April 5 Meeting and News

April 6th, 2020 by bob No comments »

Music Angels for Coronavirus Patients

Carmine Demarco posted this message to the NJCGS FaceBook page:

CLASSICAL GUITARISTS:

   Your help, and hearts, are needed. A new unit has been set up at Englewood Hospital, for COVID-19 patients. It is a comfort/palliative care unit: they are moving patients there for whom there is nothing further the doctors and nurses there can do. Currently, this new unit is stark and bare … undecorated and lacking warmth. We have set up a new Facebook Page, “Music Angels for Coronavirus Patients”, to bring together and share FB Live music performances on that Page. A nurse in this new comfort care unit at Englewood Hospital will show the music performances to the patients on a tablet. (The unit is also in need of original art for the walls, if you have friends who paint or draw.)

I’m asking all of my Facebook musician friends who have been doing Facebook Live performances to please set your privacy preferences to “Public” for your performances, past and upcoming, so that your performances can be shared on the Page. It is https://www.facebook.com/Music-Angels-for-Coronavirus-Patients-103325721337648/.

   You can also share the videos yourself to that Page. Please just make sure to set your privacy preferences to “Public” for all such videos that you are willing to share. Also, please MESSAGE ME to let me know that you’ve gone “Live” so I know to look for it in case I’ve missed your performance. THANK YOU.

Online Events at Raritan River Music and Mannes

Michael Newman opened our April 5 meeting with some announcements about upcoming online guitar events we can participate in while safely maintaining social distancing from home:

These pieces were played at our second Zoom Meeting on April 5:

Rick Florio

  • Prelude (for Lute BWV 999) — J.S. Bach
  • Sarabande and Double (Violin sonata BWV 1002) — “”

Helen Shi-Yuen

  • Sons de Carrilhões — João Pernambuco

Valerie Nelson

  • Solitudine — L.O. Anzaghi
  • Andante Grazioso — Fernando Carulli
  • Valsa Sem Nome — Baden Powell de Aquino

Robert Ey

  • April Come She Will — Paul Simon, arr. Jim Bosse

Ray Butler

  • Here Comes the Sun — George Harrison, arr. Ray Butler

Ken Kraus

  • Menuet from Third Cello Concerto — J.S. Bach
  • Pavan #2 — Luis Milan

Ben London

  • Farewell — Sergio Assad
  • Suite Compostelana mvt. 2 “Coral,” — Frederico Mompou
  • Cello Suite no.3: Sarabande —S. Bach

Jeff Griesemer

  • The Girl With The Flaxen Hair — Claude Debussy, arr: Jeff Griesemer

Ming Chao

  • Cuna and Cancion from Suite Compostelana — Federico Mompou

Gad Berger

  • The Parting Glass – Trad. arr by Laura Snowden
  • Milonga — Jorge Cardoso

Jeffrey Wilt

  • Prelude #5 — Bryan Johanson
  • Study, Op. 35, #8 — Fernando Sor
  • Adios a Ocumare — Angel Maria Landaeta, arr. Antonio Lauro

Chris Freitag

  • Preludio de Adios — Alfonso Montes
  • Danza Brasiliera — Jorge Morel

Our Next Zoom Meeting will be on Sunday, April 19, at 4:00 p.m.

NJCGS in a Time of Social Distancing
March Meeting Recap
How to Set Up Zoom

March Meeting

February 17th, 2020 by bob No comments »

Our Online Meeting via Zoom on March 22 was enjoyed by all, and we plan to continue these meeting for the duration of the Covid 19 crisis. We had new attendees, and some who joined in only to listen. This is a good opportunity for people who have not been able to get to our in-person meetings to get involved.

These pieces were played:

Kenneth Kraus

  • Gymnopedie #1 — Eric Satie
  • Cello Suite Menuet — Bach

Thang Hoang

  • La Catedral (2nd and 3rd movement) — Agustín Barrios Mangoré

Arjo GuhaMazumder

  • Mazurca — Francisco Tárrega
  • Gran Vals — “”

Helen Shi-Yuen

  • Maria Luisa by Julio Sagreras

Rick Florio

  • Vihuelas:
  1. Fantasia (# 3) — Luis Milan
  2. Gallarda — Alonso Mudarra
  3. Soneto — Enriquez de Valderrábano
  4. Pavana — Diego Pisador

Robert Ey

  • Give Me Your Hand — Rory O’Cahan, arr. Glenn Weiser

Jeff Griesemer

  • Slieve Russell — Traditional Irish jig, arr. Jeff Griesemer

Parvathi Kumar

  • Aquarelle, Mv II Valseanna — Sergio Assad
  • Torija — F. Moreno-Torroba

Gad Berger

  • Milonga — Jorge Cardoso

Chris Freitag

  • Lute pieces from the Italian Renaissance — Oscar Chilesotti.

Gary Lee

  • Sonata No. 37 — Silvius Leopold Weiss, trans. G. Lee
  1. – Prelude
  2. – Allemande
  3. – Courante

Jeffrey Wilt

  • If You Were Here — Per Olov Kindgren
  • Squares Suspended — Andrew York
  • Soleares (From “Homage a Tarrega”) — Joaquin Turina
March Meeting
Upcoming Concerts
February Meeting Recap

January and February Concerts

January 23rd, 2020 by bob No comments »

Vladislav Bláha

Friday, January 31, 2020 Recital 7 p.m.

Bristol Chapel Westminster Choir College

101 Walnut Lane Princeton, N.J. 08540

Admission: Free-will donation

“Mr. Blaha brilliantly performed each composition flawlessly,… The sonority, tone and projection of the guitar was utilized to its fullest potential in the hands of Vladislav Blaha; and in turn, brought out the most subtle dynamics of this master’s touch.” — Classical Guitar
Vladislav Bláha has given concerts in prestigious halls throughout Europe, Asia, Latin America and the U.S. including Carnegie Hall and the Royal Festival Hall in London. He is the winner of four international guitar competitions: Volos, Greece; Esztergom, Hungary; Kutna Hora, Czech Republic; and Markneukirchen, Germany. He was also awarded the bronze medal in the Radio France International Competition in Paris. Vladislav Bláha is a professor of guitar at Conservatoire of Brno and an associate professor of Janacek Academy of Music in Brno. He frequently gives masterclasses and performs on festivals all over the world. He is president of the Czech Classical Guitar Society and director of the International Guitar Festival and Courses in Brno.

More information: www.rider.edu/arts

Philadelphia Classical Guitar Society presents Gohar Vardanyan

Settlement Music School, 416 Queen Street, Philadelphia, PA 19147

Sunday, February 9, 3:00 to 7:00 p.m.

General Admission: $30.00

Widely admired for her technique, artistry, and passionate performances Armenian guitarist Gohar Vardanyan has performed throughout the United States and internationally. She has performed for numerous guitar societies, universities, and arts organizations, including the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC, Alice Tully Hall at Lincoln Center, and guitar societies in Seattle, San Francisco, Houston, Miami, and New York City to name a few.

More information: http://phillyguitar.org/event-3507004

Musica De Camara presents Canciones de Amor/Love Songs

Christ & St. Stephen’s Church, (120 West 69th Street, NYC, 10023)

Thursday, February 13, 2020  7:30 pm

On the eve of Valentine’s Day, internationally acclaimed artists Nell Snaidas (soprano), Francisco Roldán (guitar) and Danny Mallon (percussion) will present an evening of romance featuring songs from England, Puerto Rico, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Spain and more!

“The Art of Song”: Sungji Kim (soprano) & Stanley Alexandrowicz (classical guitar)

Sunday, 23 February, 2:00 PM

the Burlington County Library, 5 Pioneer Boulevard, Westampton, NJ 08060

Songs by Franz Schubert and Benjamin Britten, Solo Guitar Works by Vienna’s Greatest Romantic Period Guitarist-Composer Johann Dubez.

Sunji Kim, a soprano singer with a stunning voice, has earned various acclaim from critics with her artistry and stage presence. With numerous international performances, Ms. Kim is a much sought-after artist with a repertoire ranging from opera to contemporary. She has performed more than 30 operatic roles and has performed at impressive venues such as Carnegie Hall and the Berlin Philharmonic Hall. Join her today as she performs popular arias, art songs, and musical numbers, such as “You Raise Me Up” and selections from “The Phantom of the Opera.”

Tickets and more information:

https://bcls-nj.libcal.com/event/6171553

Classical Concerts at Grace presents a special appearance by Duo Cavatina, featuring Carol Shansky on flute and Seth Himmelhoch on Guitar

Free Admission

February Meeting

January 22nd, 2020 by bob No comments »

These pieces were played at the February 16 meeting at the Lindeblad School of Music in Pine Brook:

Evgeniy Pereski

  • Selections from Leo Brouwer’s Estudios Sencillos

Thomas He

  • Gran Vals. —. Francisco Tarrega

Kenneth Kraus

  • Moderato — Fernado Sor
  • Classical Gas — Mason Williams

The Hopewell Guitar Ensemble (Valerie Nelson, Rick Florio, & Robert Ey)

  • Chorale — J.S. Bach
  • Minuet — Joseph Haydn

Rick Florio and Valerie Nelson

  • My Lord Willoughby’s Welcome Home — John Dowland
  • Duet in G, Rondo & Minore — Fernando Carulli

Valerie Nelson

  • Solitude — L.O. Anzaghi
  • Andante Grazioso — Fernando Carulli
  • Valsa sem Nome — by Baden Powell de Aquino

Rick Florio

  • Etruscan Prelude #1 — Reginald Smith Brindle
  • Burgalesa — Federico Moreno-Torroba

Robert Ey

  • Sarabande — Anon. (17th Century)
  • Aria from Partita in A Minor — Johann Anton Logy

Kevin Lutke

  • Gavotte 1 & 2 from Lute Suite BWV 995 — J.S. Bach )
  • Variation 4 from Prelude & Variations— K. Lutke

Jim Tosone

  • Imagine — John Lennon, arr. Soren Madsen
  • And I Love Her — The Beatles, arr. Soren Madsen

Jeffrey Wilt

  • Royal Plum Pudding (from Eight Discernments) — Andrew York
  • Romance de los Pinos — F. Moreno Torroba
  • Se Ela Perguntar — Dilermando Reis

Benjamin London

  • Prelude #1 — Manuel Ponce
  • Melancholy Galliard — John Dowland
  • Minuet — Sylvius Weiss
  • Elegy — Federico Moreno Torroba
  • Pavane — Luis Milan

Gad Berger

  • The Parting Glass — Trad., arr. Laura Snowden

Alex Valencia

  • Invocación y Danza — Joaquín Rodrigo

 

February Meeting
Upcoming Concerts
January Meeting Recap

January Meeting

December 9th, 2019 by bob No comments »

These pieces were played at the January 19 meeting in Hopewell:

The Hopewell Guitar Ensemble (Valerie Nelson, Rick Florio, Jeff Griesemer, Robert Ey)

  • Courante — Michael Praetorius
  • Berceuse — Isaac Albeniz

The Castle Peacock Band (Irene Ey, soprano; Valerie Nelson, alto, autoharp; Robert Ey, tenor, Irish bouzouki)

  • Liverpool Light — Bill Staines

Rick Florio and Valerie Nelson

  • La Rossignol — Anon.
  • Invention No. 4 — J.S. Bach

Rick Florio

  • Mille Regretz — Luis Narvaez

Jeff Griesemer

  • (I Love You) For Sentimental Reasons — Deek Watson & Pat Best, arr. Jeff Griesemer

Helen Shi-Yuen

  • Kleine Romanze — Luise Walker

Lenny McDonald

  • Eight Easy Dances — Gaspar Sanz

Kenneth Kraus

  • Minuet BWV 114 — Chistian Petzold
  • El testament d’Amelia — Traditional Catalan, arr. Miguel Llobet
  • Vals Venezolano — Jorge Cardoso

Gary Lee

  • Canción del Emperador — Luys de Narváez
  • Prelude to Cantata Gottes Zeit ist die allerbeste Zeit, BWV 106 — J.S. Bach, arr. B. Verdery

Benjamin London

  • Preambulo — Manuel Ponce
  • Ballet — “”
  • Prelude — “”
  • Danza Pomposa — Alexander Tansman

Jeffrey Wilt

  • Royal Plum Pudding (from Eight Discernments) — Andrew York
  • Romance de los Pinos — Moreno Torroba
  • Se Ela Perguntar — Dilermando Reis

Gad Berger

  • The Parting Glass —, arr. Laura Snowden
January Meeting
Let’s Get Some Exercise!
Upcoming Concerts
December Meeting Recap
A Member Concert in the Spring

December Concerts

November 28th, 2019 by bob No comments »

Philadelphia Classical Guitar Society Professional Members Concert & Holiday party

Settlement Music School, 416 Queen Street, Philadelphia, PA 19147

Sunday, December 1, 3:00 to 7:00 p.m.

General Admission: $30.00

Acknowledging and appreciating the artists that live in our vicinity is essential to ensuring the longevity of all fields of the arts. The arts flourish not just in distant havens such as Paris, New York, or Tokyo, but also in the homes of our neighbors in Philadelphia. Our talented membership includes guitar builders, composers, instructors, professional performers, and college professors. This annual concert is our homage to the many talented members of the Philadelphia Classical Guitar Society.

We invite you to join us for the concert and stay for our post-concert Holiday Party where you can meet other members and local artists and celebrate the holiday season.

More information: http://phillyguitar.org/event-3506923

Robert Butts: Impresiones inspiradas por las pinturas de Luis Martinez Piar, with Stanley Alexandrowicz

Madison Community Arts Center, 50 Kings Road, Madison, NJ

Sunday, December 8 at 3:00 P.M.

Tickets: $20

This concert will feature the world premiere of Impresiones inspiradas por las pinturas de Luis Martinez Piar, composed by Maestro Robert W. Butts and performed by guitarist Stanley Alexandrowicz.

“I was introduced to the wonderful paintings of Luis Martinez Piar at a recital by guitarist Stanley Alexandrowicz at the Dover Public Library,” Maestro Butts explained.  “I loved the design and color, but most of all I was moved by the fluidity and motion within the paintings.  I felt as if they were singing to me.”

That recital was sponsored by The Baroque Orchestra of New Jersey in collaboration with The Arts & Culture Collaborative and LatinX ConeXiones.    Alan Levitan helped bring the event together.  Stanley’s recital included works by Mexican composer Manuel Ponce, Argentine composer Astor Piazzola, and Cuban composer Hector Angula.

More information: https://www.baroqueorchestra.org/impresiones

Max Zuckerman, Guitar: 92Y Music Faculty Concert Series

Weill Art Gallery, 92ND STREET Y

1395 LEXINGTON AVENUE

NEW YORK, NY 10128

SATURDAY, November 9 at 8:00 P.M.

Admission: Free

Guitarist Max Zuckerman is a multifaceted guitarist living and working in Brooklyn, NY. He received his Master of Music Degree from the Yale School of Music where he studied with Benjamin Verdery. Max is also a graduate of the Peabody Institute of Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore where he earned both a Bachelors of Music and a Graduate Performance Degree in the studio of Manuel Barrueco.

More information: https://www.92y.org/event/max-zuckerman-guitar

December Meeting

November 25th, 2019 by bob No comments »

These pieces were played at the December 8 meeting in Short Hills:

Hugo Arango Correa

  • Lágrima — Francisco Tárrega
  • Sonata, K.32 — Domenico Scarlatti

Helen Shi

  • Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer — Johnny Marks, arr. Yenne Lee
  • Sons de Carrilhões — João Pernambuco

Ben Larkey

  • You Can Close Your Eyes — James Taylor
  • Still You Turn Me On — Emerson, Lake & Palmer

Lenny McDonald

  • Nine Country Dances — Anon.

Robert Ey

  • Sarabande — Anon. (17th Century)

Rick Florio

  • The Wexford Carol — Trad. Irish
  • Simple Gifts — Trad., arr. Fred Hand
  • Queen Elizabeth’s Galliard — J. Dowland

Ray Butler

  • Three preludes — Henrique Annes
  • Prelude No. 2 — Heitor Villa-Lobos

Chris Freitag

  • Chaconne from the Violin Partita in D minor — J. S. Bach, arr. Chris Freitag

Jeffrey Wilt

  • Silent Night – Franz Gruber, arr. Per-Olov Kindgren
  • What Child is This Variations – Anonymous, arr. Francis Cutting
  • Carol of the Bells – Mykola Leontovych, arr. Phillip Lester

Gary Lee

  • El Noi de la Mare — Traditional, arr. M. Llobet
  • Julia Florida — Agustin Barrios
  • O Come O Come Emmanuel — Traditional, arr. D. and E. Niedt

 

December Meeting
Upcoming Concerts
November Meeting Recap

November Concerts

November 2nd, 2019 by bob No comments »

The Philadelphia Classical Guitar Society Presents Adam and John Kossler, guitar duo

Settlement Music School, 416 Queen Street, Philadelphia, PA 19147

Sunday, November 3 at 3:00 p.m.

General Admission: $5:00 to $40.00

Brothers Adam and John Kossler have established themselves individually as soloists, chamber musicians and educators. As the Kossler Duo John and Adam have performed for concert series including the Auburn Guitar Society Concert Series (Auburn, AL), The Aguado Guitar Series (Washington, DC), Appalachian Guitarfest (Boone, NC), Mid Maryland Guitar Festival (Rockville, MD) East Carolina Guitar Workshop (Greenville, NC) and a number of other venues around the US.

More information: http://phillyguitar.org/event-3506921

The European Guitar Quartet at 92Y

92ND STREET Y

1395 LEXINGTON AVENUE

NEW YORK, NY 10128

SATURDAY, November 9 at 8:00 P.M.

ADMISSION: TICKETS FROM $53:00

Twenty-four nylon strings tackle transcriptions of Piazzolla’s shadowy Concierto para quinteto and selections from bouncy tango suite Estaciones Porteñas; a suite of songs by Kurt Weill, written with epic theater-maker Bertolt Brecht; and choice favorites from the rock and reggae idioms. Transcending the boundaries of performance, the quartet will also render several spirited and often percussive works by its own members Reentko Dirks, Pavel Steidl, and Thomas Fellow.

More informationhttps://www.92y.org/event/the-european-guitar-quartet

Zachary Grimm, Classical Guitar, at 1867 Sanctuary

Friday, November 15 at 8:00 p.m.
101 Scotch Road, Ewing, NJ 08628
General Admission tickets are $20, $15 for members and $5 for school and college students

Please check web site for updates.

More information: http://1867sanctuary.org/event/zachary-grim-classical-guitar/

November Meeting

October 21st, 2019 by bob No comments »

These pieces were played at the November 24 meeting in Bridgewater:

The Hopewell GuitarEnsemble (Rick Florio, Valerie Nelson, Jeff Griesemer, Parvathi Kumar, & Robert Ey)

  • Courante and Spagnoletta — Michael Praetorius
  • Ankylosaur Walking on the Hog Backs — Jim Bosse

Valerie Nelson & Rick Florio

  • Two Part Invention BWV 775 No. 4 — J.S. Bach
  • Lesson for Two Lutes — Anon. (1610)

Gad Berger

  • Prelude No 5 — Bryan Johanson
  • Asturias — Isaac Albeniz

Rick Florio

  • Estudios Sencillos, 1—5 — Leo Brouwer

Parvathi Kumar

  • Un Dia de Noviembre — Leo Brouwer

Helen Shi—Yuen

  • Etude in E Minor Francisco Tárrega
  • Sueno (Mazurka) — “”

Jeff Griesemer

  • Georgia On My Mind — Hoagie Carmichael arr: Richard Dreuding/Jeff Griesemer
  • Girl With The Flaxen Hair — Claude Debussy, arr: Jeff Griesemer

Kevin Lutke

  • Suite In E Minor pt. 3 — K. Lutke
  • Hymn — “”
  • Allemande — J. Dowland

Ben Larkey

  • Paul’s Song — Pierce Pettis
  • Original Pieces — Ben Larkey

Ming Chao

  • Sonata, K. 32 — Domenico Scarlatti (Arr. Jan—Olof Eriksson)
  • Barcarole — Alexandre Tansman
  • Danza Pomposa — Alexandre Tansman

Gary Lee

  • 3rd Movement. from Violin Sonata No. 3 — J.S. Bach, arr. M. Barrueco
  • Etude No. 8 — Giulio Regondi

Jeffrey Wilt

  • Bolero — Julian Arcas
  • Perpetuum Mobile — Per—Olov Kindgren
  • Habanera Oriental — Per—Olov Kindgren

Ray Butler

  • Three preludes — Henrique Annes
  • Canto del LLadre — Miguel Llobet
  • El testamente de Amelia — “”
  • Maria — Francisco Tarrega
November Meeting
Upcoming Concerts
2020 Guitar Society Summit Announcement
Web Site Update
October Meeting Recap

Francisco Roldán, Solo Recital

October 12th, 2019 by bob No comments »
Sunday, October 13, 2019, 4 pm

Locktown Stone Church
198 Locktown Flemington Road
Stockton, NJ

 (www.franciscoroldan.com, “Absolutely poetic and mesmerizing playing.  A truly wonderful evening.” Claudia Dumschat, Organist and Choirmaster, Church of the Transfiguration, NYC

Program

Seis Milonga                                                             Ernesto Cordero (b. 1946)

                                                                                    Puerto Rico

 

Ciaccona from BWV 1004 for solo violin           J.S. Bach (1685-1750)

                                                                                    Germany

 

Rosto Colado                                                           Paulo Bellinati (b. 1950)

                                                                                    Brazil

 

Gymnopedie 1                                                        Erik Satie (1866-1925) France

Gnossienne 1                                                          E. Satie

La Fille aux Chevaux de Lin                                  Claude Debussy (1862-1918) France

 

Petro                                                                          Frank Casseus (1915-1993) Haiti

Yanvalloux

Dance of the Hounsies

 

El Decamerón Negro                                             Leo Brouwer  (b. 1939)

    El Arpa del Guerrero                                         Cuba

    La Huida de los Amantes por el Valle de los Ecos

    Balada de la Doncella Enamorada