Corvallis Guitar Society

August 2018 Newsletter & Events

THE NEXT GUITAR SOCIETY MEETING IS MONDAY SEPT 10^TH 7-9PM

Venue: Odd Fellows Hall, Corvallis
Free & Open to the Public

Dear Guitar Friends,

I hope you had a great time over the summer with all your activities and reveling in the pleasure generated by the extraordinary guitar talent we had at the 2^nd Annual Corvallis Guitar Festival in June. We have a great new season lined up so let’s get together, open our ears, pick up our guitars, and have fun!

The next Guitar Society meeting is approaching and I am delighted to announce that John Mery, will be our featured artist at that meeting on September 10^th. John has an extensive background in solo, ensemble, and symphonic guitar performances at the national and international level and his recordings are highly popular on online streaming services. He is a founder member of the famous Oregon Guitar Quartet and he continues to receive critical acclaim. We are very lucky to have him coming here to Corvallis, so don’t miss the opportunity to hear him play. Click here to find out more about him on his website: https://johnmery.com/

At the September 10^th meeting we will re-start the open Guitar Ensemble where EVERYONE is welcome to bring their guitar and join in. The ensemble music will be posted to the website one week ahead of the meeting – download the scores and decide which parts you might like to play, print them out and bring to the meeting.

We have confirmed a Winter Guitar Concert series which will take place at the Corvallis-Benton County Library (like last year) that will feature the open Guitar Ensemble and we will practice the pieces we will perform at each meeting starting September 10th . It’s okay if you choose not to be in the concert – still bring your guitar and join in!

AGENDA MONDAY SEPT 10th

7:00 – 7:05pm Welcome
7:05 – 7:35pm Open Guitar Ensemble: check out the music and download from the website one week before the meeting.
7:40 – 8:10pm Open Stage: share your music with us – all solo guitar styles (or ensembles) and all abilities welcome.
8:10 – 8:20pm BREAK and Refreshments
8:20 – 9:00pm Featured Artist: JOHN MERY

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.

Upcoming Guitar Society Meetings

Our Artistic Director Berto Boyd has done a great job lining up top quality featured artists for our upcoming Guitar Society Meetings:

Monday September 10^th: John Mery
Monday October 1^st: Will Brahm
Monday November 5^th: Wenjun Qi
Monday December 3^rd: David Tutmark

Winter Concert Series

The Guitar Society has set up a Winter Concert Series in cooperation with the Corvallis-Benton County Library. The first concert will be on Saturday December 15^th from 3pm – 4pm and will feature music by local guitar aficionados and the Guitar Society Group Ensemble. All guitarists are welcome to participate in the Guitar Society Group Ensemble section of the program; rehearsals take place at all the upcoming First Monday Guitar Society Meetings, and the music will be posted to the website by September 3^rd; download the scores and decide which parts you might like to play, print them out and bring to the meeting.

The Winter Concert Series is as follows:

Saturday December 15^th, 3-4pm Guitar Society Group Ensemble and local guitarists
Saturday January 19^th, 3-4pm Program TBD
Saturday February 16^th, 3-4pm Program TBD

New Board Members

I am delighted to announce that Sonya Springstead and Cody Jaffe have joined the Board of the Guitar Society. Sonya is taking over as Secretary and Cody is taking on the role of Webmaster. It is wonderful to get so much help from the community to continue growing the guitar scene here in the greater Willamette Valley and to keep bringing local guitarists out the woodwork!

I look forward to seeing you on September 10^th at our next monthly meeting,

Best Regards,

Jon Sharp

President, Corvallis Guitar Society

Fabulous Guitar Festival and What’s Up Next…

THE 2^nd ANNUAL CORVALLIS GUITAR FESTIVAL – WOW!
What a fantastic culmination to the first half of 2018 with the 2^nd Annual Corvallis Guitar Festival that took place on Friday June 8^th and Saturday June 9^th at the First Presbyterian Church, Corvallis!

Festival Design by Jennifer Lommers

A wonderful rendition of the world of classical guitar music in the opening concert by maestro Cameron O’Connor including some of his compositions inspired by his arrival here in the Pacific Northwest.

Our Saturday night audience witnessed a brilliant, jaw dropping, virtuosic flamenco performance by Grisha Goryachev. “An alien with extraordinary talent” according to Paco de Lucia, something to which we all agreed!

The Saturday Master class (free and open to the public) was enjoyed by many folks witnessing four local students performing prepared pieces and receiving guidance and insight from Grisha.

The opening free workshop on Saturday featured famous guitars provided by an anonymous Oregon collector. Cameron performed pieces on all of them and Tom described their historical significance to the audience.

The remaining free workshops on Saturday gave everyone a chance to bring out their guitars, join in, and learn from some of the best guitarists/teachers in the region.

A great raffle resulted in this gentleman winning a Cordoba Classical guitar!

Much delight expressed by the people who witnessed the wonderful performances by our two fantastic concert artists, Cameron and Grisha.

Thank you to the Oregon Arts Commission for their support and to our sponsors!
Anne Loewen
Shelton Farretta Guitars
Cordoba
Tom Strini
Jon Sharp Guitars
MiniFlex mic
Cloud and Kelly’s

THE NEXT GUITAR SOCIETY MEETING IS MONDAY SEPT 10^TH 7-9PM
Venue: Odd Fellows Hall, Corvallis
Free & Open to the Public

Looking forward, the Guitar Society is taking a break over the summer and we will get back together again at the September Guitar Society meeting.

At that meeting we will re-start the open guitar ensemble in Sept where EVERYONE is welcome to bring their guitar and join in. The ensemble music will be posted to the website one week ahead of the meeting – download the scores and decide which parts you might like to play, print them out and bring to the meeting. We will be working towards a winter guitar concert that will feature the ensemble and we will practice the pieces at each subsequent meeting. It’s okay if you chose not to be in the concert – still bring your guitar and join in!

We are still closing on the featured artists who will perform at the upcoming meetings, so watch this space…

AGENDA MONDAY SEPT 10th
7:00 – 7:05pm Welcome
7:05 – 7:35pm Open Guitar Ensemble: check out the music and download from the website one week before the meeting.
7:40 – 8:10pm Open Stage: share your music with us – all solo guitar styles (or ensembles) and all abilities welcome.
8:10 – 8:20pm BREAK and Refreshments
8:20 – 9:00pm Featured Artist: To be confirmed

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.

I look forward to seeing you on September 10^th at our next monthly meeting,

Best Regards
Jon Sharp
President, Corvallis Guitar Society

2nd Annual Corvallis Guitar Festival

SECOND ANNUAL CORVALLIS GUITAR FESTIVAL

Weekend of June 8^th and 9^th
Venue: 1^st Presbyterian Church 8^th St Downtown Corvallis

FEATURING CONCERTS BY GRISHA GORYACHEV AND CAMERON O’CONNOR

Many of you know Cameron O’Connor who will be opening the festival for us on Friday June 8^th and we are all excited to hear his exceptional talent in the world of classical guitar. But should you want to know more about Grisha Goryachev who is the Saturday night concert maestro, I recommend you read Tom Strini’s post on the Corvallis Review which he published after interviewing Grisha. Tom is a great writer and Grisha an extraordinary guitarist with a fascinating history so I highly recommend you check out the collision of these two talents here:
https://corvallisreview.blogspot.com/2018/05/corvallis-guitar-festival-grisha.html

Also check out the following video which summarizes the Festival:
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Tickets available downtown Corvallis at Grassroots Books and Music on 2nd St. and tickets are also available online at Brown Paper Tickets:
https://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/3405445

Fri. June 8th Cameron O’Connor $15 advanced $20 at the door
Sat. Jun 9th Grisha Goryachev $20 advanced $25 at the door
A festival package including tickets for both concerts and a Festival T Shirt featuring this beautiful design by local artist Jennifer Lommers is available for $52

Design by Jennifer Lommers

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

Friday June 8^th
7:30pm Opening Concert: Classical Maestro Cameron O’Connor

Saturday June 9th
10:00am – 12:00pm Masterclass with Grisha Goryachev: 4 students, 30 mins each
Free and open to the public: In the Sanctuary

12:00 – 1:00pm LUNCH

1:00 – 2:00pm Workshop with Cameron O’Connor & Tom Strini: Exhibition and demonstration of historically significant and famous guitars from an anonymous private collection. Join moderator Tom Strini and performer Cameron O’Connor for a discussion on the development of the guitar through showcasing a 100-year span of instruments from builders Ramirez, Hauser II, Romanillos, and Elliot.
Location: Free and open to the public: In the Sanctuary

2:00 – 3:00pm Workshop with Berto Boyd & Grant Ruiz: How to play Flamenco Rumba: Learn to play the popular 4/4 rhythm from Spain. Students will learn basic strumming patterns & techniques with an introduction of how to improvise over the chord changes. Bring your guitar!
Location: Free and Open to the Public in the Allison Room

3:00 – 3:15pm BREAK

3:15 – 4:15pm Workshop with Mickey Jones: Practice Techniques for the Hands and the Mind: An introduction to practice approaches that will help the guitarist get the most out of their practices by addressing focus, concentration, problem solving, and musical imagination. Appropriate for all levels, bring your guitar!
Location: Free and Open to the Public in the Allison Room

4:15 – 5:15pm Workshop with Mario Diaz (of the Oregon Guitar Quartet) : Musica Costeña: An introduction to the instruments and different musical forms from the coast of Peru. We will break down the respective rhythms and accompaniment techniques in Landó, Festejo, Marinera and more. Bring your guitar!
Location: Free and Open to the Public in the Allison Room

5:15 – 7pm DINNER

7:30pm- — Closing Concert: Flamenco/Classical Maestro Grisha Goryachev

I look forward to seeing you at the Guitar Festival!