Category: Newsletter

Dear Guitar Friends,
Thank you to all of you who came to the Guitar Society Meeting on October 3^rd. We had a great ensemble session and some wonderful performances on the open stage by a number of our members of all ages and abilities. Our featured artist, Scott Kritzer, played some great pieces and provided fascinating insight into the background of the J. S. Bach Cello Suite arrangements by classical maestro and pedagogue Michael Lorimer. All-round entertaining, educational, and inspirational. Thanks everyone!

For those of you who missed Scott, he will be performing as part of the Portland Classic Guitar Concert Series on Friday December 9^th.  On the same subject, a group of us from CGS will be attending a number of the Portland guitar concerts, the next one being the Oregon Guitar Quartet on Friday October 28^th. If you are interested in carpooling, get in touch with me. More information about that series can be found at:
http://www.portlandclassicguitar.com/2016-2017-upcoming-concerts

Meanwhile, here in Corvallis, we are pleased to announce that our very own Berto Boyd will be guest starring with internationally renowned flamenco dancer/choreographer Fanny Ara who is presenting her new show at the Majestic Theater, downtown Corvallis, on Saturday November 12^th starting at 7:30pm. If you have never seen a flamenco show featuring all the elements of this amazing art form including singing, dance, and guitar, then check this one out. For more information and tickets go to:
http://www.majestic.org/event/on-our-way-a-night-of-flamenco/?instance_id=1598

Looking forward, our next meeting will be on Monday November 7^th.  Following the fun we had last time with everyone participating, this meeting will feature extended ensemble and open stage sessions.

The agenda for the November 7^th Meeting is as follows:

7:00 – 7:05pm      Welcome
7:05pm to 7:50pm Open Ensemble: bring your guitar, footstool and join in. Music can be downloaded from the website one week ahead of time.
7:50 – 8:00 pm BREAK and Refreshments
8:00 – 9:00pm Open Stage: please share your music with us – all ages and abilities welcome

The meeting will take place as usual on the 3rd floor at Gracewinds Music downtown Corvallis (please use rear entrance).

Thank you and Best Regards,
Jon Sharp
President, Corvallis Guitar Society

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:

Continue reading “August 2016 Newsletter”

Dear Guitar Friends,
What a great time we all had with the events surrounding the visit by the great guitarist Tavi Jinariu. The concert on Sunday June 5^th featuring many of the works performed by Andre Segovia was truly wonderful. Tavi played a great program displaying his prodigious talent and truly emulating the philosophy of Segovia that it is ‘all about the music’! Thanks to everyone for the great turn-out despite the heat.

On Monday June 6^th at Gracewinds Music, Tavi set a high bar for what we hope will be the first of many Master Classes presented by the Corvallis Guitar Society. Four students, Sofia, Paige, Paul, and Zoe performed wonderfully for Tavi who then worked with each student in turn to improve their playing and performance of the piece. Tavi’s generous spirit, knowledge, and musical genius combined to deliver valuable lessons to all of us who attended the class. If you have never been to a master class before, keep an eye open for the next one as they have a long tradition in music pedagogy (starting with Franz Liszt) and are a very valuable learning experience whether you perform in, or simply audit, the class.

It was great to hear Tavi recount his life story at the Meet and Greet at The Troubadour on Tuesday June 7^th as it pertains to the guitar from his childhood playing in Transylvania to his experience studying with Christopher Parkening in California. Hearing about his musical experiences and music philosophy as well as his teaching ethos endeared him greatly to those of us seeking to encourage and promote guitar playing. Tavi’s goal of “Putting the guitar back in the hands of the people” resonated strongly with Corvallis Guitar Society’s motto “Bringing local guitarists out of the woodwork” so I think we can expect to see Tavi involved in our future activities 🙂

Upcoming Events:
Looking forward please note there will NOT be a Corvallis Guitar Society meeting on Monday July 4^th owing to the national holiday.

Monday August 1^st 7pm – 9pm Guitar Society Meeting, Gracewinds Music – more details on that will follow.

Saturday July 23rd: The Guitar Society has booked a table at the Corvallis Farmers Market on July 23^rd where we will be playing and handing out information. Please come on down and say hello!

In the meantime here is some news from a couple of very good friends of the Guitar Society who have been featured artists in the past – James Edwards and David Rogers. Here is another opportunity to catch up with them:

As of now: James Edwards has updated his website to make all the album downloads of his music free.  Sheet music for his arrangements is also available on the site. http://www.jamesbishopedwardsguitar.com/
Friday July 15^th: Laura Wayte and Guitarist, David Rogers perform a concert of Spanish Songs and Joni Mitchell covers, Friday, July 15 at 7:00pm at Marks Ridge Winery, 29255 Berlin Rd., Sweet Home, OR 97386

 Saturday August 20^th Musical Celebration of the life of Michael Fridley.

Thank you and Best Regards,
Jon Sharp
President, Corvallis Guitar Society