35 Years at a Glance: A timeline of milestones
Celebrating 35 Years of Austin Classical Guitar
Our mission is to inspire individuals in our community through experiences of deep personal significance. Our changes agents are beauty, kindness, and creative spark. In 35 years we are proud and grateful to have made a deep impact on 10,000s of people near and far, built new technology that has changed American music education, and deepened our belief in the power of music to make lasting, positive change in the world. Here are a few highlights:
1990 ACG Begins => Today it’s the largest classical guitar nonprofit in US history.
1996 Matthew Hinsley first joins ACG as Board President => Executive Director 2003.
1997 International Artists Concerts => Over $10m paid to artists & educators.
1998 Community Concerts => Over 800 concerts with ~60,000 audience.
1999 Community Orchestra => 3 adult orchestras, festivals, 25-year members.
2001 Education => Guitar education in over 500 schools with over 100,000 students.
2002 Free Lessons => 1,000+ low-income students receive free weekly lessons.
2006 First New Commission => Over 300 new works, $10,000s to composers.
2008 GuitarCurriculum.com => First-ever comprehensive classroom guitar resource.
2009 National Teacher Training => 40+ TX districts, 30+ US states, 10+ nations.
2010 Juvenile Justice => TX first and only for-credit performing arts, 500+ served.
2011 TX School for the Blind & Visually Impaired => Groundbreaking service.
2013 Performance Engagement => Joseph Palmer plays 50 school concerts/year.
2013 Youth Orchestra => 4 orchestras, annual tours, commissions, 200+ youth.
2014 Music & Healing => 100+ songs written with patients, 1,000+ healing hours.
2015 Concert & Sight Reading Contest => First-ever for guitar, now in six cities.
2016 Global Services => Mexico, Nicaragua, Nepal, Uganda, and more.
2017 Braille Lifelong Learning => First-ever, used worldwide.
2018 Artist In Residence => $100K+ on major community-based art projects.
2020 Livestream Series => 400+ videos, 2.5m+ views.
2022 Rosette Opens => First and only classical guitar theater in US history.
2023 Method Books => GuitarCurriculum adds printed volumes, 1,500+ in use.
2024 Student Portal/Spanish Language Support => GuitarCurriculum expands.
2025 Student Data => AISD shows ACG students consistently outperform peers.
