October Events and Newsletter

Dear Guitar Friends,
Autumn is turning into a guitar bonanza with many events, concerts, and talented guitar performers appearing right here in Corvallis. Open your calendar and make note to check out these upcoming events and of course bring your guitar to the Corvallis Guitar Society (CGS) sessions and join in!

Here’s a quick summary in calendar order, note all of them are FREE so don’t miss out.

  • Thursday October 19th Corvallis Art Walk from 4-8pm featuring guitarists from CGS.
  • Friday October 20th 12:00 OSU Music a la Carte lunchtime concert featuring Cameron O’Conner
  • Monday November 6th 7:00 – 9:00 Guitar Society Meeting featuring maestro Mario Diaz
  • Monday December 4th 7:00 – 9:00 Guitar Society Meeting featuring the famous Oregon Guitar Quartet
  • Saturday December 16th 3pm Corvallis Library Concert featuring guitarists from CGS

Details of all these events are below…

New Maestro in Town – Cameron O’Conner Lunchtime Concert October 20th 12:00 Noon
Here’s a great opportunity to see classical guitarist Cameron O’Conner play the OSU Music a la Carte lunchtime concert Series on October 20th at noon at OSU. Details can be found at:
http://liberalarts.oregonstate.edu/school-arts-and-communication/music-la-carte

In the meantime, check out his website including some great performances on YouTube:
http://www.cameronoconnor.com/

Featured Artists for the Guitar Society Up and Coming Monday Night Meetings
Mario Diaz is a wonderfully talented classical guitarist based in Portland and part of the Oregon Guitar Quartet. We are delighted to have him do a solo performance for us at the Guitar Society on November 6th and then return on December 4th to perform with the Oregon Guitar Quartet.

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 Mario and the Oregon Guitar Quartet here: http://www.oregonguitarquartet.com/

Upcoming 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.

Saturday December 16th 3pm Featuring members of the Guitar Society solos , duets, and ensembles.
Saturday January 20th Featuring Berto Boyd & Grant Ruiz, Flamenco duo
Saturday February 17th Featuring Jon Sharp with special guest soprano Rebecca Fromherz

We played through some of the ensemble music for the December concert at the last CGS meeting on October 2nd and will be doing the same at the upcoming meeting on November 6th. Check out the music on the website, bring your guitar and join in!

Corvallis Art Walk and Guitar Society Join Forces
The Guitar Society is joining together with the Corvallis Arts Walk (CAW) to provide musicians in support of this months’s CAW on Thursday October 19th. This is in recognition of the 3rd anniversary of the CAW. Some of our members will be performing at venues as part of the CAW between 4pm and 8pm:

Venue Performers
The Arts Center 700 SW Madison Ave Zoe Moulton and Jay Archer
POPSART Studio (Madison Plaza) 425 SW Madison Ave Berto Boyd
CEI Artworks 408 SW Monroe/4th St. Raven Dow-Hygelund
Fairbanks Gallery OSU Campus 220 SW 26th St. Jon Sharp
Pegasus Gallery 341 SW 2nd Marlys Cappaert & Rick Debbout

Next Guitar Society Meeting Monday November 6th
We will continue this season’s first Monday sessions with our Guitar Society Meeting November 6th.

We will be playing ensemble music including looking at what we plan to play at the December 16th Concert at the Corvallis Library. 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.

I am delighted to announce that our featured artist for September will be Mario Diaz from Portland.

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 Mario Diaz

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 November 6th.

Best Regards
Jon Sharp
President, Corvallis Guitar Society

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

Newsletter June 2017

Dear Guitar Friends,
Here’s a quick summary of the content, then read on…!
• Wow, what a great First Corvallis Guitar Festival; we are already thinking about the Second!
• After the excitement of the first half of 2017, we will be taking a break over the summer; so no Society meetings in July or August.
• We kick off again in September with the next Guitar Society Meeting on Monday September 11th. 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
• Check out Berto performing at the Chintimini Festival here in Corvallis on June 25th 4pm.

What a remarkable 2017 to date with some of the best Guitar Society meetings we have had so far culminating in the First Corvallis Guitar Festival on June 9th and 10th! Thank you to everyone who came out 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 on the Guitar Society Facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/BertoGuitarra/videos/838497329631754/
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 free workshops on Saturday afternoon were very well attended and people relished the chance to learn from some of the great local teachers & performers we have here 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 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.

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 and Berto Boyd, 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. 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.

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.

Guitar Chamber Music at the Chintimini Festival
Sunday June 25th Berot Boyd will be performing with fine local and regional chamber musicians at the Chintimini Festival here in Corvallis at the First Presbyterian Church 4:00pm. He will be performing Castel-Nuovo Tedesco’s Guitar Quintet, Op. 143 and Boccherini’s Guitar Quintet in D Major, G 448 “Fandango”.

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

Best Regards
Jon Sharp
President, Corvallis Guitar Society