September Activities & Newsletter Vol. I

Dear Guitar Friends,
Welcome back, I hope you all had a great summer reflecting in the glow of a wonderful guitar festival in June. Looking forward here’s a summary of what’s coming next:

  • We kick off again in September with the next Guitar Society Meeting on Monday September 11th, 7-9pm at Oddfellows Hall downtown Corvallis.
    • Note this is NOT the first Monday because that is Labor Day, but rather the Second Monday.
  • Featured Artist for the September meeting will be Ed Dunsavage, a great jazz guitarist from Ashland.
  • We have lined up featured artists for our monthly meetings out through February 2018:
    October – Scott Kritzer
    November – Mario Diaz
    December – Oregon Guitar Quartet
    February – Jarvis-Thomas Classical guitar duo
  • Planning is underway for other events, future concerts, and the 2018 guitar festival.
  • Read on…

Next Guitar Society Meeting Monday September 11th
We will kick off the second half of the year with our Guitar Society Meeting on September 11th We will be playing more ensemble music arranged by James Bishop Edwards, plus new material that will be posted to the website one week ahead of the meeting. There will be an open stage session as usual for people to get up on stage and play – all acoustic guitar styles are welcome.

I am delighted to announce that our featured artist for September will be Ed Dunsavage. Ed is a guitar instructor at Southern Oregon University and works as artistic and education director for the Siskiyou Music Project, also in Ashland. His trio was voted Favorite Jazz Group in the Ashland 2017 Sneak Preview Readers Poll! Some of his musical influences are Wes Montgomery, Joe Pass, Pat Martino, John Coltrane, Charlie Parker, Bill Evans, Keith Jarrett and Ralph Towner. Ed has performed at many venues and festivals all over the west coast and we are honored to have him share his music with us right here in Corvallis!

Check out a couple of YouTube videos of Ed performing:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bZ56yFjI9SI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=77-OMQV3TQo

So bring your own guitar and join in with the Ensemble and share your own music with us during the open stage session – ALL levels of music are very welcome, then sit back and enjoy the music of Ed Dunsavage.

September Meeting Agenda
7:00 – 7:05pm Welcome
7:05 – 7:35pm Open Ensemble: bring your guitar, footstool and join in. Music can be downloaded from the website one week ahead of time.
7:35 – 8:10pm Open Stage
8:10 – 8:20pm BREAK and Refreshments
8:20 – 9:00pm Featured Artist Ed Dunsavage

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.

Thank you and I hope to see you on September 11th.

Best Regards
Jon Sharp
President, Corvallis Guitar Society

First Corvallis Guitar Festival


Thank you to everyone who came to the First Corvallis Guitar Festival June 9th and 10th and joined in the fun and enjoyed the amazing talent we had on stage. Our headline artist Adam del Monte put on a fantastic concert of classical and flamenco music on Saturday night and wowed the audience. If you missed it, check out this snippet of his concert…

 

@adamdelmonte tearing up some #bulerias on his encore for the recent #CorvallisGuitarFestival #flamencoguitar #corvallisguitarsociety #guitarfestival

Posted by Berto Boyd – Flamenco Guitarist and Composer on Tuesday, June 13, 2017

His Master Class Saturday morning was very insightful and I would like to thank local students Devon, Nathan, Paige, and Raven who took to the stage to perform for Adam during that session.

The workshops that were free and open to the public on Saturday afternoon were very well attended and people relished the chance to learn from some of the great local teachers & performers we have in Corvallis including Mickey Jones and Berto Boyd. And rising star Jaxon Williams, an Oregonian and Fulbright Scholar who opened the festival for us on Friday night with a wonderful performance and a great program, and shared his insights into what makes him so good with our workshop attendees. Thank you Jaxon!

We were very pleased with the turnout which surpassed our expectations and more so with the tremendous enthusiasm expressed by everyone who came. I would like to express my gratitude to the Benton County Cultural Coalition whose grant made this event possible as well as to our sponsors Shelton Faretta Guitars, Cordoba Guitars, Jon Sharp Guitar and Tom Strini.

I would like to thank Wayne and Lily from Hilltop Music, Phoenix Oregon, who displayed wonderful collection of fine instruments, current and historical, for our festival including a Hernandez guitar from 1922.

And finally thank you to our Board members for the hours of hard work they put in voluntarily. We are already looking forward to the Second Corvallis Guitar Festival!

May 2017 Newsletter

Dear Guitar Friends,
Thanks to everyone for coming out to enjoy a wonderful guitar evening on May 1st and a big thank you to James Bishop-Edwards for delighting us with his gallery of classical arrangements. It was a great ensemble session and James was so impressed that he has arranged a piece of music by Lorenzo Barcelata called “Maria Elena” especially for us to play. I look forward to hearing us play this piece at the next Society meeting on June 5th and I will be posting the score and guitar parts to the website shortly.

I would also like to point out that recordings of a number of James’ musical arrangements can be downloaded for FREE from his website. And, if you wish, the scores of his arrangements are also available for a modest fee. So check out his website:  https://www.jamesbishopedwardsguitar.com/

First Annual Corvallis Guitar Festival
Looking Forward we have quite a Bonanza of guitar activity happening in the next few weeks. The Corvallis Guitar Society is proud to present the First Annual Corvallis Guitar Festival taking place on June 9th and 10th downtown at the 1st Presbyterian Church 8th St. Adam del Monte will be our headline artist for the Saturday concert. Adam is one of the leading flamenco and classical guitarist/composers of his generation with a remarkably diverse list of accomplishments under a banner of artistic and cultural diversity. Oregonian and rising star Jaxon Williams will be opening the festival on Friday night and there will be Master Classes and workshops which will be free and open to the public. So mark your calendar, bring your guitar and join in the fun.

Tickets for the two concerts are available online – check out the Guitar Society Website www.corvallisguitarsociety.org or can be purchased downtown Corvallis at Grassroots Books and Music on 2nd St. The Master Class and all workshops are free and open to the public.

The Festival Schedule is as follows:
Friday  June 9th
7:00pm                    Opening Concert: Jaxon Williams

Saturday June 10th
10:00am – 12:00   Masterclass with Adam del Monte; 4 students, 30 mins each
12:00 – 1:00pm                 Break
1:00 – 2:45pm        Workshop: Introduction to Classical Guitar: Mickey Jones
2:45 – 3:00pm                  Break
3:00 – 4pm              Workshop: Flamenco Technique: Berto Boyd
4:00pm – 5pm        Workshop: Fundamentals of right & left hand for all solo guitar styles: Jaxon Williams
5pm – 7pm                       Break
7pm- —                    Concert: Maestro Adam del Monte

All festival events will take place at the 1st Presbyterian Church downtown Corvallis: 114 SW 8th St.

Check out the Guitar Society website for more details about the festival .

Next Guitar Society Meeting Monday June 5th
Looking forward to our next Society Open Meeting on June 5th, I am anticipating a lot of fun with an extended ensemble and open stage session. We will be playing ensemble music arranged by James Bishop Edwards and our very own Berto Boyd, plus some of our greatest hits from previous meetings. In addition there will be more time for people to get up on stage and play – all acoustic guitar styles are welcome! Bring your own guitar and join in with the Ensemble (music will be posted to the website one week ahead of the meeting) and share your own music with us during the open stage session – ALL levels of music are very welcome.
7:00 – 7:05pm Welcome
7:05 – 8:00pm Open Ensemble: bring your guitar, footstool and join in. Music can be downloaded from the website one week ahead of time.
8:00 – 8:10pm BREAK and Refreshments
8:10 – 9:00pm Open Stage: please share your music with us – all ages and abilities welcome.
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.

Sunday May 28th Neil and Tamara Caulkins
Neil and Tamara are experts in the world of early nineteenth century music for two guitars and will be coming to Corvallis to share their knowledge and music on period instruments at the Troubadour at 2:00pm on Sunday May 28th. Neil plays a replica of a seven string guitar made in Mirecourt, France, by Aubry-Maire in 1830 and Tamara plays an original anonymous French instrument from about 1825. The program will be entirely of 19th century guitar duets and will include works by Henry, Giuliani, Lhoyer, and Mertz.  Neil will also be presenting a paper on the early 19th century performance practice of the improvised prelude at a conference at the Musicking Conference at 3:00pm in the Univ. of Oregon Collier House in Eugene at the U of O on May 26th.

 Thank you and I hope to see you on June 5th.

Best Regards
Jon Sharp
President, Corvallis Guitar Society