Recognized as one of the most outstanding ensembles of its kind, the Austin Classical Guitar Youth Orchestra (ACGYO) is an auditioned ensemble of exceptional young guitarists from Austin, Texas. Under the direction of Dr. Joe Williams, the ACGYO has performed for thousands in Austin’s most prestigious venues and in guest appearances at The San Francisco Conservatory, Outpost Performance Space (Albuquerque, New Mexico) Las Torres de Cotillas Flamenco Festival (Murcia, Spain) and the Antonio de Torres Museo de la Guitarra (Almeria, Spain).
Our members are Adrian Ordonez, Connor Mckenzie, Eleanora Mason, Teddy McCoy, Yang-Fan Chau, Archith Venkatagiri, Paul Devens, Joshua Garcia, Greg Sonnier, Brooks Moren, Noah Melendrez, Camden Wells, Raude Yepez, Autumn Yepez, & Miles Notzon with Director Joe Williams, Assistant ACGYO Director Alex Lew, & ACG Education Project Manager Jordan Sanchez.
Learn more here. Support the ACGYO here.
This spring, the ACG Youth Orchestra went on a beautiful weekend tour through Dallas and Oklahoma City and we are so thrilled to share some of their adventures with you! Here are some of the memories they made:
On Friday, March 13, the ACGYO drove straight to Oklahoma City and performed at the Plaza Walls in the plaza district!
This area featured graffiti murals that encompassed us as we played. Super hip vibes.
On Saturday, March 14, we visited the First American Museum where we had a beautiful performance and had the opportunity to learn about the art, history and culture of the 39 indigenous tribes of Oklahoma. This was particularly special as we performed a piece by a Navajo composer, Connor Chee (Navajo Vocable no.9) as arranged by ACG’s Artistic Director and ACGYO Director, Joe Williams.
We took a trip to the Myriad Botanical gardens and learned all about some amazing vegetation from around the world. Also interacted with a sweet koi fish pond.
Later that evening we connected with the OkCU guitar studio and Matt Denman where we played at the OCU Smith Chapel. The OCU studio collaborated with ACGYO on Joe’s piece, Les Deux Jumeaux. We shared the stage and filled the room with love and art.
We wrapped up our tour on Sunday, March 15 by departing OKC and headed straight to the Dallas Museum of Art.
We performed in the Atrium there for all the locals and it was so well received. It was inspiring to perform in a place surrounded by so much amazing art!
Special thank you to our partners who helped us make this happen:
BONUS:
Just before departing for their tour, the ACGYO created a wonderful recording of Navajo Vocable #9 by Connor Chee at the ACC Highland recording studio. Watch below!