://www.huiwupianist.com/media/

    And feel free to share the event on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/194089658031485/

    Thanks and Best Regards
    Jon Sharp
    President, Corvallis Guitar Society

  • February Newsletter – Meetings and Events

    Dear Guitar Friends,
    Thanks to everyone who turned out for the January meeting. It was a great combination of education (Cameron’s workshop), playing (plenty of open stage performances), and listening (John Jarvie and Peter Thomas Duo from Eugene) which are the three core elements of the Guitar Society mission!

    The Next Guitar Society meeting is Monday March 5th 7-9pm Odd Fellows Hall, Corvallis
    We are delighted to welcome back as our featured artist one of our favourite classical guitar maestros and educator James Bishop-Edwards who will be performing together with Kimberly Fitch, an outstanding violist, both from Ashland, Oregon. Furthermore, James and Kimberly will be conducting the workshop focused on ensemble music, something they are very good at! Everyone is encouraged to bring their guitar and join in. We will perform Santa Lucia, one of the pieces our group ensemble performed at the first Winter Guitar Concert at Corvallis Library in December. This will be the starting platform for the workshop and James and Kimberly will take it from there. The music score for Santa Lucia is posted to the website. https://corvallisguitarsociety.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/Santa-Lucia-as-part-of-Forrest-Guitar-Ensemble-Group-3.pdf

    This is a great opportunity to build on our ensemble activities to which we will be returning in the second half of the year.

    AGENDA
    7:00 – 7:05pm Welcome
    7:05 – 7:40pm Guitar Ensemble Workshop with James Bishop-Edwards and Kimberly Fitch.
    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 Artists from Ashland  Guitar and viola Duo James Bishop-Edwards and Kimberly Fitch.

    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.

    We have a run of First Monday Guitar Society Meetings coming up with some great featured artists, so mark these down in your calendar:

    March 5th James Bishop-Edwards and Kimbery Fitch Classical Guitar and Viola Duo
    April 2nd Travis Johnson Classical Guitar
    May 7th Duo Tenebroso Classical Guitar Duo; David Franzen and Kristen Waligora https://duotenebroso.com/
    June 4th OSU Guitar Ensemble Directed by Cameron )’Connor

    Spring Concert Presented by the Corvallis Guitar Society and Corvallis Arts Center Sunday April 8th 2018
    DUO DEMITASSE CONCERT COMPRISING CLASSICAL GUITARIST CAMERON O’CONNNOR AND PIANIST HUI WU
    We are very pleased to be working with the Corvallis Arts Center to present the spring concert on the afternoon of Sunday April 8th at the Corvallis Arts Center, downtown Corvallis. This promises to be a fantastic musical experience featuring two top flight musicians who will be performing a combination of solo and duet works.
    Tickets are now available online at BrownPaper Tickets:
    https://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/3355559

    You can check out more about these two great talents on their respective websites:
    The local Guitar maestro Cameron O’Connor
    http://www.cameronoconnor.com/video.html

    Pianist Hui Wu
    http://www.huiwupianist.com/media/

    Guitar Festival  Weekend of June 8th and 9th
    FEATURING GRISHA GORYACHEV AND CAMERON O’CONNOR
    Following the success of our first festival in 2017, we will be presenting Corvallis’ Second Annual Guitar Festival in June 2018. We are delighted local maestro Cameron O’Connor is going to open the event for us with the Friday night concert and equally delighted that our Saturday night Concert Artist will be Grisha Goryechev. A native of St Petersburg, Russia, now residing in the US, Grisha is an extraordinarily talented and internationally famous classical and flamenco guitarist. He has plenty of postings on YouTube so you can check him out:
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gMCak0-0WNw&list=RDgMCak0-0WNw#t=45
    He will also be presenting the festival Master-Class on Saturday morning.
    You can find out more about Grisha here http://www.grishaguitar.com/

    We wish you all the very and I hope to see you at the Society Meeting on March 5th.

    Best Regards
    Jon Sharp
    President, Corvallis Guitar Society

  • Lute Recital – Hideki Yamaya Performing Renaissance Music February 14th

    Hideki Yamaya, an acclaimed lutenist from New Haven, CT will present a solo recital on 10-course Renaissance lute from 7:30pm to 8:30pm on Wednesday 14th February at OSU.

    The program will include selections from early 17th-century England, France, and Italy. Composers represented will include John Dowland, Robert Ballard, Johann Kapsberger, and Alessandro Piccinini.

    Oregon State University
    Benton Hall 303
    Corvallis, Oregon

    Free admission; suggested donation $10 general/$5 student

    Mr. Yamaya will also present a lute song concert with OSU vocal faculty Amy Hansen, soprano and Nicholas Larson, tenor, on the evening of Thu. Feb. 15 at the same venue from 7:30pm to 9:00pm.

  • Newsletter January 2018

    Dear Guitar Friends,
    Happy New Year to everyone. We are looking forward to a great year of guitar activities and here’s an overview of what is coming up:

    Winter Concert Series Continues at the Corvallis-Benton County Library Continues …
    Saturday Jan 20th  2018, 3:00 PM
    CONCERT FEATURING FLAMENCO GUITAR DUO BERTO BOYD & GRANT RUIZ
    Berto Boyd and Grant Ruiz will perform original Flamenco music from their CD “Convivencia”. Their group Flamenco Pacifico has been a favorite among Oregon festivals such as Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Oregon Country Fair, Britt Fest and DaVinci days. Web: www.flamencopacifico.com

    Saturday Feb 17th  2018, 3:00 PM
    CONCERT FEATURING CLASSICAL GUITARIST JON SHARP & SOPRANO REBECCA FROMHERZ
    This concert will feature music from South America including Heitor Villa-Lobos, one of Brazil’s greatest composers, along with Argentineans Jose Luis Merlin and others. We will also explore some of the modern compositions by American guitar maestro Andrew York and look back at early music from Europe that inspired the New World.

    The Next Guitar Society meeting is Monday February 5th 7-9pm Odd Fellows Hall, Corvallis
    We are very pleased to present local guitar duo John Jarvie and Peter Thomas from Eugene as our featured artists for the meeting. Check out their duets on YouTube, and come hear them play!
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DwW01Sb5SZk
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LClEa38tKnw
    You might also like to hear this great rendition of Barrios’ La Catedral by John Jarvie played standing up J
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=msgosfwou50
    AGENDA
    7:00 – 7:05pm Welcome
    7:05 – 7:35pm Guitar Workshop with Cameron O’Connor. Bring your guitar and plan on learning something from OSU’s classical Maestro!
    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 Artists Eugene Guitar Duo John Jarvie and Peter Thomas
    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.

    Spring Concert Presented by the Corvallis Guitar Society and Corvallis Arts Center Sunday April 8th 2018
    CONCERT FEATURING CLASSICAL GUITARIST CAMERON O’CONNNOR AND PIANIST HUI WU
    We are very pleased to be working with the Corvallis Arts Center to present the spring concert on the afternoon of Sunday April 8th. This promises to be a fantastic musical experience featuring two top flight musicians who will be performing a combination of solo and duet works. You can check out more about these two great talents on their respective websites:
    New local Guitar maestro Cameron O’Connor
    http://www.cameronoconnor.com/video.html
    Pianist Hui Wu
    http://www.huiwupianist.com/media/

    Local Guitar/Ukulele Ensemble
    For those of you interested in maintaining your guitar ensemble activities while we take a break at the Guitar Society, you may wish to join Anne Loewen’s guitar/ukulele ensemble which meets on the 2nd and 4th Tuesday of the month from 10-11am in the Allison room at the Presbyterian Church. There is no charge for this meeting. For more info contact Anne at [email protected]

    Oregon State University’s SAC Academy
    OFFERING GUITAR ENSEMBLE, GROUP GUITAR, AND PRIVATE LESSONS TO THE CORVALLIS GUITAR COMMUNITY BY GUITAR INSTRUCTOR CAMERON O’CONNOR
    Guitar Ensemble (Tue/Thurs 4-5pm) includes bi-weekly rehearsals of classical and contemporary music and a March concert.  Rehearsal and ensemble techniques— being present and aware of your conductor and neighbors, non-verbal communication, researching repertoire— will be stressed in an effort to produce the best possible performance at the end of the term. 
    http://liberalarts.oregonstate.edu/school-arts-and-communication/sac-academy/music/group-music-classes/guitar-ensemble
    Group Guitar Class (Wed/Fri 4-5pm) is offered for those interested in developing basic guitar skills, including familiarity with reading notation and performing in small group settings.
    http://liberalarts.oregonstate.edu/school-arts-and-communication/sac-academy/music/group-music-classes/group-guitar-i

    Guitar Festival  Weekend of June 8th and 9th
    Following the success of our first festival in 2017, we will be presenting Corvallis’ Second Annual Guitar Festival in June 2018. We are in the process of establishing the agenda for the festival, but we are delighted local maestro Cameron O’Connor is going to open the event for us with the Friday night concert. We are in the process of securing the Saturday Headline artist who, assuming all goes ahead, will be fabulous J

    We wish you all the very best over the festive season and I hope to see you at the Society Meeting on February 5th.

    Best Regards
    Jon Sharp
    President, Corvallis Guitar Society

  • November Newsletter: Winter Season Events

    Dear Guitar Friends,
    Here’s a quick summary of all that is coming up in the guitar world in and around Corvallis over the festive season:

    • Monday December 4th 7:00 – 9:00 Guitar Society Meeting featuring the famous Oregon Guitar Quartet (whatever else you are doing, don’t miss this event!)
    • Contemporary Fado​ ​Singer​ ​Ramana​ ​Vieira​ ​​Performing​ ​Portuguese​ ​World Music,​ ​New​ ​and​ ​Old together with local guitar maestro Ricardo Cardenas from Eugene: Venues are​ ​La​ ​Baguette​ ​Music​ ​cafe​ ​Ashland​ ​Dec.​ ​7,​ ​Axe​ ​&​ ​Fiddle,​ ​Cottage​ ​Grove, Dec.​ ​8th​ ​& Coelho​ ​Winery,​ ​Amity,​ ​Dec.​ ​9th.
    • Saturday December 16th 3pm Corvallis Library Winter Guitar Concert featuring guitarists from the Corvallis Guitar Society performing festive and international ensemble, duet, and solo music.
    • The January Guitar Society meeting will be Monday January 8th 2016 (because the first Monday is January 1st)
    • Friday January 12th 12:00 noon OSU a’ La Carte Lunchtime concert in the Student Memorial Building featuring Jon Sharp classical guitar, and Soprano Rebecca Fromherz.
    • Saturday January 20th 3pm Corvallis Library Winter Guitar Concert Series featuring Flamenco Guitar Duo Berto Boyd and Grant Ruiz

    Details of all these events are as follows…

    Monday December 4th Guitar Society Meeting 7pm at Odd Fellows Hall downtown Corvallis
    We are thrilled to welcome one of the world’s famous guitar quartets to our next meeting right here in Corvallis. Please mark your calendars and don’t miss this one! The Oregon Guitar Quartet is a critically acclaimed ensemble of four of the finest classical guitarists residing in Portland, Oregon. The group’s members Mario Diaz, John Mery, Jesse McCann and Bryan Johanson have been performing and recording together for nearly a decade. Their 2010 debut album Something Wondrous Fair was met with outstanding approval. Soundboard’s Jim McCutcheon wrote, “…it is the joyousness, energy, and precision of the performance that convinces me that this group is one to hear.” Since then, the group has released five more exciting and unique recordings each receiving rave reviews. We are delighted to have them come to Corvallis and they will perform selections from their new album, “Scarlatti” along with a variety of other exciting works. If you’re in the area, don’t miss out on this opportunity! You can find out more about the Oregon Guitar Quartet here: http://www.oregonguitarquartet.com/

    Ensemble & Open Stage Sessions at the December 4th Meeting:
    We rehearsed the ensemble music for the opening Winter Guitar Concert Series at Corvallis Library at the last CGS meeting on November 6th and will be doing the same at the upcoming meeting on December 4th. Check out the music on the website (see post below), bring your guitar and join in! Also, there will be an open stage session as usual for people to get up and share their music with us – all acoustic guitar styles are welcome.

    Agenda
    7:00 – 7:05pm Welcome
    7:05 – 7:45pm Open Ensemble: bring your guitar, footstool and join in. Music is already posted here on the website (see post below) and is the ensemble music for the December 16th concert.
    7:45 – 8:10pm Open Stage
    8:10 – 8:20pm BREAK and Refreshments
    8:20 – 9:00pm Featured Artists:  The Oregon Guitar Quartet!

    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.

    Portuguese World Music Concert Series
    Contemporary Fado​ ​Singer​ ​Ramana​ ​Vieira​ ​​Performing​ ​Portuguese​ ​World Music,​ ​New​ ​and​ ​Old together with local guitar maestro Ricardo Cardenas from Eugene. Oregonians will have a rare opportunity to hear Portuguese fado music performed live when California-based fado singer and composer Ramana Vieira brings her dramatic and powerful voice to the Willamette Valley for three concerts in December. Check out her website calendar for more details. http://ramanavieira.net/home.html
    Also, if you want to hear her singing Fado style music, check out YouTube:
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TYJxx_aFjdk

    The Winter Guitar Concert Series at Corvallis Library, hosted by the Guitar Society
    The Corvallis Guitar Society will also be hosting three one-hour concerts at the Corvallis Library. These concerts are FREE and open to the public, so tell your friends and come long for some enjoyable festive music from around the world.
    Saturday December 16th 3pm Featuring members of the Guitar Society solos , duets, and ensembles.
    Saturday January 20th 3pm Featuring Flamenco Duet Berto Boyd & Grant Ruiz
    Saturday February 17th 3pm Featuring Jon Sharp classical guitar and Soprano Rebecca Fromherz

    OSU a’ La Carte Concert Friday January 12th 12:00 Noon
    Wonderful Soprano Rebecca Fromherz and I (classical guitarist Jon Sharp) will be kicking off the OSU a’ La Carte Lunchtime Concert Series in the New Year on Friday January 12th. This free, lunch-hour concert series has been a tradition at Oregon State University since 1969. The concerts take place in the beautiful Memorial Union Lounge, beginning at 12 p.m. and lasting for approximately 45 minutes. We will be performing works by Heitor Villa-Lobos, John Dowland, Andrew York, and Jorge Morel.

    Thank you and I hope to see you at the Society Meeting on December 4th .

    Best Regards
    Jon Sharp
    President, Corvallis Guitar Society