Worcester Classical Guitar Society
The Guitar Society promotes ensemble playing for guitarists of all ages and abilities. We have a Guitar Orchestra, a Youth Guitar Orchestra (WYGO) and the long-standing Worcester Guitar Quartet. We also encourage other ensembles and solo playing.
New members are very welcome - just follow the rehearsals link below and join us at St. George's
Read on for all the news on artists, concerts and other random ramblings that may be of interest.
We also have some guitar music videos for you to enjoy.
Barbourne June 7th
Salwarpe June 20th
Land, Sea & Sky
WCGS Concerts June
This year the Guitar Society will be holding two concerts with the theme Land, Sea & Sky. The concerts will feature the Worcester Classical Guitar Society, The Worcester Guitar Quartet, plus solos and duets.
The first concert will be at our normal venue of St. George’s Church Hall in Barbourne, Worcester. It will take place at 2:30 pm, on June 7th, with an interval and break for refreshments in the garden.
The second event will be at Salwarpe Village Hall on June 20th at 7:30 pm
Watch this space for more information.
Plays Lejos de Casa
Andrea González Caballero
The female voice of the Spanish Guitar
The BBC Music Magazine described Andrea as one of today’s young rising stars of the classical guitar. Andrea has appeared at international festivals and concert series around the world.
In her effort to promote and expand the classical guitar repertoire, Andrea has premiered pieces composed by Sergio Assad, Joaquín Clerch, Carlos Fernando López and Dustin Carlson among others.
Here Andrea is playing “Lejos de Casa” by the Argentinian composer Maximo Diego Pujol. Beautifully played and a superb sound on this YouTube recording.
Listen to Lejos de Casa HERE
Handmade Guitars
Steve Toon
Gloucester Based Luthier
During our recent recital given by Eleanor Kelly, she was playing a guitar made by Steve Toon, who has a workshop in Gloucester, making Classical and Jazz guitars. Eleanor Kelly’s guitar had a beautiful tone and excellent sustain throughout the register. It did justice to Ms Kelly’s sensitive playing and her love for the music - all written by female composers.
We were lucky enough to have Steve Toon present at our recital and he was good enough to have a chat with many of the Guitar Society members during the interval. We hope to put on an event soon featuring Steve showing his guitars and talking about his work. Possibly also with local Worcester luthier Mark Arnott, who was also present at the Eleanor Kelly recital.
For the moment we have a link below to Steve Toon’s website which features an interesting video of Steve talking about his work, plus there are videos of guitarists playing Steve’s guitars - including Eleanor Kelly, in case you missed her recital or would just like to hear her music again.
Steve Toon Website HERE
Sunday May4th, 7:30 pm
Grisha's Flamenco Guitar Concert
The Old Rep Theatre, Birmingham
A native of St. Petersburg, Russia, Grisha Goryachev is renowned for his extraordinary musical sensitivity and technical virtuosity in both classical and flamenco styles. Grisha is one of very few guitarists in the world who is reviving the tradition of solo flamenco guitar in a concert setting that was practiced by legendary flamenco masters such as Ramón Montoya and Sabicas.
Grisha’s passion for flamenco deepened during a transformative tour of Spain, where he was invited to play for flamenco legend Paco de Lucía. Impressed by Grisha’s artistry, de Lucía personally supported his application for an American visa for “Extraordinary Ability,” enabling him to share his unique blend of flamenco and classical guitar with audiences in the United States. Grisha’s dedication to his craft earned him the Best Performance of Spanish Music at the VI International Classical Guitar Competition “Julian Arcás” in Almería, Spain.
Grisha is now based in the US, so catch this part of his UK tour while you can.
Book Tickets HERE
Watch Grisha play “Impetu” HERE
Flamenco Festival
Festival de Jerez
Dani de Morón
The 29th Festival de Jerez has been running from February 20th to March 7th., a celebration of the Flamenco culture of Andalucia. The Nuestro Flamenco podcasts of Radio Clasica, from the Spanish broadcaster RTVE, have featured music and interviews from the Festival. The guitar prologue of the first Festival episode featured the music of Dani de Morón, so we have a link below to this guitarist on YouTube.
We also have a link to the Festival website where there are several videos of last year’s festival, to give you the full flamenco flavour. Too late to buy tickets for this year’s events - maybe next year?
Dani de Morón Guitar HERE
Festival de Jerez Website Videos HERE
Lulo Reinhardt
and
Yuliya Lonskaya
Lulo Reinhardt
With Yuliya Lonskaya
Alexandra Whittingham has recently been on tour in the US and Canada as part of International Guitar Night, we thought it would be interesting to take a look at one of the artists accompanying her on this tour.
Lulo Reinhardt was born in Koblenz on the 12.10.1961 and, like his Uncles Dawelie Reinhardt and Schnuckenack Reinhardt, comes from the famous Reinhardt family.
Lulo Reinhardt was raised in the Sinti tradition where Django Reinhardt’s music played a massive part.
As well as several solo and ensemble projects in the gypsy jazz vein, Lulo has collaborated with Yuliya Lonskaya in a “Gypsy meets Classic” album. They have also played many live concerts together. We attach a YouTube video of the duo playing “Keep Up” , recorded at the Loster Eberbach, a former Cistercian monastery - also known for the filming of some of the interior scenes of “The Name of The Rose"
“Keep Up" Video HERE
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