Los Angeles, California
by Scott Morris

When people think of Los Angeles the first thing that comes to mind is Hollywood. This is, after all, the capital of popular entertainment. What most people don't realize is that L.A. is also full of "serious" music and culture. We have three major orchestras including the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra, and the L.A. Chamber Orchestra. Along with Placido Domingo and the L.A. Opera, these world-class musical institutions perform in wonderful venues like the Hollywood Bowl and the amazing Walt Disney Concert Hall.

Southern California is home to countless well-known guitar players such as Eddie Van Halen and Steve Vai, but it's also home for some of the world's greatest classical guitarists. Christopher Parkening, the Los Angeles Guitar Quartet, Andrew York, and the Falla Guitar Trio are just a few of the well-known "local" artists.

Nearly all of the musicians you meet in L.A. have moved here from elsewhere, and very often they were some of the most talented players "back home". This surplus of talent from all over the world makes for an incredibly exciting musical community full of diverse creativity.

I moved to Los Angeles when I was only seventeen to attend G.I.T. at the Musician's Institute in Hollywood. My small studio apartment just off the Hollywood Boulevard "Walk of Fame" was a bit different from my childhood home in Indianapolis, Indiana. After receiving my diploma at M.I., I auditioned for University of Southern California and was accepted as a student of William Kanengiser. It was at USC that I, like so many others, really found myself musically. To be in an environment where so many world-class musicians and teachers surround you is truly inspiring and completely transforming.

In many ways, USC is at the center of the L.A. classical guitar scene and with a faculty that includes Pepe Romero, Scott Tennant, James Smith, Brian Head and William Kanengiser, it is certainly easy to understand why.

The talented students that attend the school, as well as its graduates, also contribute a great deal to the city's cultural landscape. I recently attended a recital to raise money for the Celedonio Romero Scholarship at USC and was treated to a fantastic performance by the entire guitar faculty in the beautiful new Alfred Newman Recital Hall. Unfortunately, I was forced to miss the Mel Bay 60th Anniversary Concert being held the same night in Anaheim at the NAMM Show.

Brian Head, James Smith, Pepe Romero, Scott Morris, and William Kanengiser at USC.

The classical guitar scene in L.A. is definitely most active in the city's universities and colleges. The area is home to approximately twenty universities and thirty two-year colleges, nearly all of which offer a guitar program. Some of the country's best programs are located here, including the USC Thornton School of Music, Cal State University Northridge, Cal State University Dominguez Hills, Cal State University Fullerton, Pepperdine University and the California Institute of the Arts.

On any given night, there are numerous recitals to choose from, especially on weekends. I remember a few months ago when Benjamin Verdery, the Amadeus Duo, Michael Chapdelaine, and Zoran Dukic were all playing on the same night at different venues! Many of these recitals are also sponsored by local guitar societies. The biggest and most active societies are the AGS (American Guitar Society) at Cal State Northridge, the Orange County Guitar Circle, the Long Beach Guitar Society, and the Ventura Classical Guitar Society. There are also regular concerts at Loyola Marymount University, the World Guitarist series at Cal State Fullerton, Guitarra del Mar in Pasadena and the Trilogy Guitar series.

West-coast première of Stabat Mater by Mel Bay author Anthony Glise performed at the Long Beach Guitar Society with Scott Morris, soloist.

In recent years the city has been host to a number of international competitions. The Stotsenberg Competition and the newly created Christopher Parkening Competition are exciting additions to the L.A. scene. This October brings the Guitar Foundation of America's (GFA) International Convention and Competition to the city, held at California State University Dominguez Hills where I am the Coordinator of Guitar Studies. I am also honored to have been chosen as this year's convention director and look forward to hosting artists such as Eliot Fisk, Tilman Hoppstock, Scott Tennant, William Kanengiser, Roland Dyens, the Amadeus Duo and Jorge Caballero. Other convention artists include Evan Hirschelman, the Douglas James and Pasquale Rucco Duo, the Klasinc & Loncar Duo, Wulfin Lieske, Jack Sanders, Marc Teicholz, Michael Partington, and last year's GFA competition winner, Thomas Viloteau. The return of the GFA convention to L.A. is a testament to the popularity of the classical guitar in this city and the 2007 event promises to be one of the biggest on record.

I have heard it said "that Los Angeles is not only the most culturally diverse place in the world; it is the most diverse place in the history of the world!" This statement would have to be applied to the city's musical life as well. Classical, popular, jazz, and nearly every other style of music not only exist here, it thrives here. Los Angeles is an inspiring, and sometime overwhelming place where the best of the best come from everywhere to realize their musical dreams.

Come see for yourself at the 2007 GFA gathering!
Scott Morris

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SCOTT MORRIS - Classical Guitarist

Scott Morris made his New York recital debut at Carnegie Hall in April of 1998. A former student of some of the world's greatest guitarists, including Benjamin Verdery , Scott Tennant, Sharon Isbin, William Kanengiser, Pepe Romero, John Dearman and Jack Sanders, he is now a respected performer in his own right. Scott has studied at Yale University, the USC Thornton School of Music, the Aspen Music Festival, The Mozarteum (Salzburg, Austria), Musician's Institute (G.I.T.), and Claremont Graduate University from which he holds the degree of Doctorate of Musical Arts.

He has won numerous awards and competitions including those sponsored by the American String Teachers Association, Artists International, the Aspen Music Festival, CSU Summer Arts, the Glendale Symphony, Claremont Graduate University, the USC Thornton School of Music, and the Yale School of Music.

Scott has appeared both as a soloist and as a member of the Hollywood Guitar Duo throughout North America, Europe and Asia. During the summer of 2005 he traveled to Mainland China to give solo recitals and master classes in Beijing and Shanghai. In December of 2006, Scott gave a series of performances with the CSU Dominguez Hills Chamber Choir in the West Coast première of Mel Bay author Anthony Glise's Stabat Mater Speciosa with the composer present at each recital. Scott's 2006-7 season will include concerts in China and Germany.

Scott is equally respected for his work on the concert stage, in the classroom and the recording studio. He has recorded three CDs for Eroica Classical Recordings (Danza, Invocation, and The Hollywood Guitar Duo). Twentieth Century Guitar Magazine called his latest CD, Danza, a "classical guitar masterpiece". Recently, he has signed to record for Centaur Records, Inc. and will release a CD of all-Paganini guitar music in early 2007. He co-produced and appears on the new compilation CD, Sneak Preview, released by the Guitar Foundation of America. Other artists on the recording include Eliot Fisk, Benjamin Verdery, Roland Dyens, Scott Tennant, William Kanengiser, Tilman Hoppstock and others.

Scott Morris has written articles for Soundboard and Guitar Noise and will publish his collegiate-level teaching method Classical Guitar Complète next year. On the web, he can be found at www.scottmorris.net. Currently, he is Coordinator of Guitar Studies at California State University, Dominguez Hills and Artistic Director for the 2007 Guitar Foundation of America International Convention and Competition in Los Angeles, California.

Contact Information

scottmorrisd@aya.yale.edu
www.scottmorris.net
www.myspace.com/scottmorrisguitar

Scott Morris is a D'Addario Performing Artist

To learn more about the Guitar Foundation of America please see:
www.guitarfoundation.org/