Corvallis Guitar Society Newsletter
December 2015
Dear Friends,
As we approach our one year anniversary I am delighted to report on what has been a great year for the Corvallis Guitar Society. Our duel mandate of bringing local guitarists out of the woodwork and bringing top class performers to our local stages has been far more successful than any of the founder Board members had imagined. This is attributable to the tremendous local support we have received for which we are extremely grateful. Thank You!
The Year in Review
Our monthly meetings (first Monday of the month) have provided opportunities for local guitarists to get on stage and play their music for a very enthusiastic and supportive audience. We have had over 75 performances during our open stage section featuring a wide range of guitar styles including classical, flamenco, acoustic finger-style, Brazilian, blues, jazz, folk, as well as numerous guitar ensembles and mixed guitar/flute duets. We look forward to maintaining this momentum and variety and encourage you all to bring your guitar to the next meeting on January 4th and join in.
The ensemble section of our meetings has proved a very popular way to get everyone involved in making music and in the process we have worked our way through over 30 pieces! We will continue this tradition as we move into 2016. We are in the process of revamping the website and we plan to post the ensemble music for upcoming meetings ahead of time. Please stay tuned and check the website for more information on this.
We have been delighted to welcome some wonderful featured artists to our stage over the course of the year who have dazzled us with their performances and musical artistry:
- Berto Boyd – Local Guitar Hero and Flamenco Maestro
- Grant Ruiz – Classical and Flamenco and duo partner extraordinaire
- Jon Sharp – Classical
- David Rogers – Classical, period and jazz/world fusion
- James Edwards – Classical maestro and, you name it, he can not only play it but compose it too…
- Hideki Yamaya – Renaissance and Baroque specialist
- Ryan Walsh – Classical jukebox with technique and musicianship in abundance
- Nick Rivard and Ben Wood local Brazilian and gypsy jazz exponents
Jose Luis Rodriguez; picture by Picture by Godofredo Vasquez, Gazette Times We rounded off the year in wonderful fashion by presenting one of the world’s most talented guitarists, Jose Luis Rodriguez, for a concert at Oddfellows Hall in downtown Corvallis.
It was a spectacular show to a sell-out audience that made the headlines on the cover of the Gazette-Times. Check out the story if you haven’t read it.
Looking Forward into the New Year
Building on the sell-out success of Jose Luis, we are looking to expand our concert program in 2016 and are in the process of identifying the artists we wish to bring in. Stay tuned for more details on that front. In addition, the Corvallis Guitar Society will be presenting “The Spanish Guitar: From the streets to the concert stage” at the Majestic Theater in Corvallis on Saturday April 23rd 2016. Part concert, part lecture and part demonstration, this entertaining event will consider how this modest instrument outlasted its competition and gained such popularity, discuss the guitar’s champions, composers and principal artists, and review how the Spanish guitar fairs today in the global fusion of music styles and performers. This event will feature the following performers: Berto Boyd, James Edwards, Grant Ruiz, Jon Sharp, and Tom Strini. Mark your calendars!
We will be kicking off 2016 with our regular Guitar Society meeting on Monday January 4th at 7:00pm at Gracewinds Music. I am delighted to welcome Jamie Stillway as our featured artist for this event.Jamie is an accomplished finger-style guitarist now living in Portland. She is in demand both as a performer and instructor and receives great reviews:“Mixing up genres without pretension, the nimble Stillway moves freely with wit and creative restlessness.” Jazz Times
“Cerebral jazz with blues roots and humor. Instrumental guitar at its best.” The Oregonian
The agenda for the meeting is as follows:
Agenda for Monday January 4th Meeting
7:00p – 7:05pm Welcome
7:05 – 7:30pm Ensemble – bring your guitar and join in.
7:30 – 8:10pm Open Stage – time to get on stage and play for a friendly audience.
BREAK & refreshments
8:20 –9:00pm Featured Artist: Jamie Stillway
We look forward to seeing you at the Guitar Society on January 4th and in the meantime we wish you a wonderful time over the festive period and look forward to a happy musical New Year!
Jon Sharp
President, Corvallis Guitar Society