Each December at ACG our team comes together to reflect on the past twelve months and celebrate some of our favorite moments. Choosing only ten is never easy; there are always so many incredible moments to choose from, but somehow we always manage to narrow it down.
Above all, we’re grateful for you. We’re grateful for your presence in our lives, your kindness in our community, your belief in the wondrous power of music, and your friendship.
As we look toward the New Year, we hope you’ll consider making a year-end gift. Your support becomes meaningful services and resources for schools, Juvenile Justice centers, hospitals, shelters, and community programming that fills The Rosette with life and connection.
Don’t see your favorite moment on the list? Let us know! We’d love to hear what moved you, inspired you, or stayed with you this year.
10) Goldberg Variations Reimagined at The Rosette
When we built The Rosette, our hope was that it would become a home for extraordinary expressions of creativity. Watching that dream come to life has been one of the great joys of recent years. More and more, musicians, actors, comedians, and filmmakers are stepping onto our intimate stage and making magic.
Among the many unforgettable experiences this year, Goldberg Variations Reimagined stands out as something truly special. Azerbaijani guitarist Rovshan Mamedkuliev and virtuoso accordionist Iosif Purits brought depth, imagination, and breathtaking artistry to Bach’s iconic work, transforming the room and everyone in it.
Thanks to our wonderful Production Director, Todd Waldron, we are thrilled to share the entire performance with you:
9) The All New GuitarCurriculum
In March, we launched the all new GuitarCurriculum! This resource is the foundation of ACG Education programs around the world. We began dreaming it up in 2004, launched the first version in 2008, and have been refining it ever since. Reimagining it from the ground up was no small task, and we’re absolutely thrilled with the result. This tremendous achievement was led by ACG Education team members Phil Swasey and Jordan Sanchez, former AISD music teachers whose firsthand classroom experience, vision, and care guided every step of the process.
Teachers now have an expanded Music Library with powerful new functionality, along with extensive video, audio, and instructional support materials. We added a dedicated student portal, Spanish-language support, and more intuitive tools for classroom success. Our education resources now include printed method books, with volumes for Elementary levels, Levels 1-4, and our just-published edition for Levels 5-8.
What does this all mean? It means tens of thousands of students will learn guitar in classrooms led by confident, supported teachers with world-class resources, with many more joining them in the years to come.
8) ACG Community Ensembles Turn 25
Last season was the 25th anniversary of ACG’s Community Ensembles! To celebrate, our six ensembles joined together to perform the premiere of Superheroes!, a bold and imaginative new work by critically acclaimed composer Graham Reynolds. Inspired by the Marvel Universe, Superheroes! was commissioned by ACG to commemorate this milestone year, with generous support from Karrie & Tim League and Richard Linklater & Detour Filmproduction.
“We foster a strong community built on close relationships, creating a safe space where members can fully engage as artists and share the most powerful parts of their inner experience. Being able to express yourself in a space like that makes people feel good—about themselves, the people around them, and the world. And ultimately, we’re in the business of making people feel good.”
– Tony Mariano, ACG Director of Community Education
We’re incredibly proud of how far our Community Ensembles have come, and we’re excited for everything ahead. To learn more about the impact, growth, and heart of this program, read our full interview with Tony here.
7) Phantom of the Opera
Earlier this year we mounted an unforgettable production celebrating the 100th anniversary of the 1925 silent film classic! Austin-based composer and long-time ACG friend Matthew Lyons wrote an entirely new original score for Lon Chaney’s iconic portrayal of the mysterious fiend haunting the Paris Opera House.
Joined by his Moontower Guitar Duo partner Stephen Krishnan, along with virtuoso violinist Sandy Yamamoto and acclaimed cellist Annie Jacobs-Perkins, Matthew and this extraordinary ensemble brought thrilling new life to this timeless tale of murder, mystery, and mayhem. The result was absolutely jaw dropping.
6) Making a Difference in Schools
We believe that thoughtful, passionate teaching is the key to transformative connections with our students. When a young person experiences success and encouragement in the classroom, it opens a door of possibility. Guitar becomes a powerful vehicle for expression, validation, and growth.
Over the past two decades, we have had the privilege of building and supporting guitar education programs in schools across the United States on a large scale. And now, the measurable impact of that work is clearer than ever.
In the past two years, significant data has emerged showing that participation in ACG-supported guitar programs at Title 1 campuses meaningfully improves student academic and behavioral outcomes. From that data, three powerful headlines stand out:
- Academic Achievement: Guitar students in Austin ISD Title 1 middle and high schools outperformed their demographically-matched, non-guitarist peers across every STAAR subject area.
- Positive Behavior: Those same students were suspended at half the rate of their non-guitarist peers.
- Pathways to Excellence: Nearly half of this year’s All-Region Ensemble audition-winners came from ACG-supported Title 1 programs, where students receive free lessons and instrument support.
5) Juvenile Justice Services: Vida Ensemble
For more than a decade, ACG has offered guitar classes inside central Texas juvenile justice facilities, giving young people meaningful tools for expression, connection, and growth during some of the hardest moments in their lives. But one question has always lingered: What happens next?
For students who successfully complete their programs at facilities like Gardner Betts, Williamson County, Phoenix House, and the Juvenile Justice Alternative Education Program (JJAEP), the path forward can be uncertain. Many return to schools and communities without consistent support or opportunities to continue the creative journey they began with ACG.
This year, that finally changed.
After three years of dreaming, planning, and determined effort led by Director of Juvenile Justice Education Hector Aguilar, we launched our Juvenile Justice Post-Engagement Program—a long-term support system designed to help young people continue growing through music after they leave the justice system. Through this program, ACG connects students with one-on-one instruction in their home schools, rehearsal space for ensembles, and new performance opportunities.
The program began this year with students referred through the probation department and JJAEP. They performed beautifully at The Rosette in May, and their courage, artistry, and joy filled the room. This is only the beginning, and we cannot wait to see what happens next.
Read Director of Juvenile Justice Education, Hector Aguilar’s most recent reflection here.
4) Spark: Travis Marcum’s 20th Year at ACG
For more than twenty years, Travis Marcum has helped shape the heart and soul of ACG through his artistry, creativity, visionary leadership in education, and groundbreaking work in Music & Healing.
“My journey working with ACG began twenty years ago when Matt Hinsley stopped me after a friend’s wedding and proposed an idea that would turn into the largest classical guitar education program in the U.S. That conversation also sparked a lifelong friendship with him, a friendship defined by deep gratitude and inspiration for the person and leader he is.
“Since that day, we have built something incredible together. Tens of thousands of students worldwide pick up the guitar for the first time because of the dream we had. We have worked every day to remove barriers so that more and more young artists can realize their creative potential. We have found ourselves in every corner of our Austin community making music with folks. And it was this deepening of our roots that led to the creation of ACG Music and Healing in 2014, a program that has transformed my understanding of the capacity of music to connect us all.” – Travis Marcum
In early December we celebrated Travis’s remarkable impact in an unforgettable concert event. He was joined on stage by Matt Hinsley, Tony Mariano, Claire Puckett, Camille Schiess, and six extraordinary young guitarists: Lukas Almanza, Vir Gideon, Mary Margaret Mason, Logan McKenzie, Ivana Thomas & Sullivan Willyard.
3) Give with Pepe Romero
In May, we celebrated the culmination of a yearlong journey with our Artist-in-Residence—
and guitar legend—Pepe Romero.
Pepe’s residency embodied the heart of our 24-25 season theme, Give. Months of preparation led to a deeply meaningful musical exchange as nine extraordinary students from ACG programs came together to rehearse and perform with him. Formed into three quartets, each ensemble welcomed Pepe as the fourth member, performing music composed or arranged by Pepe and members of his illustrious family.
The May finale performance was an electric celebration of artistry, mentorship, generosity, and intergenerational sharing.
2) Major Endowment Gift to ACG Education
2025 began with a truly extraordinary gift from the Sander Family, establishing the Carol Jean Mosher Knupp Endowment Fund for Education. Held at the Austin Community Foundation, this fund will provide lasting, sustainable support for ACG’s mission of educational excellence.
In recognition of this remarkable generosity, our ACG Director of Education position—held by Dr. Travis Marcum since 2005—now carries the distinguished title Carol Jean Mosher Knupp Director of Education.
Carol Jean Mosher Knupp was the mother of Nancy Knupp Sander, and her love for music and education inspired this endowment.
“Mom was the music education director of our family, so it feels perfect that this gift in her honor will support the ACG Director of Education,” the Sander family shared. “Our hope is that this endowment will further the mission of Austin Classical Guitar and honor the ‘Essence’ of our mother.”
Everything we do is accomplished in partnership. It takes friends in our community who believe in the power of music and kindness to create positive change. It takes dedicated staff members who devote their careers to service. It takes teachers who lead with heart and excellence. And it takes the courage of each student to apply themselves in the pursuit of beauty and expression, hard-earned through focus and discipline over time. We could not be more grateful for a gift of this magnitude.
1) Season Opener with Grisha at Troublemaker Studios
Our 35th season opened with a spectacular night of flamenco at Troublemaker Studios, the Austin home base of visionary filmmaker Robert Rodriguez, whose many global film sensations include Spy Kids, Machete, El Mariachi, and Sin City.
We kicked off the evening with a celebration in Iron City, the massive five-block film set created for the James Cameron–produced action feature Alita: Battle Angel (2019, dir. Robert Rodriguez). Guests enjoyed delicious tapas and sangria by Flavor Co. while they explored the streets of this stunning futuristic cityscape, accompanied by live performances from Austin Flamenco Academy and Crockett High School’s Mariachi de Oro.
As the sun set, we moved into the nearby sound stage for a dazzling performance by Grisha, one of the world’s most astonishing flamenco guitarists. It was an unforgettable night of artistry, energy, and community, and the perfect way to ignite our 2025-26 season, Spark.
Thank You!
On behalf of all of us here at ACG, thank you for your belief in us, for your presence with us, and for your support of our artists and services. We hope you had a wonderful 2025, we hope you enjoyed your experiences with us, and we wish you a happy and healthy New Year.
BONUS: ACG Youth Orchestra in Big Bend
We couldn’t resist adding one bonus item! This spring, the ACG Youth Orchestra embarked on a beautiful tour across West Texas, guided by a simple but powerful idea: the act of giving is worth celebrating. Inspired by our 2024-25 season theme, Give, these talented young musicians made stops in Fredericksburg, Alpine, Marfa, and San Antonio, using their artistry to raise funds for local organizations working to make their communities better
Along the way, the group made time to connect with the land, and each other. One especially meaningful moment took place at Big Bend National Park, where ACG friend Nick Hurt filmed a stunning music video alongside the Rio Grande in Boquillas Canyon. Experience the magic they created: