Classical Guitar Canada

Alice in Wonderland – Oberon Guitar Trio

admin — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 22:10:40 +0000

The Oberon Guitar Trio performs movements I and II of Claude Gagnon’s “Alice au pays des merveilles.” First of three videos.

Oberon Guitar Trio (Calgary, Alberta)
Website: http://www.oberonguitartrio.com/
Murray Visscher, Brad Mahon, Ralph Maier

Alice in Wonderland (mvmts.I & II) – The Oberon Guitar Trio

Alice in Wonderland (mvmt.III) – The Oberon Guitar Trio

Alice in Wonderland (mvmts.IV & V) – The Oberon Guitar Trio

Sheet Music Collection

admin — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 21:05:38 +0000

I recently had 3 e-mails asking if we had a sheet music collection. Most people know about our “Free Sheet Music Archive” on the taskbar below our website header, but for those of you just recieving the RSS feed or getting this through facebook, here it is:

Free Sheet Music for Classical Guitar by Composer in PDF Format

Also see our: Publications

Technique & Fretboard Knowledge Sheet Music:

Solo Sheet Music:

Thanks for stopping by, lend a helping hand?

The Week in Links (March 7th)

admin — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 00:05:34 +0000

My hiatus is over after a two week pause due to work and school. I’ve been preparing an all Canadian programme with the Victoria Guitar Trio, including a world premiere of a piece for trio and tape by R.D. Wraggett. Also working on an John Oliver Quartet with the Trio and Dr. Alexander Dunn. Plus, just started working on a piece for 9 guitars by Michael Nicollela to be conducted by the composer. Everything is being performed at this year’s Northwest Guitar Festival in Victoria, BC.

Here’s the week in links folks:

Let’s ask Gyan Riley: An interview with Sequenza (www.sequenza21.com)
Branding for Better Practicing: (www.classicalguitarblog.net)
Ready, set, create! “ability to plan and otherwise prepare our practice sessions” (musiciansway.com)
March 2010 The Music Education Blog Carnival (mustech.net)

-Brad

Review: The Inner Game of Music

admin — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 17:46:39 +0000

The Inner Game of Music
By Barry Green, W. Timothy Gallwey

Buy it at Amazon: (Canada - US/International)

Those of you unfamiliar with the legacy of this title will need to travel back to the 1970’s when his popular book The Inner Game of Tennis was a big seller. Since the 1970s, Timothy Gallwey’s books such as The Inner Game of Tennis, The Inner Game of Golf, Inner Skiing and The Inner Game of Work have coached millions in the mastery of their art. The Inner Game of Tennis sold more than one million copies.Besides sports, his training methods have been applied to the fields of business, health, and education.

“By the best-selling co-author of Inner Tennis, here’s a book designed to help musicians overcome obstacles, help improve concentration, and reduce nervousness, allowing them to reach new levels of performing excellence and musical artistry.” (Product description)

The key to this book is to put the advice into action! Reading the book is plenty useful as it will give you many new ideas but you have to try out everything he suggests. At times it might seem a bit corny and superficial – or even too obvious – but put his ideas to the test and you’ll see results.

My favorite advice in the book is a muscle relaxation technique. I’ve now put this into constant use in my studio at the Victoria Conservatory.

Try playing a short passage of music and tense all your muscles. You might make some mistakes but really tense up. Rate your level of tension from 1-10. Your high tension rate should be between 8-10.
Now play the passage again with a tension level of 1-3. By rating your muscle tension you begin to build a system that puts you in a position of ultra awareness with your muscles. It really works.

Besides practical tips the book aims at make musicians at peace with practising, performing, and the lifelong commitment we dedicate to our art.

Classical Guitar Canada Rating (out of ten stars.): 9 stars

Marcin Dylla Interview

admin — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 18:46:51 +0000

Marcin Dylla – Classical Guitar Performance – GFA Winner 2007

Interview/promotion for his upcoming DVD release.

Marcin Dylla Website: www.marcindylla.com

The Week in Links (Feburary 23)

admin — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 01:17:19 +0000

The Week in Links is a new section to the blog. It will come out every weekend (obviously I’m not too on the ball as today is Tuesday). But from now on – Weekends!

History & Knowledge:

Practise and performance:

The ultimate practice shortcut (musiciansway.com)
- Practise tips
Performance reborn (www.artsjournal.com/sandow)
- A great article about the dynamic world of classical music performance. Practical tips to becoming a better performer: Study acting. Take movement classes. Work with a stage director. Tell stories. Improvise musically. Compose. Play everything wrong!

This week in Classical Guitar Canada Posts:

Toronto Guitar Symposium 2010

admin — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 18:33:59 +0000

Toronto Guitar Symposium 2010
Friday March 19th-Sunday March 21st
Featuring:

Nicolas Goluses – Concert and Masterclass
Mark Edwards – Concert
Eli Kassner and Jack Silver – Audio/Video Lecture
Amadeus Duo – Concert

For more information and ticket purchase, please visit: www.guitarsocietyoftoronto.com

Schedule of events:

Friday, March 19

8:00 pm
Concert: Nicholas Goluses
Venue: Heliconian Hall – 35 Hazelton Avenue (map)

Price: $25

Saturday, March 20

10:00am-12:00pm
Master class: Dr. Nicholas Goluses
Venue: Dining Room, Faculty of Music Annex -
90 Wellesley Avenue (north side of Wellesley,
100 yards east of Queen’s Park & Wellesley)
Price: $15

8:00pm
Concert: Mark Edwards
Venue: Heliconian Hall
35 Hazelton Avenue (map)
Price: $25

Sunday, March 21

11:00 am -12:30pm
Lecture: Professor Eli Kassner & Dr.
Jack Silver “The Great Toronto Guitar
Festivals, 1975-1987”
Venue: Dining Room, Faculty of Music Annex
90 Wellesley Avenue (north side of Wellesley,
100 yards east of Queen’s Park & Wellesley)
Price: $15

2:00 pm
Concert: Amadeus Duo
Venue: Heliconian Hall – 35 Hazelton Avenue (map)
Price: $25

John Williams talks about the classical guitar

admin — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 03:49:31 +0000

I could listen listen to Williams all day. Does anyone out there know the source of this video?

E-mail: admin@classicalguitarcanada.ca

John Williams talks about the Classical Guitar Part 1

John Williams talks about the Classical guitar Part 2

Julian Bream Masterclass – Villa-Lobos Prelude No.1

admin — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 17:07:03 +0000

A great masterclass with Julian Bream on the well known Villa-Lobos Preludes.

You can purchase the Villa-Lobos Complete Works by clicking here. It includes some easy Brazilian works as well as all the preludes and etudes.

2010 Northwest Guitar Festival

admin — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 06:13:13 +0000

From Alexander Dunn (Director),

I am delighted to extend an invitation to the 20th Northwest Guitar Festival, April 9-11, 2010, hosted by the Victoria Conservatory of Music in beautiful Victoria, BC. The festival boasts the ‘best of the west’ with an emphasis on the wonderful resources and talents of performing artists from western Canada including Janet Grohovac, Stephen Lochbaum, Victoria Guitar Trio, Duo Verdejo, Oberon Guitar Trio, Continuum Consort, and festival director Alexander Dunn.

The final concert is the incomparable Pepe Romero. Aside from a whirlwind touring schedule, Maestro Romero is an honorary doctorate recipient from the University of Victoria and is the force behind Victoria’s energetic guitar scene. His concert will be greatly anticipated.

Presentations and masterclasses will be offered by Stephen Boswell, lutenist Ray Nurse, composer John Oliver, Randy Pile and festival artists. Composer/performer Michael Nicolella will lead the Canadian premiere of his Vals Eterna with festival faculty and participants.

Players from western Canada and the US Northwest will vie for NWGF Competition prizes: 4th – $250CAD,
3rd – $450CAD, 2nd – $600CAD, 1st – $1000CAD

Please visit the Victoria Conservatory of Music website (http://www.vcm.bc.ca/) and click under “VCM Special Events” for general information on registration, festival programming, competition details, travel, and accommodation. Online and mail-in registration and payment is available.

I encourage you to forward this invitation to your friends, students, and guitar enthusiasts. I look forward to seeing you in Victoria to help celebrate an extraordinary guitar event.

Alexander Dunn
2010 Northwest Guitar Festival Director