The
'Classical Minds' Fundraiser Concert was a success thanks to both the
performers (Olga Amelkina-Vera, Valerie Hartzell, Fernand Vera, and
Alejandro Montiel with Oscar Villaneuva) and the large audience. Thanks
to them, we raised $350 torward hiring Fernand as the assistant
director to the 'Classical Minds' Festival and the donation jar helped
the performers pay for food and gas. Here are 2 pictures of the EVENT.
The last Salon Concert of the fall in 2007 was given by virtuoso Cuban
guitarist, Renee Izquierdo. Isaac Bustos was generous and not
only hired Rene to perform at A&M but he also drove him to Houston
for his concert! Attached are pictures of the event: Rene
Matt Gould and his lovely wife, Beth Schneider gave us a fiery
performance on November 17th. In attendance, composer Anthony
Lanman came to hear Duo46 perform his Sonata46.
Based on audience comments, this was their favorite piece and
they clammored to buy the Duo's cd w/Lanman's piece! Here are
some pictures of the events: DUO46
The
2007-2008 seaon kicked off with Ernesto Tamayo!! Thanks to KUHF, the
'Front Row' we had a spectacular turn out. Our goal is to bring
the classical guitar into the community, and that's what happened. We
have some new members from the Katy and Houston area. Here are
some pictures of the event. Click HERE
The
Katy Guitar Guild Festival with international artists, Soloduo was a
huge success thanks to our audience members who filled up the seats!
Also, thanks to those of you who helped with organizing the food
and set up. Here are some pictures from the festival. Click HERE
STOLEN GUITAR!!
I know Patrick Lui for years and I am shocked to hear that someone
stole a guitar from him. Please read this plea from Patrick.
The guitar world is a small one, if you know the person acused of
the theft, please contact Partick Lui immediately. Thank you. His
email is Plui759570@aol.com PatrickLuiGuitar
For Sale: Classical guitar,Jose Ramirez,
Madrid.Model R1 made in 1999.All solid wood construction; cedar top with
mahogany back and sides. Ebony fingerboard with a scale of ~650mm. Nicely made
and a very good playing instrument with a rich, vibrant tone.Comes with a hard case and new Ramirez
strings.Excellent condition.$650.Call 713-522-0611 for more information. ABOUT THE GUILD We will be moving to a new, improved web site soon!
I would like to invite you
to join the Greater Houston Guitar Guild as a member. If you have
visited this site often, you will have noticed the new name.
Members have mentioned that Katy Guitar Guild felt too exclusive.
We want our guild to be open to all of the greater Houston area,
not just members of the Katy community. Anyone is welcome to join
us, even if you live far away and happen to be in town on business!
There is NO membership fee; you
get a newsletter (via email) every other month on guitar topics,
articles,
technical exercises, announcements and emails reminding you of upcoming
events. Tickets for the Greater Houston Guitar Guild members are
$15 (or a package deal
of 2 tickets for $25). Senior citizens/students under 18 pay
$10/HCC and college students $5 and
general public pays $20.
We are a club who hire young up-and-coming guitarists
(either
local or international), local guitarists, and Texas based
guitarists. Tickets are
sold at the door and the artists are guaranteed all profits, including
the
profits from master classes. Since we have NO membership fees, we
don't
have to deal with tax issues (only the artist does!). Also, the
Guild is evoking the Salon Concert atmosphere of the 19th C (intimate,
smaller crowds),
although we have no problems booking concerts in smaller churches.
Greater Houston Guitar Guild Meetings will be
run like a Repertoire Class, but performers may choose not to receive
comments
from other members or teachers. All performers must be planned
ahead of
schedule. The meeting will take place at the Texas Guitar
Gallery. For the address and directions please email Valerie
Hartzell at katyguitarguild@yahoo.com (or call before
8pm: 281-395-9066). This is a safe environment for guitar enthusiasts to play for a safe and friendly crowd.
I hope you will join our
guild, Claudio Zangirolami and I (the only 2 board members thus far!) only
want to further aid local, state, and up-& coming guitarists' careers.
Thanks! And, hey, it's
free!
Valerie Hartzell and Claudio Zangirolami
Valerie Hartzell is
Adjunct Faculty at the Houston Community College, a private
classical guitar instructor in the Woodlands & Katy, and a
Professional Teacher at Moores School of Music, University of Houston.
She is also the Director of the yearly 'Classical Minds' Guitar
Festival and Competition at the Texas Music Festival at University of Houston.
Claudio Zangirolami
is owner of the Texas Guitar Gallery and is a private classical
guitar instructor in Katy. Claudio has both student model guitars
and fine, concert quality level instruments. To contact him about
his guitars, call at 281-578-7700 or email him at txgg@sbcglobal.net
NEWSLETTER We
try to have a newsletter each month to keep the guitar community up to
date. If you have some news you want to share, please email us at
katyguitarguild@yahoo.com: January2008 March2008 April2008 May2008 June2008 UPCOMING EVENTS Tickets at all events, unless
noted otherwise, are $15 Greater Houston Guitar Guild members (or a package deal
of 2 tickets for $25). For directions or for more information about these concerts, please contact Valerie Hartzell at:katyguitarguild@yahoo.com
Texas Music Festival:‘Classical Minds’ Guitar Festival and Competition June 27-July 3, 2008
Moores School of Music, University of Houston
This year we are adding a competition!There are two divisions: Division 1,
High School/Undergrad/Community College, under 25 and Division 2, Open Level, all ages (NO
professional management, GFA Prize Winners, or Professional Recording
Contracts).
Prizes: Division
1: $500
First Prize $250
Second Prize $100
Third Prize Judges:
Olga Amelkina-Vera, Fernand Vera, and Claudio Zangirolami Division
2: $1000
First Prize $500
Second Prize $200
Third Prize Judges:
Randall Avers, Angelo Favis, and Valerie Hartzell All
competitors must be registered as festival participants. Both applications for the festival and
competition along with the calendar of events can be found on the official ‘Classical
Minds’ Festival and Competition web site.
We
are looking for scholarships. We have
managed to raise money for all the prizes. Thank you!!! Anyone interested in
sending a scholarship should contact Valerie Hartzell at valeriehartzell@consolidated.net
An official form will be given to anyone donating.It is for tax purposes and also for any businesses that wishes to
have their information printed in all the programs.If a person or business were to donate more than $100, they will
receive 2 free tickets to any evening faculty artist concert of their choice.
The
dates for the ‘Classical Minds’ Festival have been moved to a new, permanent
date: June 27th to July 3rd, 2008. Faculty members include Adam Holzman, Isaac
Bustos, Randall Avers, Bryan Johanson, Angelo Favis, João Paulo Figueirôa,
Eduardo Costa (he won the St. Joseph International Guitar Competition in 2007,
the festival is part of his winning package!), and Klondike Steadman. I am the director of the festival and my
assistant director is Fernand Vera.
This festival is open to classical guitarists of all levels and ages;
everyone is welcome.
This
year we are adding an extra day, so now the festival is a whole weeklong
event. Orientation will be on the 27th
of June at 1pm. The concert series will
open Friday evening with Eduardo Costa, and Brazilian virtuoso, João Paulo
Figueirôa.
Tuition
is the same as last year, $300 with a master class and $250 without performing
in a master class. Competitor’s
tuition: Division
1, $250 (includes lessons, lectures, classes, concerts, master class,
competition fee, orchestra class & lunch).
Division 2 is $285.We also
have a weekend package deal for guitarists who cannot take a whole week off of
work ($125 for a lesson, technique class, concerts, and all other weekend
events from Fri-Sun).
Scholarships
will be available but will be given to need based students who send in a
tape/cd.
At
this site you can find the applications and calendar of events. You can also email Valerie Hartzell atvaleriehartzell@consolidated.net
for the forms.
We
still are accepting applications and welcome students of all ages and
levels. If you cannot take time off
from work, please come to our evening concerts. Also note that we have a weekend package deal from Friday to
Sunday.
A master class is a class given to students of a
particular discipline by an expert of that discipline—usually music.
The difference between a normal class and a master class is
typically the setup. In a master class, all the students (and often spectators)
watch and listen as the master takes one student at a time. The student
(typically intermediate or advanced, depending on the status of the master)
usually performs a single piece which they have prepared, and the master will
give them advice on how to play it, often including anecdotes about the
composer, demonstrations of how to play certain passages, and admonitions of
common technical errors.
Master classes for musical instruments
tend to focus on the finer details of attack, tone, phrasing, and
overall shape, and the student is expected to have complete control of
more basic elements such as rhythm and pitch. The value of the master
class setup is that all students can benefit from the master's comments
on each piece.
Greater Houston Guitar Guild Master Class Scholarships:
There
are students who are talented and thirsty for knowledge but do not have the
financial means to participate in the GHGG master classes.Even if a few people donated $5, it would add
up to cover a few students’ tuition.If
you would like to donate, please send a check to the Hartzell-Nejako
residence.For the mailing address,
please email me at katyguitarguild@yahoo.com
You
can also wait, save the stamp, and hand the check to me personally at any GHGG
event.
The
ultimate goal would be to have a separate account for the Greater Houston Guitar Guild
Master class Scholarship Fund at the bank.So, when we have these master classes, we can have a scholarship fund
open for students in financial need & take the money out to pay our artists
the master class fees. If you would like to donate the entire $50 amount, please
let me know soon and we will guarantee you a seat near the front. But, at this point, anything would help. So far, six members of the Guild have made generous
donations. Thank you!
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bi-monthly
news letter and concert announcements.