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April Newsletter

Dear Guitar Friends,
We want to thank Ryan Walsh for a lovely evening of guitar music at the Society meeting on April 3rd and also to thank everyone who joined in for the ensemble and got up to play during the open stage session. Our meetings are all about participation and inspiration and the last one fitted that bill beautifully.

Looking forward to our next meeting on May 1st, I have high expectations of another wonderful evening with featured artist James Bishop Edwards. Over his lengthy professional career James has arranged everything from Renaissance and Baroque harpsichord music to Spanish keyboard works and classic ragtime piano, to operatic arias, Jazz age standards and Beatles songs. James is looking forward to his visit to Corvallis and says, “I thought it would be fun to revisit, and also share, some of the beautiful pieces I’ve found compelling enough to make arrangements of for solo guitar.” So come along and enjoy works by composers including Enrique Granados, Georges Bizet, Frederic Chopin, Robert Schumann, Johannes Brahms, Debussy, and Turlough O’Carolan.

Also bring you 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 J

The agenda for the May 1st Meeting is as follows:
7:00 – 7:05pm Welcome
7:05 – 7:40pm Open Ensemble: bring your guitar, footstool and join in. Music can be downloaded from the website one week ahead of time.
7:40 – 8:10pm Open Stage: please share your music with us – all ages and abilities welcome.
8:10 – 8:20pm BREAK and Refreshments
8:20 – 9:00pm Featured Artist James Bishop Edwards

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.

Looking forward…

First Corvallis Guitar Festival!
The next big event will be the first Corvallis Guitar Festival scheduled for June 9th and 10th. 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.

Regarding the Master Classes
Adam will be conducting Master Classes with four students. Each student will have 30 mins in which they will perform pre-prepared music and then receive coaching, advice and insight on their playing from the maestro himself. If you are interested in participating in the Master Class then get in touch with me via email at [email protected]

Here’s the Festival Schedule:
Friday  June 9th
7:00pm                    Opening Concert: Jaxon Williams
Saturday June 10th
10:00am – 12:00     Masterclass with Adam; 4 students, 30 mins each
12:00 – 1:00pm                 LUNCH
1:00 – 2:45pm        Workshop: Intro 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 fingerstyle guitar – Jaxon Williams
5pm – 7pm                       DINNER
7pm- —                    Concert: Maestro Adam del Monte

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

And to Our Sponsors…
As a 501c 3 registered public charity we are looking for sponsors for the festival as well as for all our events through mid 2018. We are offering annual program advertising space, online, and video promotion for your business. If you are interested in learning more, email me or Board Member Jeff Muhr: [email protected]

Neil and Tamara Caulkins coming to Corvallis
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.

PDX Classic Guitar Concert Series
Next up are the Assad Brothers, one of my favourite guitar duets and will be playing at the Marylhurst University, Portland on April 27th.
http://www.portlandclassicguitar.com/app-news/the-assad-brothers

Thank you and I hope to see you on May 1st

Best Regards
Jon Sharp
President, Corvallis Guitar Society

Newsletter November 2016

Dear Guitar Friends,
Thank you to all of you who came to the Guitar Society Meeting on November 7th. Yet again we had a great ensemble session and some lovely performances on the open stage. Thanks everyone!

I am delighted to announce that, following the award of a grant from the Benton County Cultural Coalition (thank you BCCC!), we are now in the process of planning a Guitar Festival in Corvallis which is scheduled to take place on Friday 9th and Saturday 10th June 2017. Please mark your calendars! The Festival will comprise two concerts, a Masterclass with our internationally acclaimed headline concert artist (who we hope to announce soon), and guitar workshops. More information will follow as we nail down the details so please watch this space and please tell your friends.

Looking forward to our next Guitar Society meeting on December 5th, I am very pleased to announce that our featured artist will be Eugene based classical guitarist Ricardo Cárdenas. Ricardo hails from Chile and is a master of Latin American music by composers including some of my personal favourites, Heitor Villa-lobos, Antonio Lauro, Agustin Barrios, and Joao Pernambuco. Ricardo also plays his own arrangements of Chilean songs, so come along and enjoy listening to some great music. There is no admission charge, but donations are gratefully received.

I think everyone attending our meetings has been increasingly impressed with our open ensemble sessions. The overriding goal of these sessions is to encourage participation which has been expanding significantly in recent months. The quality of what we are playing is also on the up, but we will continue to include beginner-level material to ensure people of all ability levels are able to join in. As usual, I will post the music on the Guitar Society website one week ahead of the meeting so you can both review and download the parts you wish to play. Bring your parts, your guitar, and footstool and join in the fun!

Upcoming Events: for those of you who were mesmerized by Flamenco star Fanny Ara and her wonderful group at the Majestic Theater this month, and are hungry for more, please note that Flamenco Pacifico featuring our very own Berto Boyd with Grant Ruiz, along with percussionist Terry Longshore and dancer Elena Villa, will be performing at the Majestic Theater on January 22nd. This will coincide with the release of their debut album which you can view (and support if you wish) on the Indiegogo website:
http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/flamenco-pacifico-s-debut-album-music-guitar#/

Many of you will already be aware that Gracewinds Music is closing its store. I would like to thank Ken, Sharon and Travis for their wonderful support which has helped establish the Corvallis Guitar Society over the last 20 months. Thank you Gracewinds! We are in the process of identifying a suitable new venue for our monthly meetings and that will be announced in the New Year. In the meantime, we will continue to meet at Gracewinds Music (3rd Flr) as usual.

The agenda for the December 5th Meeting is as follows:
7:00 – 7:05pm      Welcome
7:05 – 7:40pm Open Ensemble: bring your guitar, footstool and join in. Music can be downloaded from the website one week ahead of time.
7:40 – 8:10pm Open Stage: please share your music with us – all ages and abilities welcome.
8:10 – 8:20pm BREAK and Refreshments
8:20 – 9:00pm Featured Artist Ricardo Cárdenas. 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