VIDA GQ perform at the stunning concert hall at Kings Place as part of IGF‘s ‘London Guitar Festival in the Spring’ Friday 9 March 2012. The programme will include the Quartets new arrangement of Rhapsody in Blue by George Gershwin, and works by Falla, York, Crittenden, and Turina. Tickets best booked online at www.kingsplace.co.uk or on Tel: 020 7520 1490 -

VIDA GQ are performing as part of the Jugendwettbewerb Gevelsberg in Germany on Saturday evening 25 February 2012 at the Korn Brennerei. This is an fantastic event which allows youth guitar ensembles to perform and compete. The musical standard is of the highest level and VIDA members, as part of the jury, have the tricky task of selecting a winner! Concert poster is also here to download and a full report will be coming after the weekend. To enter the competition please contact directors Dagmar Tewes and Frank Gerstmeier.

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Maecenas tellus dui, aliquet at pulvinar  eu, fringilla sed nunc. Sed dapibus urna sed ipsum interdum rhoncus.  Suspendisse nec ante et nulla ornare gravida quis quis ipsum.

Ut  sagittis libero et lorem varius a cursus quam tempus. Integer et eros  quis turpis scelerisque facilisis et at lacus. Donec aliquam risus vitae  nisl commodo a vulputate nunc faucibus. In felis odio, lacinia non  molestie sit amet, sodales sed mauris. Sed eget massa nunc.

Nulla  aliquam lacinia lorem ut ultricies. Mauris posuere diam ante. Ut dictum  egestas mauris. Morbi et elit non nisi gravida gravida vel vitae lectus.  Nunc vel nunc leo, eget porta purus.

Maecenas tellus dui, aliquet at pulvinar  eu, fringilla sed nunc. Sed dapibus urna sed ipsum interdum rhoncus.  Suspendisse nec ante et nulla ornare gravida quis quis ipsum.

Ut  sagittis libero et lorem varius a cursus quam tempus. Integer et eros  quis turpis scelerisque facilisis et at lacus. Donec aliquam risus vitae  nisl commodo a vulputate nunc faucibus. In felis odio, lacinia non  molestie sit amet, sodales sed mauris. Sed eget massa nunc.

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Other up-coming concerts, but this time closer to home are at Peter Symonds College, Winchester  on  Thursday 3 March and Huntingdon Hall Worcester on Saturday 5 March. Looking forward to seeing some of you there!

Vida Guitar Quartet from nickjamesgordon on Vimeo.

VIDA Guitar Quartet perform Baião de Gude by Brazilian guitarist and composer Paulo Bellinati at the Exe Guitar Fest, Exeter Pheonix – 2 April 2010

International Record Review praise VIDA Guitar Quartet’s debut recording “Love, the Magician” BGS118.

“Their range of timbres and colouration is so broad that one really does forget that there are four identical instruments. The excellent arrangements of Falla’s El Amor brujo by Eden, using techniques such as rapid rubbing of the strings and various scordaturas, approximates the orchestral colours of Falla’s work, assisted by the players’ refined tonal control. Reducing the work to just four guitars brings a level of intimacy to the work, particularly in the poignant ‘The Fisherman’s Story’. Ashford’s arrangement of El sombrero de tres picos is well conceived. As the informative booklet notes elucidate, Diaghilev persuaded Falla to revise his pantomime as a ballet, which was premiered in London in 1919 with sets and costumes designed by Picasso, choreographed by Léonide Massine. Most outstanding are the tonal colours in ‘The Corregidor’.”

“William Kanengiser’s arrangement of the Suite from Carmen does not have the orchestral textures that are so appealing in the Falla arangements. Although the Vida’s playing is measured and understated, it has all the necessary bravura for ‘The Toreador’s Song’ and builds to an exhilarating climax in the ‘Gypsy Song’. Their dynamic control, which ranges from an almost inaudible pianissimo to ranging fortissimos, is impressive. The arrangement of Turina’s impressionistic Oración del Toreo provides a contrast of atmosphere, with its mix of Spanish and jazz-like rhythms.”

“The Vida Guitar Quartet’s ensemble throughout is exemplary and seemingly achieved with ease … their blending of tone is remarkably unified. The recording is well balanced and natural, with a warm tone quality and intimate clarity. This is a thoroughly enjoyable disc.”

“VIDA Guitar Quartet’s debut recording is impressive indeed. Why? Because it’s so easy to imagine you’re listening to an entire orchestra and not merely to four guitars.” Gramophone March 2010 RECOMMENDS the VIDA GQ’s CD ‘Love, the Magician’ BGS118.

“Throughout, the Quartet succeeds in bringing out the narrative and dramatic qualities implicit in the music through a combination of exquisite tonal and dynamic control, super-tight ensemble and unerring musical instinct. Listen to the confident sweep of rapid figures in the frenzied “Danza del terror” from El Amor Brujo and the beautiful transparent “Romance del pescador” from the same; or the beguiling sensuality of the “Habanera” and virility of “Toreadors” from Carmen Suite. There’s only one word for it: magic”