Saturday, January 30th, 7:30pm:

We are honored to have Andrew Zohn as one of our guest artists.  He is on a Texas tour and chose us to have him perform.  We are very excited to have this established composer, teacher, and international concert artist stop by at our guild.
He will also be teaching a master class on Sunday, January 31 at 1pm.  We have four students who will be performing and have room for one more student. The cost is $50 per student and $5 for auditors.

Here are some PICTURES of the concert and master class.

Andrew Zohn – Classical Guitarist and Composer

American guitarist Andrew Zohn is recognized internationally for his work as a performer, instructor, and composer.  He has performed concerts on four continents as a soloist, and as part of Duo Spiritoso with acclaimed Canadian guitarist Jeffrey McFadden including venues in Beijing, New York, Rotterdam, Vancouver, Honolulu, Buenos Aires, Edmonton, Calgary, Atlanta, Toronto, and Puerto Rico.

Since 1999, Dr. Zohn has served on the faculty of the Schwob School of Music (Columbus State University) in Georgia, where he directs the annual CSU Guitar Symposium.  He also serves as a visiting faculty at the Istituto Musicale Pareggiato della Valle d’Aosta in Italy.  Andrew Zohn holds a doctor of music degree from The Florida State University, a master of music from the University of Texas, and a bachelor of music from the North Carolina School of the Arts.

Zohn has performed and taught at many of the world’s most prestigious music festivals including the Festival of New Music (Central Conservatory of Music, China) the Guitar on the Mediterranean Guitar Festival (Italy), the Iserlohn Guitar Symposium (Germany), the National Guitar Workshop (USA), and the Sauble Beach Festival (Canada).   Students of Andrew Zohn have won prizes in several international competitions and have been featured on the American national radio program From the Top.

Andrew Zohn regularly receives commissions to compose new works for performing artists and arts institutions. He has five times been the recipient of a Plus Award from the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP).  Original compositions and transcriptions by Andrew Zohn are published through Les Productions d’Oz, Canada, Tuscany publications (Theodore Presser), and FJH Publications.  His recordings for Clear Note and Centaur Records have received wide acclaim from American Record Guide, Classical Guitar Magazine, GuitArt Magazine, Soundboard, Guitarra Magazine, and Rosewood Review.

Saturday, February, 13 at 7:30pm:

Local talent Valdemar Phoenix and Lucia Rodriguez-Sanchez will be performing for our guild and it's our 1st flamenco event!  They will be joined by violinist Maria Dolores and flutist Garrett King.

Celt Iberia takes its name from the pre-Roman people who inhabited the northwestern regions of Spain, Galicia and Asturias, the Iberian Celts. The group performs the traditional musical forms, including the lively muneira (jig), the soulful alala, the pandeirada (tambourine songs), xotas, and fandangos galegos. Lucia sings the songs in not only in Spanish, but also in the native dialect of Galego. She also provides exciting rhythmic accompaniment with tambourines and castanets. Valdemar's guitar provides the lead melody and rhythmic accompaniment, and his zanfona (hurdy gurdy) adds a truly medieval flavor to the mix. Garrett brings his flute to bear on the melodic lines, while Maria Dolores rips up the forms on the violin and mandolin, and provides harmony to Lucia's vocals. Add to this Aaron's percussion, including the snare drum, dumbek, and bodhran, and the sound is at once traditional and contemporary.

About the Artists: 

Lucia Rodriguez-Sanchez and Valdemar Phoenix have been performing together with their group Gitanerías Flamenco since 1983. Their work, firmly based in the essence of traditional flamenco, also reflects a contemporary approach to the art.
Lucia y Valdemar have performed at major international festivals, at college campuses, schools, and arts events throughout Texas, where they are based. Their work has also taken them to Alabama, Louisiana, New York, the New England States, Canada, and Washington.

They have toured through the Texas Commission on the Arts since 1983 and performed under the sponsorship of Young Audiences. They are also on the touring roster of the Mid America Arts Alliance.

They were the subject of a Houston PBS documentary, and they are the producers of "Gráfico", a made-for-TV video production, which was broadcast through Time-Warner. Their first CD, "Nuestra Sangre Flamenca" was released in 1998, and their second CD, "Ritmo Azul", was released in July 2005.

Saturday, March, 6 at 7:30pm:

Les Frères Méduses (The Jellyfish Brothers), made of Randall Avers and Benoit Albert, will perform original works as well as standard repertoire.  Mr. Avers is an international competition winner, concert artist, and resides in Norway working as a guitar instructor at the Røyken Videregående Stienerskole.  Mr. Albert is the artistic director of the music/dance/graphic arts ensemble "La Compagnie des Arts."  This performance is sponsored in part by the FOND FOR UTØVENDE KUNSTNERE.

The Jellyfish Brothers will be giving a master class on Sunday, March 7th at 1pm. There are 5 spots available and the fee is $45 per person for 30-minutes.  Auditors only pay $5 (it is free for the spouses and parents of the performers!). Lessons will also be available on March 8th, please contact Valerie Hartzell at valeriehartzell@consolidated.net for more information. 

Randall Avers, biography

American guitarist Randall Avers was born in 1974. He began playing at age six and gave his first solo recital at the Gazzetta Hall in Akron, Ohio at age 13.  While attending high school at the Walnut 
Hill School for the Arts, Avers was selected to compete in the 1991 
Guitar Foundation of America International Competition (GFA), North America's largest guitar competition, and placed second that year becoming the youngest finalist in history.   The same year he was a finalist for the “Presidential Scholar in the Arts.”
For over a decade, Avers has performed in festivals and music series  throughout the US, Canada, Mexico, France, Norway, and Sweden. In addition, he has performed and lectured by invitation of the United  States Information Service throughout North Africa and Egypt.  He has received awards from numerous international competitions that include the Yamaha Music Competition and the Concours Internationale de Guitare Rene Bartoli.
Currently, Avers resides in Norway working as a guitar instructor at the Røyken Videregående Stienerskole.  He performs with the  ensembles “twelve strings” with Norwegian cellist Bård Bosrup and  "les Frères Méduses" (The Jellyfish Brothers) with French guitarist  Benoît Albert.  To date, he has released two solo guitar recordings: 
Vistas (North and South American music) and recently Puerto Viejo  (Music of Spain).  He is a frequent performing artist/educator at the  Classical Minds Festival in Houston and the Bergen Guitar Festival in Norway.  

Benoît Albert, biography:

Benoit Albert has performed regularly as a soloist and chamber musician on the international stage, from Venezuela to Malaisia.  Over the years, he has collaborated with a broad spectrum of artists:  Classical guitarist Randall Avers, Fingerstyle guitarist Christian Laborde, luthiste René Vayssières, dansers Laurène Albert and Pierre-Michaël Faure, painter Paul Storey and "graveur" Pierre Cambon.  He acts as the artistic director of the music/dance/graphic arts ensemble "La Compagnie des Arts" that has released two recordings: "l'histoire du tango" (2004) and "Detour" (2009), a recording comprised entirely of Albert's compositions for the Ensemble.  He has commissioned and premiered works by Atanas Ourkouzounov, Thierry Rougier and J. Ballue and has works published by Delatour-France.
Albert is a graduate from the  Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris in 1999 earning a 1st prize in both Solo and Chamber music.  He teaches at l’Ecole Nationale de Musique et de Danse de la ville d’Agen. 

Discography : "D'ici et d'ailleurs" (2000), "L'Histoire du Tango" (Milan-Music 2004), "Terres du Sud" (2005), "Ring Triptych" (2008), "Songes" (2008) et "Detour" (Musea-Records 2009)

For a silly picture of the duo, click HERE