Winter 2015 Education Report

THANK YOU

The work we do in education is what we are most proud of, and most thankful for, at Austin Classical Guitar. By entrusting us with your generous support, you make this vital work possible. On behalf of our entire staff and board of directors, I would like to thank you for believing in us. I hope this brief report and accompanying videos will make you proud of what you have helped create.

Thank you,

Matt Hinsley

 

LARGE & SMALL

I have come to view our education initiatives in two different but equally important categories: Large and Small. Our large initiatives focus on program building and include curriculum development, teacher training, assessment, and consultation. It is through these efforts, including GuitarCurriculum.com, that rigorous, for-credit school-based guitar programs are established, refined, and expanded throughout Austin, the state of Texas, the United States, and internationally. We now have 55 local programs serving 3,500 students, and the educational quality, measured in individual student performance outcomes and system-wide through our district assessments and city-wide festival audition process, has never been stronger.

Our small initiatives are programs we create to meet the needs of specific constituencies. These programs include our Braille learning program at Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired, classes at Gardner Betts Juvenile Justice Center, ensemble program at Austin Clubhouse for adults with mental health diagnoses, the Austin Classical Guitar Youth Orchestra, and the Lullaby Project at Annunciation Maternity Home for teenage mothers and mothers-to-be.

CREATING A MOVEMENT

The work you support is having ripple effects throughout the nation and beyond. Last year we reported on the progress in St. Louis Public Schools, a program that continues to grow and attract attention and support. I visited there this month and saw over 100 kids in three of our 16 affiliated schools. They were engaged in high-quality learning experiences, including a public performance at Johnson-Wabash School in Ferguson for over 200 parents and siblings.

What is the practical impact of our curriculum, training and support? This month we received an update from a ten-year veteran music teacher in Canton, Ohio who attended our training this past summer. Since the training he has not only improved and expanded his own program, but adopted a vision to dramatically expand guitar education in his region.

Here is an excerpt of his December 13th letter that illuminates the kinds of effects our program is having:

After attending the Guitar Teacher Training in Austin, I was committed to changing how I approached guitar instruction in the classroom. I studied the materials that were provided by GuitarCurriculum.com and what was covered during the Austin training. I have to admit I was a little unsure how this would look in my classroom, I have had a guitar class for 10 years, but I was committed to applying the approach so I gave it a strong, committed go ahead.

I have to tell you I am blown away by the results! I would have never dreamed it would have transformed my class this much! I received immediate success from student engagement and standards-based skill mastery. This program has completely transformed how I approach the guitar classroom. It has actually opened up more creativity for my students and me as a teacher. It has allowed me to approach new music with more efficiency in teaching and arrange new music for my students more successfully.

[In addition to my middle and high school classes] I have successfully launched the Canton Guitar Society Outreach program to serve the students of Stark County. My district has now committed to expanding guitar through the high school levels 10-12 and at the McKinley Senior High School main campus. In short, thank you, and I am a huge supporter of ACG and GuitarCurriculum.com!

VIDEOS

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Rt0UvAOqa8

ACG Education in the Juvenile Justice System on PBS NewsHour: This story aired nationally in September 2015 and gives insight into one of our small initiatives, a program created to serve incarcerated youth. Our work is having such positive results that the Travis County Juvenile Justice System has asked us to design and deliver an expanded program in 2016 that would be offered to all 600-800 court-involved youth in the community as part of their case-plans.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mR_sZnbmZp0

Aly’s Lullaby: This video from June 2015 features a lullaby written by Aly, one of our young mothers at Annunciation Maternity Home. In our ongoing guitar classes there we see 12-16 mothers weekly, and at any given time we are individually engaged with two to four in the lullaby-writing process. If you would like to hear more recent lullabies, please ask! Just recently, Dr. Ted Held, who oversees women’s health services for Central Health, asked us to provide the Lullaby Project for women in Travis County Jail. We’ll start in January.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lVNTjGneJBs

Austin Classical Guitar Youth Orchestra: This November 2015 performance of Enrique Granados’ Villanescas gives a sense of the level of refinement being achieved by young guitarists in Austin.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G9iE7CfrNSY

Excellence in the Guitar Classroom: This July 2015 video created in collaboration with AISD provides an excellent overview of our largest education initiative, including the history and growth of the program, curriculum, teacher training, and assessment, and touches on important issues like the role guitar class plays in the district in providing equity and access for youth who might not otherwise be engaged in performing arts.

FUTURE

Our small programs will deepen and expand in the coming year, with the Lullaby Project in collaboration with Central Health, our Juvenile Justice partnership extending to case-plans for all court-involved youth, and much more. Our “large” programs will continue building and refining guitar education throughout Austin and beyond including, for example, a new rural program in Nepal and a national guitar orchestra program in Uruguay.

We hope you enjoy the videos provided with this brief report, and will happily expand upon any aspect of our program development should you have further questions. We thank you for your support.

 

 

 

 

 

 


Giving Tuesday Impact Stories

As the year comes to an end, it's only natural that we look back in reflection on our programs and highlight those we have been able to reach through them. Here are just a few impact stories from teachers, former students and instructors that we work and have worked with to provide free lessons to students.

"Having the wonderful opportunity to take lessons with some of the ACG faculty helped me prepare for college level music studies and it's still paying off!" - Javier Saucedo, Former Student at Akins HS, Currently a Student at UT

"The free private lessons provided by Austin Classical Guitar have had a tremendous impact on the guitar students at Travis High School. The program has become a 'brass ring' of sorts. Students chosen for the program must complete an application and obtain a recommendation from an academic teacher. They then must maintain passing grades in all of their classes to stay in the program. We currently have a waiting list almost 10 students deep. These lessons have encouraged improved their musical skills, increased academic achievement, improved self image, improved work ethic, and the program has also led to a vast improvement in the Travis guitar ensembles and a healthy competition between ensemble members. This year, the lesson program has led to students from Travis 'moving up' and taking lessons through Austin Community College with Dr. Thomas Echols. Graduates of the Travis program are currently attending Austin Community College, the University of Mary Hardin Baylor, Texas State, and Del Mar College....all studying Classical Guitar. I cannot thank Austin Classical Guitar enough for their support and the encouragement they provide!" - Susan Rozanc, Music Educator, Travis HS

"Teaching free private lessons to underprivileged high school students has been incredibly spiritually rewarding. Providing kids with opportunities to grow as musicians, scholars and individuals is the greatest joy of my work.” - Brent Ferguson, ACG Teacher

"In my time with Austin classical guitar at Akins high school, I received the honor of experiencing the outreach program's Private lessons. Being In an ensemble is amazing, we work as a team and are a family, however receiving private lessons I was able to discover my strengths and weaknesses. The lessons being one on one, provided the opportunity to work at a steady pace and pin point what I struggled with, this allowed me to build upon my weaknesses and become a more confident classical guitarist." -Francisco De la Rosa, Former Student at Akins HS

"Over the course of my past year teaching at Mendez Middle School I've come to understand the true breadth of the impact of ACG's free lessons initiative. Beyond instruction on how to play the guitar, this program provides the opportunity to engage students on a level that only arts immersion can offer; they are are exposed to elements of collaboration and modes of critical thinking that can influence their lives well beyond the context of school, and all through the intimate, enriching medium of music. It's a shame that such programs aren't a standard part of public education–Austin Classical Guitar is providing a vital service to which, otherwise, students in these communities would never have access." -Colin Fullerton, Teacher at Mendez MS

"As an instructor, I loved the connections that I made with the students in individual lessons supported by Austin Classical Guitar. It was very rewarding to see their progress increase as their confidence grew. I was excited to watch the students identify and express themselves through guitar." -Janet Grohovac, Instructor at Annunciation Maternity Home & Silicon Labs

"I want to take the time and give thanks to Austin Classical Guitar, for providing free lessons to Travis High School Students and myself.  Being able to have the experience of learning a new instrument sometimes does not come cheap, however because of the program offered at my school, I was able to learn classical guitar. Learning classical guitar has impacted my life in so many ways. I have learned to play with an ensemble, be part of a community that keeps growing everyday, meet new people who are also passionate in what they do, and it has even opened many doors for me. It also helped me keep my grades up, and has also improved my musical skills. I am now attending Del Mar College, and till this day I still keep studying classical guitar. I am very grateful for the opportunity that Austin Classical Guitar gave me, and also for the great support that they still keep giving me today. I also want to thank all the supporters that give to this program, because if it wasn't for them, I would probably not be the person that I am today!"          -Susy Diaz-Lopez, Former Student at Travis HS

 

 

In honor of GivingTuesday, any contributions made to ACG today will go directly to funding our free lessons for kids in Title 1 school programs. Lessons for one year cost $750 per child - the results are transformative.

Help us continue to change lives through music!

You can give online here: https://austinclassicalguitar.org


Thank You from the ACG Team

The Austin Classical Guitar Youth Orchestra(ACGYO) played a beautiful concert this past weekend. Right afterwards, the younger brother of one of the members announced loudly, "That was my kind of show. Cool - and not too long!" Then he added, "Maybe some day I can play with them too."

"He just loves it," one mother said about her son's experience playing in the ensemble. "He gets so much joy out of playing with other kids."

The ACGYO has performed in the Long Center, The Paramount Theater, the AISD Performing Arts Center, but this concert was in a smaller, more intimate space. Close as we were, we could hear all of the colors and subtleties the ensemble has worked so hard to develop all semester long. The playing was elegant and refined; it was easy to forget the youthfulness of the musicians.

From Ekachai Jearakul's brilliant performance a week ago last Saturday, to an evocative night of original music and art with our Composer in Residence on Wednesday, to the laughter and tears at Thursday's tribute to Travis Marcum's ten years of leadership in education, and culminating with this weekend's ACGYO performance, it was a full week, rich with moments of authentic beauty at once ephemeral and uniquely powerful.

Moments that left us feeling grateful.

Grateful that we are able to provide free instruments and lessons for kids in need, grateful for the opportunities to develop adaptive curricula so that all students can participate meaningfully in guitar class, grateful to the teachers in our community and around the world who bring such deep dedication to changing lives with music, grateful for our board members, staff and volunteers - and grateful for our many supporters like you, who make everything we do possible.

From all of us at Austin Classical Guitar, we send our warmest wishes for a Happy Thanksgiving.

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Celebrating 10 Years of Marcum

Last night for our 2nd Annual "Staff Cactus" friends, family, and fans of ACG piled into the Cactus Cafe to celebrate a very special member of our staff. Travis Marcum, our Director of Education, has now been with us for 10 years, so it was only fitting that we dedicate the night to him. As friends and members of our staff took turns taking the stage to each play a piece they had chosen, they all had very kind words & memories to share about their experiences working with Travis and his vision for ACG's educational program.

Some spoke of their days together as students at UT, others highlighted his dedication to the development of GuitarCurriculum.com and the reach ACG has been able to have to students across the country as a result. We even received a letter from a long-time ACG volunteer, Judith Agraz, who works for the Texas Eduaction Agency and wanted to give a personal testimony of the impact Travis has had as an educator; she wrote-

Judith Agraz
Long-time ACG Volunteer, Judith Agraz

When I met Travis Marcum about 9 years ago, he was teaching classical guitar at McCallum High School as part of the ACG educational outreach program. At that time, we were trying to create a classical guitar club at this school. He was also giving classical guitar lessons to my son Diego. Travis looked so young and shy. His speech was soft and quiet. Not long after that, in 2007, the McCallum Advanced Classical Guitar Ensemble participated in UT Brownsville National Guitar Ensemble Competition and won the competition that year. After my son graduated from high school, I lost track of Travis. It was at a Guitars Under Stars event that I heard him give a speech about the importance of teaching classical guitar in high schools. I was surprised to hear him speak with such assurance and dedication. As time goes on, every time I hear or see him in an interview, I see how he has grown not just in confidence. His heart has expanded. His service to the students, to the other teachers, and to the community is enormous. I have to congratulate a teacher, a director, and a friend.

With love and admiration,

Judith

As the night went on we had our fair share of laughs as guests got to participate in rounds of "Travis Trivia (Travia)" of questions about his favorite food and what character of Dungeons & Dragons he would be, in-between more songs and stories. The positive energy in the room was undeniable and the music spoke for itself, but one thing that was pointed out by our Executive Director, Matt Hinsley, resonated with the room on a higher note. As much as we all love what we do, promoting this instrument, teaching music; the longer all of us at ACG work together, in a strange way, the less it actually seems to be about guitar. It's all about forming a connection with people, and Travis Marcum has mastered this skill. Wether it be through his ability to create learning environments where students feel comfortable, or his teaching style that motivates them to be their best self, we could all learn a little something from Travis. So congratulations on everything you've achieved in the last 10 years, and here's to 10 more of connecting people through our two favorite things, education and classical guitar.

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Travis Marcum, Jeremy Osborne & Toby Rodriguez playing a piece last night that Travis composed for the  ACG Educational Curriculum

 

 

 

 

 


Play! Fables & Lies

Prepare to be transported through stories and art: Our Composer in Residence, Joseph Williams II, the creative genius behind last year’s original silent film score for Alfred Hitchcock’s The Lodger, hosts an evening inspired by the other-worldly at The Townsend, Austin’s coolest new bar and listening room.

Williams along with guitarist Joseph Palmer and bassist Ricky Pringle will present his evocative Zia: Myth and Folklore from New Mexico and Homage to Tom Waits. Our featured artist is Austin’s own Yuliya Lanina whose surreal paintings portray the mysterious, the beautiful, and the sensual.  There will be food compliments of Easy Tiger included in the ticket price, and delicious cocktails available from The Townsend’s mixology masters.

The Townsend shot by SJ Reid Photography
The Townsend shot by SJ Reid Photography
We can almost smell the fresh-baked goodness from Easy Tiger
Fresh-Baked Goodness from Easy Tiger

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

About the Music: Joseph Williams II composed  Zia: Myth and Folklore from New Mexico as a collection of etudes, or short musical compositions, emphasizing  timbre and extended guitar techniques. A “Zia” is a symbol for the sun: a red circle with groups of rays pointing in four directions. The symbol comes from the Zia tribe from New Mexico and was adopted as the state flag in 1925. As a native of New Mexico, Williams  drew inspiration from the Spanish and Native American folklore and mythology integral to the cultural landscape of the state. In writing etudes focusing on extended techniques and timbre, he found a sympathetic relationship between this exotic sound palette and the frequently fantastical elements in New Mexican folklore and myth. In realizing this relationship, he associated each etude with a specific myth or folkloric story. Although the pieces can exist without this association, his hopes are that the programmatic reference will empower a general audience to engage in a contemporary musical language and also to keep these narratives alive in modern consciousness.

Tom Waits (b. 1949) is an American songwriter, composer, actor and performance artist. He is a self-described maker of “adventure songs and Halloween music”  whose lyrics explore a fantastical underworld of seedy, sentimental, grotesque and sometimes maudlin subject matter. Williams’ Homage to Tom Waits (2012) is dedicated to the later period of his music characterized by the use of uncommon instruments and an evolving sound palette that explores forms that are rarely present in popular music (vaudeville, rumba, polka, tango, spoken word).

To read more about Joseph Williams visit his website http://joeplaysguitar.com.

"Je Suis Charlie" by Yuliya Lanina About the Art: Yuliya Lanina is a Russian-born American multimedia artist who lives and works in Austin, TX. Employing surreal imagery to simultaneously elicit feelings of uneasiness and empathy, she paints and collages bizarre characters that come to life through mechanization, animation, and music. Lanina draws from many sources to create these characters, though she often taps into Greek mythology with its half-human and half-animal demigods, and also relies on Russian fairy tales, which are filled with fantastic beings deeply rooted in paganism, mysticism, and symbolism. Her creatures and their stories move freely between logical and illogical, realistic and illusory, predictable and surprising, representing life that can only be lived, but never understood. 

To see more of her work visit her website http://www.yuliyalanina.com.

Play! is about connecting contemporary art and music in captivating downtown Austin spaces.  Each event highlights the work of one visual artist paired with an intimate live concert.  We look for exciting downtown environments, start off with cocktails, delicious bites from Easy Tiger, and let the art and music set the mood.  

This event is sponsored by Laraine & Leon Lasdon.

Tickets can be purchased here.


An Interview with Ekachai

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Ekachai Jearakul played in Carnegie Hall on Friday and is on his way to play for us here in Austin on Saturday! In the midst of this international superstar's globe trotting for his current Guitar Foundation of America tour, we were able to squeeze in some time to ask him a few questions about where he draws inspiration from and his musical career thus far.

 

 

What inspired you to begin studying Classical Guitar at such a young age?
I was first inspired by the music of the King of Thailand. I originally started my musical training on the trumpet but I heard a friend play an arrangement of “Hungry Man Blues” on classical guitar, by the King, and I knew I wanted to play guitar.

Which musicians have inspired you the most in your musical career?
John Williams was a true guitar hero of mine and I listened to his albums quite a lot when I first began to study the guitar. I also wanted to mimic his career by playing in the same concert halls he played in.

What is your favorite piece of music to play? Why?
I love to play the music of Agustín Barrios. His compositions are so beautiful and he really understood the instrument like Chopin did on the piano.

Of all the countries you've gotten to travel to, where was your favorite place to visit/play? Why?
Madrid, Spain. The architecture is incredible, there’s a real big city bustle, and I was so captivated by the combination of cultures.

12112065_953036928103128_5900439952495041590_n How was your experience playing for the Royal Family of Thailand?
It was a tremendous honor to play in front of the Royal Family; I was not nervous but humbled to have the opportunity. It still is one of my biggest dreams to play in front of the King.

What are your plans after you complete the GFA tour?
More touring! I’m looking to do more orchestra collaborations, finish my Mel Bay publication on the music of the King of Thailand, and record another CD on the GHA label.

For more details about his concert on Saturday click here, or call us at (512) 300-2247.


Encouraging Creativity through Music & Storytelling

Our very own Audience Engagement Artist in Residence, Joseph Palmer, has been touring the city of Austin visiting Elementary Schools, Middle Schools, and High Schools as well as places like the Thinkery Children's Museum, the Young Women's Leadership Academy, and Gardner Betts Juvenile Justice Center. Joseph has developed a program to engage children and young adults in the arts by integrating music and the story telling process. His emphasis on learning the listening process to influence the emotions, aids students in imagining a story based on the sounds they are hearing.

After explaining how a composer took inspiration from a folk tale and was able to creatively transform it into a piece of music (Pedro y Diablo - Joe Williams), the kids then did this process in reverse; taking three short pieces of music and constructing their own three part story in response to what they heard in the music (Caprice Variations 1, 16, & 35 - Rochberg).

At one of the schools Joseph most recently visited, he describes this transformation process-

Here's a synopsis of the story created by the students at Perez Elementary in response to the Rochberg-

Caprice No. 1: A man named Pablo is on a quest to look for his lost love but is challenged to a duel by the infamous villain Jacques. Despite his odds, Pablo is able to defeat Jacques.

Caprice No. 16: Pablo continues on his lonely journey through the desert to look for his love but soon catches word that Jacques' spirit has somehow returned and is chasing off everyone in Pablo's hometown to seek revenge.

Caprice No. 35: A very intense chase ensues. Pablo finally reunites with his lover and together they try to escape from the wrath of Jacques. At the peak of tension, they find shelter inside a transparent forcefield which prevents the evil spirit from reaching them. The spirit becomes increasingly enraged until suddenly reaching the point of complete self-destruction.

If you've heard the 35th Rochberg Caprice, this ending totally makes sense.

This is just one example of a story that a group of children have come up with after listening to these pieces being played for them. Another one of Joseph's recent visits was to Gardner Betts Juvenile Justice Center which he described as a more "up-close, interactive performance."

One moment that particularly stood out to me was when I played a piece without revealing the title, composer, or any background info and simply asked them to "listen closely and imagine what you think the composer is trying to express through this music just from the sounds you hear." Afterwards, I heard a number of thoughtful comments from them. Though there was one kid who said "It sounds like you've lost someone that you love." I then revealed that the piece was entitled "Farewell" by Sergio Assad and that the composer wrote the piece as a farewell to his wife who he had just lost to terminal illness. We went on to discuss how amazing it is that music can express such emotions so profoundly and with such precision that another human being can truly feel and understand what is being communicated without any words being exchanged or ever having even met the person - just by listening and feeling into sounds they put together.

After the students had listened to Joseph's performances and built the stories to fit them, they were asked a few questions about how the demonstration affected their overall experiences as listeners and audience members. One student put it simply, "For a while I forgot I was in this place and just imagined a story about a boy walking by himself & realizing the hardships in life." Comments like these go to show the incredible potential that music has to transport an individual into another reality.

The goal of this program is to give students the opportunity to become more in touch with their creative sides and develop their perceptive listening skills in order to encourage them to use their imagination through a multi-sensory experience. We encourage students to develop their own interpretations and create something new in hopes that they will be inspired to continue to do so.

In the words of Albert Einstein, "Creativity is contagious," and we are on a mission to spread it.

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Joseph at Perez Elementary, playing for a group of children.

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Joseph's visit to the Young Women's Leadership Academy

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Girls in a class at the Young Women's Leadership Academy eager to add their perspective of a piece Joseph played for them into the story they built to match the music.


ACG Celebrates 25 Years

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As we open our 25th season this upcoming Saturday with world renowned classical guitarists Kazuhito Yamashita, we can't help but look back on how far we have come. Our Executive Director, Matt Hinsley, has written a few words to give us a little insight on his history with the organization:

"Austin Classical Guitar was founded in 1990. I joined the organization in 1996, after arriving in Austin to start my master’s degree. At that time ACG was looking for new leadership. I had run a student guitar club during my undergraduate studies, so I got the job!

We launched our first International Series soon after, and in 1998 added the free Community Concert Series. In 1999 we formed our Community Guitar Ensembles, and in 2001 established our Educational Outreach program. 2003 marked the first time we presented the legendary Pepe Romero in concert, and in the years that followed came John Williams, Christopher Parkening, Eliot Fisk and so many more amazing artists.

In 2004 we began developing a curriculum and teacher resource for classroom guitar. GuitarCurriculum.com launched online in October of 2008, and soon became the backbone of our educational services, enabling us to reach more students than we ever had before. This fall we are supporting 55 school programs locally, and many hundreds more around the world, serving thousands of students.

By 2005, Austin Classical Guitar had become the largest nonprofit classical guitar organization in the United States, and we’ve continued to grow by about 30% every year since! For me, it all began as a dream of a future where classical guitar could meaningfully impact the lives of diverse individuals in our communities, and guitarists could be paid fairly for delivering their vital and uplifting services. Twenty-five years later, together with our uniquely vibrant community, we pause to reflect on how much we have accomplished. But only for a moment – there’s so much more to do, and the dream is shining within us more brightly than ever.

Here’s to another twenty-five glorious years of sharing and celebrating humanity through music."

We never would have made it this far without the support of our sponsors and our community, and for that we thank you.


Jorge Caballero on Yamashita

With an impressive background in transcribing symphonies and orchestral arrangements into solo classical guitar pieces and a long list of awards from international competitions, Kazuhito Yamashita has been an inspiration since the beginning of his career.

Known by many as one of the most brilliant and influential musicianskazuhitooct3 of our time, he are honored to host him for the second time here in Austin. Yamashita’s concert, and the opening of our 25th  season, is one week from Saturday.

Tickets and information are online here, or call 512-300-2247

One of our favorite guitarists of all time is Jorge Caballero.  We knew Yamashita was a huge influence on him, and we asked him to share a few words with us.

This is what he had to say:

"It is difficult to describe the fascination and astonishment I felt the morning I heard Yamashita's Pictures at an Exhibition for the first time. My teacher pulled out from his vast collection of guitar records a black cassette case, opened it with the familiarity of constant use, and after rewinding it, we listened. A myriad of sounds unfamiliar to my ears ensued. "I know people who quit playing the guitar after hearing this," he said, between breaks and stops to fast forward through the tape. "And why not? This recording is like a crossroads."

The genesis of the guitar version of Pictures dates back to the end of the 1970s, when the now legendary Japanese guitarist Kazuhito Yamashita first devised, interpreted, and published it. Historically speaking, this arrangement is— along with Yamashita's subsequent performances of it, similar to the Pioneer anomaly in astrophysics: the paradox it created between the theoretically possible and the hypothetical forcibly exposed the limits of our knowledge.

In my twelve-year-old mind I could see this paradox, hanging on a delicate balance of simple definitions: "What is the guitar?" This question spun in my head as I heard my teacher's remarks on Yamashita's playing in the background. My own mind was busy. "Is it the instrument of Segovia, the one I more or less knew? Or, is it really something else? Can it be ultimately defined?" These questions took on the form of a persistent puzzle, one that my greatest imaginative effort could not resolve.

After the lesson was over, I asked my teacher if I could borrow the music, a spiral bound photocopy of forty-plus pages. Once I got home, I opened it to the first Promenade, guitar in hand, and began reading. Although even the opening phrase, its odd time signature and its fingerings seemed already illogical, I hoped that someday my curiosity would reward me the benefit of understanding it, and that is how I began learning Pictures, slowly, taking a page here and there and trying to play it, without responsibility beyond my self imposed obligation, but moreover, I sought to understand its meaning in order to quench a desire for knowledge, so as to resolve a riddle, to learn."

 

 


A World Class Introduction for our International Series

As soon as we heard Kazuhito was going to conclude his concert with one of the greatest musical works of all time, Bach’s Chaconne in d minor from his Second Violin Partita we knew we wanted to do something special.  We have found something special indeed!

We are very excited to announce that special guest Jessica Mathaes, Concert Master of the Au
stin Symphony Orchestra, will be giving a brief talk and demonstration about the Chaconne beginning at 7pm before Kazuhito's concert which will begin at 8pm.

What is a Chaconne, you ask?

"A chaconne (/ʃəˈkɒn/French: [ʃakɔn]; Spanish: chacona; Italian: ciacconapronounced [tʃakˈkoːna]) is a type of musical composition popular in the baroque era when it was much used as a vehicle for variation on a repeated short harmonic progression, often involving a fairly short repetitive bass-line (ground bass) which offered a compositional outline for variation, decoration, figuration and melodic invention. In this it closely resembles the passacaglia." Wikipedia

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Not only is Jessica an award-winning violinist, she has traveled the
world to perform with multiple orchestras and served as a Musical Ambassador for the U.S. on a solo and masterclass tour through Singapore. She became the youngest and first female Concert Master of the Austin Symphony in 2005 and has maintained the title since then.

In the words of our Executive Director Matthew Hinsley, "If you have not seen Jessica perform before, you are in for an incredible treat.  She’s a marvelous musician, and I cannot wait to hear everything she has to say about Bach’s seminal solo violin piece - one of the most influential of all time."