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The Guitar Foundation of America's twenty-second annual convention and competition was held last October 24-30, hosted by the venerable Paul Gerrits at the Université du Québec in Montréal, Canada. The official language of the region is French so we language-lazy Americans were forced to rely on whatever knowledge or faint memories we have of high school language courses. No matter really, as the language of the event was music- guitar music to be specific- and Montreal is an international city replete with Old World charm, dramatic architecture, and the broadest mix of culinary delights I have ever experienced. Language, architecture, currency and cuisine all contributed to a clear feeling of being in a foreign country, yet Montreal is just across our northern boundary within a 6-hour drive of New York State.
The façade of the Centre Pierre-Péladeau at the Université du Québec in Montréal, site of most of the seminars, displays and concerts associated with the 2004 GFA Conference and Competition.
The drawing power of this world-class conference/competition is multi-faceted in origin; in no particular order, I would say that it's a combination of prestige and attractive prizes, top performers and pedagogues featured in seminars and gala concerts, and somewhere in the mix- accessibility to some of the world's best luthiers and music merchants. Throw in an opportunity to meet old friends and associates and make some new ones, and you have a recipe for a blissful musical experience.
The cash prizes were as follows:
Other major prizes included: The 2004 GFA Competition winners are:
The 2004 convention organizers outdid themselves in securing topnotch performers for the gala evening performances including: Pavel Steidl, The Los Angeles Guitar Quartet, Alvaro Pierri, lutenist Paul O'Dette with soprano Ellen Hargis, The Gruber-Maklar Guitar Duo, and jazz guitarist Richard Ring with vocalist Ranee Lee.
The closing concert on Saturday featured the Appassionata Orchestra from Montreal with Bill Kanengiser in a performance of the new Concerto for Guitar and Orchestra commissioned from Dusan Bogdanovic; the premiere performance of Scherzo for Guitar and Strings by Canadian composer Ginette Bellavance played by Patrick Kearney; the gorgeous Concerto for Guitar and Strings by Jacques Hétu, played by Dimitri Illarionov; and the Second Concerto for 4 Guitars and Strings by Patrick Roux, played by the Canadian Guitar Quartet. It was an amazing experience to hear four guitar concertos in a single evening.
The afternoon concert series portrayed the guitar in distinctive settings with: Jürgen Hübscher and his astonishing children's ensemble La Volta, from Switzerland, the Canadian Guitar Quartet, the Bel Arts Trio (flute, cello, guitar) from Los Angeles, and Dusan Bogdanovic and Friends. A third concert series presented new talent from various countries.
The 2004 GFA Festival was very much a hands-on event with daily technique sessions with Scott Tennant and Alvaro Pierri among others. Jan-Olof Eriksson of Sweden offered Guitar Ensemble Reading Sessions that were ideal for teachers looking for new material, and Dusan Bogdanovic presented a seminar on improvisation and composition.
See you next year! Registration and procedural details for the 2005 GFA competition and conference can be found at http://www.guitarfoundation.org/gfacompetition.asp To learn more about the Guitar Foundation of America see the organization's website at: guitarfoundation.org |
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