2023-24 ACG Education Report

The 24-25 school year is underway. ACG is investing a million dollars in our education services this year. As you’ll read in the report below, ACG Education enriches the lives of thousands of young people and families in communities near and far. If you are inspired by this work we hope you will consider making a gift as part of our Fall Fund Drive. Click here to donate.


2023-24 was filled with important organizational milestones, beautiful individual moments, and progress toward our strategic goal of scaling our services nationwide. We are excited to share many points of light in this report, but we’d like to begin with our why:

Music education in school does great things for students, it’s been proven in decades of studies, and new data we’ll share in this report will underline just how powerful it can be. 

Guitar is the world’s most popular instrument, and when programs are built with care and rigor, we can bring new and different students to these proven benefits on a massive scale. 

When we learned that enrollment in our partner programs in Austin ISD surpassed both orchestra and choir district-wide, we asked ourselves: ‘What if we could do this in every major metro area in the nation?’ 

After 22 years building the resources, training protocols, and real-world applications of guitar program building, we believe we have the unique skills and knowledge to make a major positive change in American music education, which in turn will have a large-scale impact on tens of thousands of young people in the coming years.

 

Travis Marcum, Director of Education
Austin Classical Guitar

INVESTING IN PEOPLE

Music is our medium for connection, and it’s through connection that we make positive change. The key to it all is our people. Classes and concerts can be safe and inspiring places for growth and belonging if the people involved bring care and wisdom to their approach. 

Therefore, our most important and most significant investment has always been in the amazing and dedicated individuals who make up our team, and then radiate out our values through modeling and training.

In the past twelve months we’re ecstatic to have brought four very special people onto our team: Phil Swasey, Jordan Sanchez, Alex Lew, and Rey Rodriguez.

Phil Swasey joined us last summer as our Director of Curriculum and Partnerships. A thirteen-year veteran teacher, Phil now leads advancements in our technology and curriculum, especially GuitarCurriculum and our method books, and is laying the groundwork for scaling partnership. Jordan Sanchez joined us this summer as our Education Project Manager. With Five years of public school teaching experience, Jordan is already revolutionizing our approach to information management and customer service, adding critical components for responsible growth. Both graduates of ACG Education, Alex Lew and Rey Rodriguez have joined our Teaching Artist team working both with our community ensembles and individual lessons programming.

INVESTING IN GUITARCURRICULUM

Since 2008 GuitarCurriculum has been our primary engine at ACG Education. A first-of-its-kind classroom guitar teacher resource, GuitarCurriculum houses all of the music teachers actually use in the classroom, along with sequencing, audio and video resources, and a range of other support materials for teachers.

We are absolutely thrilled to announce the release of a brand new GuitarCurriculum website in September 2024. A result of 6-months of work and investment, and years of dreaming and development, the new website provides superior performance for teachers, and superior data and customer service support for ACG. 

NEW IMPACT DATA

In the past year we have been able to connect directly to an AISD student data reporting tool called eCST. eCST allows us to pull aggregate performance data about students in our programs across the district, and compare performance directly to non-guitarist peers matched by campus and demographic. This is a powerful new opportunity to view the impact of ACG education beyond the guitar classroom. Many studies of this nature are weakened because they compare students who self-select music instruction broadly with students who do not, allow a range of other socio-economic factors to come into play when comparing academic or behavioral performance. These problems are mitigated by these data, however, because of our ability with eCST to match students by campus and demographic, even when pulling information from many campuses. 

Our new website will also include our first-ever student portal, filled with materials produced to engage our students and support out-of-school practice. Spanish language support materials, including tutorial videos, will launch with student portal as well, and a new Spanish-language method book is currently in production.

 

INTERNATIONAL SERVICE

While most of our development work is focused in the United States, occasionally we bet on particularly promising leaders elsewhere who we know will amplify our resources. Such is the case with Ravindra Paudyal in Nepal and Bosco Segawa in Uganda. With our assistance, Ravindra has developed beautiful classes for kids in central Kathmandu, and Bosco is now adding guitar as a central component in the orphanages he runs in Uganda where they just received our shipment of thirty guitars. We Hope you enjoy these videos.

NATIONAL SERVICE

In July 2024 we trained over one hundred teachers in three summits in Austin, Columbia (South Carolina), and St. Louis. That’s the most in one summer since before COVID. Our team also traveled and spoke at state music education conferences in Texas, South Carolina, New York, and Kentucky, and conducted or assisted with major district events in Loudoun County (Virginia), Austin, Houston, Dallas, and Denton Texas. 

At every teacher summit our participants engage in three days of intense and joyful work improving their skills as educators and artists. As part of the training experience, they also make beautiful music together whether they’ve played guitar their whole lives, or are picking one up for the first time on day one of the summit! We do this because we’re all about making beautiful music with everyone, and we do this because frequently in public schools teachers must accommodate students at different skill levels in the same room at the same time. We hope you enjoy this beautiful performance of GuitarCurriculum repertoire from our South Carolina 2024 summit.

CENTRAL TEXAS SERVICE

With programs now in almost every Austin ISD school, and partners in San Marcos, Manor, Hutto, and San Antonio, this region is by far our largest service area. We are thrilled to report new middle school programs developing in both Hutto and San Marcos this year. With this many programs (60+) and national teacher turnover trends rising, we are extremely busy training and supporting all of the new teachers walking into guitar classes for the first time this fall. Their readiness translates directly into the quality of student experience with music, and we want to get it right.

For twenty-three years we have been investing in free individual lessons for students who would not otherwise be able to afford them. This is a transformative program, and many of the ‘full-circle’ stories we’ve shared over the years–students graduating and later returning as professionals to work with us–directly relate to this program. We increased our investment in free lessons from $50,000 to $80,000 from 2023 to 2024, grew the number of contract teaching artists from 13 to 16, and increased the number of students served from 52 to 77.

June 2024 saw our first ACG Summer Camp, a scholarship-assisted experience at our Rosette headquarters. This camp provided twenty students from across our community with a supportive and creative summer focused on music. Throughout the camp, students engaged in large and small ensemble work, collaborating daily to prepare a beautiful program of music to share with friends and family. Six exceptional artists joined the campers, offering performances, masterclasses, and interactive workshops, including sessions on composition and improvisation. For our staff, this camp was also an opportunity to develop a prototype for an affordable, engaging summer program that all Austin students can access, with plans to expand in future summers.

JUVENILE JUSTICE SERVICES

In addition to our juvenile justice programs serving youth in residential facilities in the Austin area and Dallas, we are pleased to announce a new program at Juvenile Justice Alternative Education Program (JJAEP) in the 2023/24 school year. Working in this secure day facility has given our director, Hector Aguilar, the opportunity to bring the joy and connection of music to students who are not incarcerated at a facility like Gardner Betts, but may be on a track toward increased disciplinary action. We are still operating thriving programs in Travis County’s Gardner Betts facility, Williamson County Juvenile Services, and Dallas County’s Henry Wade and Medlock facilities. We are especially pleased to welcome long-term colleague, Noe Garcia, to our contract teaching team, who is now directing our Dallas program.

After years of development, we are also pleased to announce the start of our Long-Term Engagement Project for students who have been released from juvenile detention. In 2023-24 ACG contract teacher Willem Flowers, has been seeing several students, carrying the critical connections music brought them while incarcerated into their life in the community. 

In Williamson County we were invited to present for the Mental Health in Schools conference. ACG Director of Education, Travis Marcum, presented at the conference, and led a student interview.

COMMUNITY

2024-25 is the 25th season for our Community Ensemble programs under the leadership of ACG Director of Community Education Tony Mariano! With the additional last year of the South Austin Guitar Ensemble, and this summer’s addition of a third youth ensemble, our total number of community ensembles has grown to 6, serving over seventy-five people on a weekly basis.

Perhaps most notable in 2023-24, the ACG Youth Orchestra celebrated its tenth anniversary with a tour in Spain in early June. You can see the amazing photos in a day-by-day travel blog here. You can also read a lovely reflection written by ACG intern Micaela Creo here.

TWO SPECIAL HIGHLIGHTS

Braille Learning

We received the most wonderful email from Kim, a student in the Netherlands who has been using our LetsPlayGuitar Braille lifelong learning resource to learn guitar. Kim wrote:

“Thank you so much for answering my mail request. But most of all, thanks for creating the LetsPlayGuitar course! It was such a joy to find a fully accessible course for the classical guitar.

“I have finished all 8 levels now, although I guess it will take me some time to play all pieces in the indicated tempo. I’ll keep working on that (probably the rest of my life…).

But while I am working on that, I would like very much to have access to additional music in braille. And if possible, in downloadable, BRF format.

“I am from The Netherlands, and braille material for the classical guitar is very limited here. So, I was very happy to find your course on the internet. I am completely blind. I played the audio parts of your course, via an Iphone with VoiceOver, and I read the 40 braille scores on a braille display.”

Kim went on to give us some excellent suggestions for how to make our resource even better. Thank you Kim.

Presence

In February 2024, after eight months of preparation, 65 student guitarists, the five professional singers of VAMP, bassoonist Kristin Wolf Jensen, and guitar soloist Dieter Hennings took the stage to perform the world premiere of one of our most ambitious projects ever: Presence.

Our 2023-24 season theme was Presence, inviting everyone in our community to reflect on the transformative power of bringing one’s whole self to each moment, be it solitary or with others. Artistic Director Joe Williams paired with Education Director Travis Marcum and worked alongside superstar composer and ACG Artist In Residence Reena Esmail to make an enthralling work developed in partnership with the community. Events such as this are sparks for inspired learning, they exceed expectations and stretch everyone involved to new heights, and the result is unforgettable. Enjoy.

LOOKING AHEAD: BEAUTY, KINDNESS & SPARK

As we shared at the beginning of this report, we believe we are poised for a new era of service at ACG Education. After twenty-three years of innovation and replication, with remarkable and lasting results on generations of students, we believe it’s time to scale our programs across Texas and the US at a new rate.

We’d like to close with the introduction of a new idea: spark. For a decade we have been referring to our change agents as beauty and kindness. Beauty is our organizing principle, it’s what gets us together for concerts, or causes us to work together in the classroom to refine our skills. At the same time, so much of the change we see in humans over time, and the success of our growing community, is a result of intentional kindness. You might think of beauty as the nucleus and kindness as the electron that, together, make up the atom that is ACG. 

To this powerful equation, we’d like to offer a new observation. In the fertile context of beauty and kindness, we have come to realize that sparks of inspiration – unexpected projects, stretch goals, moments of sublime beauty, or joyful collaboration – become catalysts for transformation. Presence, our bold 2024 project with Reena Esmail, is a perfect example of spark. 

This is a significant learning. It is significant because the better we understand how we successfully make positive change in the world, the better we will be able to scale and replicate our service elsewhere. GuitarCurriculum is our sequential method, the Five Elements are our guiding behaviors, and we now understand our change agents to be beauty, kindness, and spark.

THANK YOU

ACG Education services are only possible because of the generosity of people who share our belief in the power of music to positively transform lives. We would like to extend an extra special thanks to the following institutions and individuals for their significant financial support over the past year:

The Ben & Nancy Sander Family, Meadows Foundation, Augustine Foundation, Cain Foundation, Kaman Foundation, Tim & Karrie League, Webber Family Foundation, W.D. Kelley Foundation, Still Water Foundation, Rea Charitable Trust, Texas Commission on the Arts, Greg Wooldridge & Lynne Dobson, Lucy & Bill Farland, atsec information security, H-E-B, Kodosky Foundation, Bill & Lynne Cariker, Robert Rodriguez, Applied Materials Foundation, Ernest & Sarah Butler, Louis & Mary Kay Smith Family Foundation, Mary Raley, Seawell Elam Foundation, Texas Bar Foundation, Gail Vanderlee Strain, Jacqueline Rixen, Stacia & Walt DeBill, Louise Epstein & John Henry McDonald, Mercedes-Benz of Austin, Mockingbird Foundation, Warren Skaaren Charitable Trust, The D’Addario Foundation, 3M Foundation, Debra Lewis, Carson & Michele McKowen, Ameriprise Financial Community Relations, Arnold Foundation, Linda McDavitt, Megyn Busse, Sangeeta Kaur & Hai Nguyen, MFS Fund at the North Georgia Community Foundation, Rotary Club of Austin – University Area, Shanti Foundation for Intercultural Understanding, Tito’s Handmade Vodka, Zack & Whitney Zamora, Austin Junior Forum, Free Guitars For Kids – FG4K, Robert Reynolds & Kelly Raley, Lloyd & Ferrell Pond, Jim & Jennifer Judkins, Russ & Janey Trowbridge, Kelley Bowen, Sandra Bosley, CAPTRUST, Jewish Communal Fund, Jim & Marion Jirsa, Ruth J Rubio, Tom & Judy Taylor, and Anonymous Donors


Celebrating 25 Years of Community Ensembles!

This year marks 25 years of Austin Classical Guitar’s Community Ensembles, a program that began with a small group of passionate guitarists and has grown into a vibrant, multi-generational family of musicians who meet weekly to rehearse, connect, and share the joy of ensemble music-making!

Join us tomorrow, April 26, in celebration of the 25th year anniversary of ACG Community Ensembles at St Martin's Lutheran Church at 8pm! At the heart of the program is the premiere of Superheroes!, a bold and imaginative new piece inspired by the Marvel universe composed by the critically acclaimed composer and founder of Golden Hornet, Graham Reynolds. This new work is inspired by the Marvel Universe and was commissioned by ACG to commemorate this special anniversary of our ensembles with the support of Karrie & Tim League and Richard Linklater & Detour Filmproduction. RSVP here

Learn more about our Community Ensembles here. Support ACG here


 

Our Community Ensembles include players from a wide range of backgrounds, ages, and skill levels, and over the years they’ve performed everything from Bach to brand new works written just for them. At the heart of this program is the simple idea that playing music with others brings people together. And it has, season after season, for 25 years.

To celebrate this milestone, we sat down with three longtime members, John Garcia, Raj Randeri, and Jay Clement, who have each been long time members in the ensembles! Their reflections reveal the deep impact this program has had on individuals and the community at large.

John joined the ACG Community Ensemble around 2004, after a childhood surrounded by music and years of private study in jazz, classical, and fingerstyle guitar. What kept him coming back season after season?

“The ensemble is many things. It's a way for me to stay connected to my family background, and it's the band room experience I didn't have in school,” he shared. “It’s also a great opportunity for an amateur player like myself to be part of something larger; resembling a Community or Civic Orchestra, but for guitars!”

For Raj, who began playing rock and metal guitar in junior high before discovering classical guitar through Segovia and lessons at UT Austin, the joy has been both musical and social.

“I have really enjoyed the friends that I have made through the ensemble,” 

When we asked what stood out as particularly meaningful across their years in the group, all three members shared powerful memories,

Jay recalled Austin Pictures, a major production with the Miro Quartet, Eduardo Fernandez, and a massive guitar orchestra conducted by Maestro Peter Bay.

“It was inspiring watching Maestro Bay conduct,” Jay said. “And to be a part of such great music... It was my first exposure to Dr. Joe Williams, who has since become a friend and colleague.”

Raj remembered an unforgettable rehearsal moment from Presence, ACG’s 2024 season centerpiece.

“During the first large rehearsal for To the Sky with the singers, it was magical,” he said. “We were all looking at each other while we were playing, just amazed at how beautiful it sounded. It gave me chills. At the end of the piece, you could tell everyone felt the same way. We were all stunned.”

For John, the most remarkable moments came during the COVID-19 pandemic, when the ensemble moved online and continued to rehearse and grow.

“The COVID years stand out the most because this group stuck together online over video for two seasons,” he reflected. “That ACG attracted people to join a virtual guitar ensemble and stick with it says a lot about what ACG built with this program and their dedication to it.”

Each of these guitarists emphasized not only the joy of playing, but the relationships they’ve built along the way.

“I get most of my musical joy from collaborating with others,” Jay said. “A lifetime of being in choirs and singalongs has prepared me to listen and blend—this is my element. I’ve made many lasting friendships through the Ensemble, and that is the most precious thing of all.”

As we look back on 25 years of music, friendship, and growth, we’re overwhelmed with gratitude for the incredible individuals who’ve helped shape this program—from our first members, to our newest ones, to the many teaching artists, composers, and conductors who’ve inspired us along the way.

Here’s to the next 25 years!

This Saturday, April 26, we are celebrating this quarter decade with a big spectacular concert at St Martin's Lutheran Church at 8pm!

The program is the premiere of Superheroes!, a bold and imaginative new piece inspired by the Marvel universe composed by the critically acclaimed composer and founder of Golden Hornet, Graham Reynolds. This new work is inspired by the Marvel Universe and was commissioned by ACG to commemorate this special anniversary of our ensembles with the support of Karrie & Tim League and Richard Linklater & Detour Filmproduction. RSVP here.

We happen to have a SNEAK PEAK of one of the movements!

The ACG Youth Orchestra went on tour in March and recorded Graham's Powerman in Big Bend National Park and we just finished post production this week.

Check out these amazing young people performing next to the Rio Grande River with vistas of Mexico and the U.S. Huge thanks to Nick Hurt for the support in making this happen!

https://youtu.be/7YlQQan2gIY


Why Does New Art Matter for our Community? A letter from Joe Williams

Presence, behind the scenes

In reflecting on our season theme of Give and the many gifts that are present in our community, I recently compiled a list of every new piece of music that ACG has commissioned and supported over the years. 

All together there are over 300 pieces and arrangements totaling over 20 hours of music.  It was staggering to see it written out in one place and I couldn’t help but ask: Why has creating new music been such a big part of our work? 

We’ve made large scale pieces by internationally celebrated composers such as Reena Esmail, Nico Muhly, Graham Reynolds, Clarice Assad, Marek Pasieczny, and Jorge Morel. There are three silent film scores, ambitious chamber music pieces and powerful works with community voices.  

So many friends, near and far, have created new music for us:  Roland Dyens, Celil Refik Kaya, Olga Amelkina Vera, Mark Anthony Cruz, Jurg Kindle, Russell Pinkston, Matthew Lyons, and our own Travis Marcum and Justice Phillips, just to name a few. 

On top of this, our EducationTeam has written and arranged a sizable catalogue of pieces for young guitarists in public schools and our Music & Healing Artists recently finished writing their 100th song.  

When you consider that it requires significant resources to create a new piece of music, and there are plenty of perfectly good pieces already in existence, why is it important that we continue to make new works?

I believe the answer is you. Our community is rich and varied in its experience and is so worthy of expression. A new piece is a manifestation of its place and its time and it helps us recognize and celebrate the significance of life itself. 

A new piece empowers us to ask great and timely questions: Who are we now? What do we want to remember? What is special about our time? How do we want to be? 

And I believe that a new piece is filled with energy and promise. The energy comes from three advocates: the composer who writes the piece, the performers who bring it into being, and the community where it is created. The deeper the connection between all of those involved, the more energy it creates and the more meaning it has to offer. 

Some of my favorite examples of pieces that are filled with energy are: 

  • Presence (2023) by ACG Artist in Residence Reena Esmail. The product of a year-long collaboration, the lyrics were co-written by a very special orchestra of guitarists made up of middle school, high school and university students as well as community members. 
  • Mosaic Variations (2021) by Clarice Assad was co-created with 50 students from across our city. There are two versions of this piece:  one with Clarice and the students and the other with Jorge Caballero and the Miró Quartet.
  • Garden Green (2019) was written by Lullaby Project participant Meg with artists Travis Marcum and Amelia DeVivo. As she thought about meeting her baby for the first time, Meg used the familiar image of a garden as a symbol of growth and peace through the joy and challenges of life. 
  • I wrote i/we in collaboration with Travis Marcum in 2017 as reflection on how connected and divided we are. It features the voices and stories of refugees settling in Austin at that time. We revisited the work with ARCOS Dance during the pandemic and created I/WE 2020 with the original live recording and ARCOS’ exquisite choreography and videography.

This, as they say, is the tip of the iceberg. This library of music is in turn beautiful, fun, heartbreaking, and riveting and it is steadily becoming a collection that reflects our time and who we are.

With gratitude,

Dr. Joe Williams III, Artistic Director


Concert & Sight Reading: Austin!

We dream of a world where music is here for everyone, connecting us, inspiring us, and bringing joy and meaning wherever it goes. It’s because of our community and supporters that we are able to share stories like this. 

Click here to learn more about supporting ACG.


 

Education is at the center of our service here at ACG and we are grateful to continue to grow and share in moments of inspiration with teachers and students everyday.

In 2012, ACG in collaboration with Austin ISD, built the first Large Guitar Ensemble Concert and Sight Reading Contest. Structured after UIL competitions, students and teachers from Middle and High School guitar programs across the state gather at the beautiful Austin ISD Performing Arts Center to perform concerts they have worked hard on throughout the year and test their music sight reading abilities as an ensemble. 

Every year we are so amazed by the talent, dedication, and drive that comes into this competition from teachers and students alike. And we are so grateful for the hard work and clear success that comes out of our programs.

We had our Austin Concert and Sight Reading competition just earlier this week! It was so moving to see the transformation of nerves and jitters to cheers and pride after each group successfully moved through each rehearsal space, performance, and judging room.

Here are some beautiful moments from this years Concert and Sight Reading! Photos by Christina Castro.


Together with Eric Briones

One of our favorite things about music is the time it creates for togetherness. Listening and playing together gives us experiences we share as if we’re one, over time that can turn into relationships, friendships, trust, and treasured memories. 

At ACG, we believe in the transformative power of music. We have witnessed firsthand how music can transcend boundaries, touch hearts, and make a positive impact in people’s lives. Click here to learn more about supporting ACG.


 

This week, we had the opportunity to connect with an inspiring young man, Xavier Eric Briones. 

Eric is a high school senior, he’s an ACG Javier Niño scholarship recipient who was just accepted into all four music schools where he applied, and he already has so much to teach us all!

We met Eric in our AISD public school programs but prior to this, he was already dabbling in teaching himself how to play the guitar, and a multitude of other instruments. He grew up in a low-income household and had to learn some difficult lessons early on in his youth. He shares, 

“Guitar came to me as a mere coincidence through school. As time went on I took it seriously 2 years ago. What really brought me to it, was the love for music and how much I could express myself with it. Playing as if I was performing felt amazing, and the strive to get better kept me going. Although, I had no teacher so I was self taught and I ended up just giving up on guitar as a dream goal until I met my guitar director, Ms.Meredith, who helped me develop the goal to continue it as a career. Although I come from a really low income household, I worked hard to get to where I am now. 

I grew up as a “delinquent,” and overall a “bad kid.” I didn’t have much guidance in life for a long time. From doing things I shouldn’t have done as a kid to getting in a position where I have a legal record, I overcame a lot of stuff in life. I was able to keep going, because of the desire to help my family one day. 

I always had a lot of people tell me I would do horrible in life, and I love to prove people wrong. I grew up homeless. I was born on the street, from house hopping to house hopping. I’m grateful to God and my mother for working so hard to get to where we are today. If it wasn’t for her, I wouldn’t be able to get to this point in my life. As a juvenile delinquent, no matter where you are in life, and what your status is. You can do right in the world, as long as you put your mind to it and DO IT. Don’t just say it.. DO IT. It’s all in the mind, and the drive to do great things.”

Xavier Briones with teacher Evan Taucher

Eric has a deep compassion for community and people who don’t have the privilege of financial freedom, mentorship, or opportunities. He has a passion for bringing people together, bringing people up, and inspiring them to push through adversity the way he did. He shared a beautiful sentiment, 

“The guitar provides great opportunities to help students who really love music no matter the circumstances. I want to use this instrument to make an impact on the world and eventually help people who face struggles through music therapy. Because no matter what you have going on, you can still make it far in the world with the right guidance, and I believe, I can provide that guidance and support. I want the world to know, I won’t see them as a regular person I have to work with, but as family and someone you can talk to, for guidance. 

I learned early on that I love to help people but when I realized I could do it with music, it inspired me. My goal is to make an impact. My future with guitar and plans in life is very simple, to make an impact on the world and upcoming generations of people. I don’t care about being the best guitarist, or musician. Simply to be the best leader I can be and an inspiration to others in the world.”

Eric is already doing amazing things within our community. Just this year, he began working with several students from our Juvenile Justice Long Term Engagement program. In fact, he performed with them in their very first public performance just earlier this week! Their ensemble is called the VITA Quartet. Eric shares more about this work, 

“I saw VITA or also known as JJE Education Group, because I came across an email from the subscription ACG Email Website, with something about Juvenile Justice Education Guitar Group, being highlighted. With having a criminal background myself, it sparked my interest because I want to make an impact with people in my community that I relate to and who may not see what the future can bring. 

So I joined VITA/JJE, as a mentor, to give the kids guidance, and hope to show them that there are options out there to do good in the world and make it far. Of course I also teach them the basics of guitar.

The concert earlier this week went great. And when the South Austin Guitar Ensemble played after us, two of the students I sat next to loved to see how great musicians can be and it was wonderful seeing the students so focused and nervous at the concert because it shows how much they care about it. These kids seriously love music, and it was awesome to see them super into it.”

Looking forward, Eric plans on attending the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Florida in the Fall to study Music Therapy and potentially double major in Music Education. 

“I don’t plan to retire from this path until I’m unable to walk. The feelings that drive all of this are love and passion.” 

We’re so grateful to connect with such talented people in our community and continue to create beautiful music and experiences with them. And we look forward to sharing more stories like these with you! 

Over the past decade, we have been privileged to create and sustain Texas’ first and only daily, for-credit performing arts course for young people incarcerated in the Juvenile Justice system. Learn more about ACG Education and our Juvenile Justice programs here.


A Synchronistic Moment: Meet Matthew Lyons & Besa Carney

We dream of a world where music is here for everyone, connecting us, inspiring us, and bringing joy and meaning wherever it goes. It’s because of our community and supporters that we are able to share stories like this. 

Click here to learn more about supporting ACG.


 

As we reflect on our 2024–25 season, GIVE, we’re filled with gratitude for the many extraordinary moments and gifts we’ve shared with our community. One memory, in particular, stands out. Not just because it was dazzling and ambitious, but because it represented something profoundly full circle! 

This past February, two very special projects happened simultaneously, each highlighting the extraordinary journey of young people we met through our education programs, from their very first notes to taking the stage as professional artists and composers.

On one side of town, in partnership with our friends at Austin Chamber Music Center, we presented a brand-new live score for the 1925 silent film classic The Phantom of the Opera, performed alongside Lon Chaney’s haunting portrayal of the masked figure lurking beneath the Paris Opera House. The breathtaking new score was written by Matthew Lyons, an Austin-based composer and guitarist who first crossed our path through ACG’s work with AISD at Anderson High School; back before we were really established in the school district! 

Now, years later, Matthew returned to ACG as a professional artist, leading a dream team of performers—his Moontower Guitar Duo partner Stephen Krishnan, violinist Sandy Yamamoto, and cellist Annie Jacobs-Perkins—through 90 minutes of heart-pounding, live-performed music that breathed fresh life into a cinematic masterpiece.

Meanwhile, another chapter of someone’s musical story was being written. This one at the very beginning of its arc! 

Bowie High School senior Besa Carney, a longtime student in our education programs, was preparing to debut her very first guitar duet composition as part of our play! series. She spent weeks working with our Director of Education, Travis Marcum, and world renown guitarist Randall Avers, on one of her very early compositions in her career which she later got to perform with Randy by her side on stage! 

We had the pleasure of speaking with both Matthew and Besa!

Although Matthew was never directly a student of ACG, he was very connected with our community! He shares,

“I went to Anderson which didn’t have a classical guitar program at the time, my journey with the guitar began because I studied privately with Steve Kostelnik in middle/high school. However, growing up playing classical guitar in Austin, ACG provided many opportunities to perform and get to know other like-minded musicians. After leaving to study in San Francisco for a few years and then returning to Austin, many of my musical projects have been fostered by ACG, from writing a guitar trio to be performed in James Turrell’s Skyspace by students from ACG’s Education program, to writing the score for Phantom. Even with smaller projects, there’s such a strong sense of community in this org that I always inevitably end up making new connections with people, and these connections can often grow organically into the next project. 

Being a part of this creative ecosystem has been such a privilege and has shaped the way that I view artistic “success”. Being successful is often associated with quantitative measures – how many concerts you play, how many views your videos have, how many followers you have, how many awards you’ve won, etc. I’ve learned through working with ACG over the years that a more meaningful definition of success as a musician can be the depth of creative connections you make over time. There’s something special about getting to build meaningfully on previous projects, establishing a rapport with more and more people in your community while you witness it grow at the same time, and knowing that what you’ve created or helped create is truly “of a place”. Having a sense of home as an artist is vital, an ACG has become that home for me.”

Diving into the massive project that was Phantom of the Opera, Matthew shared a beautiful statement about the process of creating that gorgeous composition, 

Writing 90 minutes of music over a year to be performed live with a film felt like a marathon. Although it seemed like I had plenty of time when Joe proposed the idea in February 2024, I began writing as soon as I could because I knew that it would take hundreds of hours to create something of that scope. The silver lining to that constant pressure over a long period of time was that I didn’t have the usual opportunity to second-guess my work – if I wasn’t entirely happy with a section, I just had to move on and come back to it if I had time. This forced me to trust my instinct more, and in fact having more material to work with sooner gave me more time to see how it all connected at a larger scale. Since I was writing music for a well established film, much was already decided for me. Factors such as pacing, mood, and character development were already inherent in the movie, and it was my job to amplify what was already working!

A challenge to scoring a silent film in general is that the music – being the only sonic element – ends up having an outsized role compared to contemporary film scoring. Acting from the silent film era tends to have exaggerated gestures and facial expressions to make up for the lack of audible dialogue, and it’s hard to know when these gestures are begging for music to accompany them – almost as a duet partner – or when it’s better to let the music percolate in the background at the larger service of the entire scene.

Since people already have the option of watching The Phantom in many different formats, I felt emboldened to write something completely different from what they might expect, although it was difficult to resist the temptation to borrow ideas from these other soundtracks! Ultimately, the great asset of this project was that performing the score live added a dimension to the experience that wouldn’t be possible otherwise. 

The week of the performances made me realize what an incredible feat of human coordination was required to make this project happen. It was a true honor to watch such talented humans work together to make this insane tightrope-walk of a concert actually work somehow, from the performers to the tech crew. 

The last thing I’ll mention is how fun it was to play melodica on stage with Stephen (a melodica is a keyboard-like instrument that you blow into with a mouthpiece or tube – kind of sounds like an accordion but a lot easier to play). I wasn’t sure how I’d handle playing under pressure on an instrument I had just started playing several months before, but it ended up being one of the funnest parts!”

We asked what kind of advice would Matthew, now as a professional musician and composer, give to someone at the beginning of their journey, like Besa. Here’s what he shared: 

“There are so many things to say, so I’ll make a list:

Write music that is true to yourself. Don’t worry about trying to impress people – there will always be people who love what you write, and people who don’t. In the end, the most impressive music is that which sounds authentic, and if you write for yourself, it will be. Lean strongly into your influences and learn as much as you can from the music you love. Don’t be afraid to let those influences show in your music. Over time, your individual voice will diffuse throughout your work the way a drop of dye can color an entire glass of water.

Don’t let composing be an isolated activity. Share your work with as many people as possible and try to work directly with the musician(s) who will play your music. This is an incredible way to sharpen your skills and make lifelong connections. As soon as you can, find those few people you trust most to give you supportive and honest feedback, and lean on them when you need advice or affirmation (we all do). Be your peers’ biggest fan. When you show people genuine support, it finds its way back to you.

Identify your artistic strengths and nurture them. Don’t define yourself by your perceived weaknesses. Composing is a lot like digging for gold – you have to sift through a lot of dirt to get to the good stuff. The sooner you get started and the longer you work, the closer you get to finding those few truly good ideas, so learn to appreciate your discarded ideas as a necessary part of the process. Having a compelling artistic voice comes from living life fully. Strike a balance between doing those things that make you a better artist and those things that make you more than just an artist, because sometimes they are one and the same. In the end, being a composer is more a constant action than a state of being. You might only ever feel like a “composer” when you’re composing, and that’s okay!

And finally, take time to feel proud of your work!”

We have come to know Besa Carney deeply through our Education programs! We met Besa when she was in middle school and participated in our Youth Camerata ensemble and we have followed her musical journey during her high school years at Bowie. She shares,

“Being involved with ACG has really enriched my musical capability to not just perform guitar, but to work with others which is such an important skill for people to have! I also had a guitar ensemble piece of mine premiered in New Mexico on our trip there, which was amazing! I am super blessed for all of the opportunities ACG has given me!”

Besa’s composition journey started at a very young age, beginning in 6th grade! She dives deeper, 

“I initially composed for the first time in 6th grade when my mom’s birthday was coming up and I didn’t have any money, so I made her a 8 measure piano song. It was really bad, but my mom said she loved it. Then towards the end of middle school I started composing more, and I really liked it!

I have performed and gotten my compositions performed several times, but the one I composed this year was my first guitar duet piece.”

In late February, as part of our play! series, Besa performed this duo piece with Randall Avers! She shares more about the experience, 

“Playing with Randy was incredible because even though his part was super hard, he made it sound easy.

Getting to work with Randy was such an amazing opportunity! It was really touching to hear about his life journey that occurred this past year, and how he used his experiences to create music with the people he cares most about. He is such a talented musician and an incredibly nice person, and I am very lucky that I got to work with him on my duet piece.”

Watch their performance of Ancestor by Besa Carney, here: 

Looking forward, Besa plans to attend the University of Texas at Austin to major in composition in the Fall! We’re so pumped to see what she does next!

We’re so grateful to connect with such talented people in our community and continue to create beautiful music and experiences with them. And we look forward to sharing more stories like these with you! 

Learn more about ACG Education and the work we do here. Support ACG Education here


Beautiful Updates from Uganda!

"I am fortunate to witness the transformative power of music in young lives. Our children face numerous challenges, yet through music, cultural arts, and gymnastics, they find a sense of purpose, confidence, and community. It reminds us of the universal role these things can play in building connections and resilience, no matter where we are in the world." - Aidah Nakitto, M-LISADA Music Coordinator

Learn more about M-LISADA here.


 

In summer 2023, we connected with Bosco Segawa from M-LISADA, an orphanage system based in Uganda, who shared how music and dance are central to their community. He dreamed of adding guitar to their creative journey.

Thanks to Free Guitars 4 Kids and Cálido Guitars, we sent 30 beautiful guitars and 60 sets of Augustine Strings overseas. Seven months later, the instruments arrived! 

By June 2024, we began training their teachers, former residents of the program who are now giving back, and in late August, classes began. Check out some of the videos they shared with us back then, here.

Since then, the teachers and students there have made incredible beauty beyond anything we could have imagined. We were surprised by this lovely video of gratitude on March 29, 2025 - which came along with three beautifully recorded songs. Enjoy!

https://youtu.be/3pFzjdPIR4I

"Last year, some of our children here recorded two songs but I also featured them playing the trumpet. They are acoustic. One of the songs is called 'We Are One' arranged by M-LISADA which means we are family despite our different backgrounds and 'What a Wonderful M-LISADA.'

Next week, we are traveling to the states. The tour is featuring the Launch of a book two of our girls co-authored together with an African music Artist based in North Carolina, Chinobay Herbert, who has been our partner for almost a decade now!" - Bosco Segawa

We Are One

What a Wonderful M-LISADA

Imagine

We are in so much awe of the members of M-LISADA's dedication and talent.

We are so deeply grateful to our partners for making this possible. Thank you. 


Celebrating Rising Stars: A Conversation with David Manzanares

Our play! Series comes to a close this week on Wednesday, April 9 at Captain Quackenbush’s in South Austin and on Thursday, April 10 at The Rosette, with a dazzling showcase of two rising stars from right here in Texas: multi-award-winning guitarist and composer David Manzanares Salguero, and one of Austin’s most outstanding young classical guitarists, Aytahn Benavi.

These extraordinary artists represent a new generation of classical guitarists—brilliant, passionate, and deeply committed to sharing music in meaningful ways. As we look forward to their performances, we had the chance to sit down with David to learn more about his story, his music, and his heart for community.

Learn more and find tickets here. Learn more about supporting ACG’s artists here


David Manzanares is an incredible young classical guitarist from Houston, Texas. This journey began for him during his freshman year of high school at Bellaire HS with his directors Edward Gigassy, Mark Moore, and Sean Stone-Ashe. 

Now a graduate of the Peabody Institute of Music and an active performer, David brings not only a wealth of musical talent, but also a profound commitment to giving back.

“I am extremely passionate about finding ways to create a positive impact on the community through music. I have done a lot of work performing in the Baltimore community (where I live right now) and even lived in a retirement home for two years where I would perform for  residents in the independent and assisted living facilities. I am also really passionate about composing. I find it to be a really compelling way to explore my voice through music. I find with my compositions, I am really interested in both story telling and lifting up underrepresented voices.”

One of the most inspiring parts of David’s journey is a project he created and has shared in collaboration with ACG’s Director of Education, Travis Marcum, called For the Future, a college readiness program for high school students facing financial barriers who want to pursue music in higher education.

I meet with the kids once a month both individually and in a group and walk  them through application process and act as a resource for them. Coming from a low income background myself, I didn’t know if I would be able to go to college. I had always planned on going but logistically, I couldn’t afford it. Thankfully, I was able to join a program very similar to “For the Future” that helped me through application process. However, I was the first student to go into the program who wanted to pursue music.  There was a lot of learning I had to do on my own about the process since I am a first  generation college student. Thankfully I was able to successfully apply and was accepted into  the Peabody Institute of Music on a full scholarship. Because of my experiences I wanted to create a program that helped students in similar situations. There are a lot of complicated parts to the application that aren’t intuitive and I want  to get rid of as many barriers as I can for these students. They have so  much potential and are so smart. I really want to help them put their potential where it belongs, in top tier universities. During the summer before my senior year, I won Peabody’s Launch Grant to fund the creation of this program and have been working on it since!”

David’s performance at Play! will include a beautiful range of works. He shares,

“I’m super exited to share this program because it’s comprises of my favorite works. I begin  with Bach’s Concerto in D Major which is a transcription of Vivaldi’s Violin Concert in D Major.  This work was then transcribed for the guitar by Judicael Perroy. I love playing this piece  because of how joyous it is but also because of its sensitivity, especially in the second movement.  

The second piece is Coste’s Rondeau de Concert. This work is considered to be Salon Music  which is meant to be played at a small party for friends. I like how fun this piece is and I really try to bring out the humor in it. 

The next piece is Triaela by Roland Dyens. I like to think of this piece as classical guitar  remixes since Dyens combines his different inspirations in each moment to create these  interesting fusions. 

I will finish with a piece I wrote last year about home. Home is When it’s Hardest to Say Goodbye is meant to represent the feeling of nostalgia when moving. Looking back at the  good times you had in your old home and sometimes not realizing how much a place felt like  home until you leave. 

I hope everyone enjoys the program! This music really brings me a lot of joy and am excited to  share this with everyone.”

Looking ahead, David is focused on growing For the Future, deepening his work as a composer, especially in collaboration with singers, and continuing to perform and compete.

And this summer, he’ll be moving to Austin to pursue his DMA at UT as Professor Adam Holzman’s Teaching Assistant!

“I’m looking forward to calling Austin my new home.”

Join us for this special evening with David Manzanares and Aytahn Benavi—two incredible young artists, right here in our backyard, whose passion, talent, and vision are helping shape the future of classical guitar. 

GET TICKETS

We hope to see you there! 


ACG Youth Orchestra's West Texas Tour!

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 Kritanko Chakraborty, Satvik Chawla, Eleanora Mason, Teddy McCoy, Noah Melendrez, Kian Mitchell, Nima Moin, Miles Notzon, Greg Sonnier Archith Venkatagiri, & Jianna Zamora with Director Joe Williams & Assistant ACGYO Director Alex Lew.

Learn more here. Support the ACGYO here

The ACGYO had an amazing adventure this March! As many of you know, our 2024-25 season theme GIVE is built around the idea that every person has unique gifts that they can offer their community, and that the act of giving is a cause for celebration. Inspired by this theme, the ACGYO gave performances in Fredericksburg, Alpine, Marfa, and San Antonio to raise money for local organizations who are doing good things in their community.

Before departing for West Texas, the ACGYO started their give tour with a benefit concert to raise money for ACG’s Music & Healing program. Thanks to a generous matching gift from Dr. Michael Froehls, they raised over $10,000 for the cause!

Here’s what they did on their tour!

 

On Friday, March 14, the ACGYO hit the road! They made their first stop at the Fredericksburg Theatre where the Fredericksburg Mayor, Jeryl Hoover, presented the ensemble. All donations made were gifted to the local children’s theatre.

Their next stop was at the McDonald Observatory where the ensemble members participated in a star party and had the chance to look through every telescope they had!

On Saturday, March 15, the AGCYO arrived in Marfa, TX!

They got a spectacular tour of the Chinati Foundation, founded by Donald Judd. They saw many modern art exhibits that challenged and broadened their perspectives.

Later that evening the ensemble performed at the Museum of the Big Bend with the Sul Ross University Quartet. This incredible collaboration was hosted by ACG’s long time friend, Nick Hurt.

Sunday, March 16, was the ACGYO’s last day in the beautiful West Texas desert.

They spent the day at Big Bend National Park where they recorded a music video on the Mexico border down at the Rio Grande! Their superstar filming was followed by a beautiful hike and swim in the Boquillas Canyon. With generous support from our long-time friends at Monkee-Boy Web Design, the music video is currently in production and will be released at the end of May. So stay tuned!

On Monday, March 17, the ACGYO made the long and windy trek from Marfa to San Antonio, TX where they performed for the Greehey Children’s Cancer Research Institute.

Executive Vice President at UT Health San Antonio, Dr. Francisco Cigarroa introduced the performance, and afterward ACGYO members Jianna Zamora and Kian Mitchell joined two UTSA medical students in a panel dedicated to the transformative power of music moderated by ACG’s Matthew Hinsley and UTSA’s Dr. Matthew Dacso. 

This was an unforgettable experience and we want to share a big giant thank you to Mayor Jeryl Hoover and his team at the Fredericksburg Theater Company,  Katie Kizzar and Rachel Fuechsl at the McDonald Observatory, Haley Levin and Sensorea at the Chinati Foundation, Dr. Andrew Alegria at Sul Ross University, Audio Engineer Dan Childers, Nick Hurt and his video production team and Leon Paczkowski, as well as Dr Francisco Cigarroa, Dr. Matthew Dasco, Eve Crawford White, Jeremy Powley and the entire team at UT Health San Antonio.

Memories like this can be life-changing for the young people in our community. We feel so fortunate to have the opportunity to go on tour and create beautiful memories like these with the wonderful, dedicated, and hard working students that make up the ACG Youth Orchestra.

To our community: Thank you for your support and belief in our mission to create experiences of deep personal significance through music. 


Juvenile Justice: A Beautiful Story

At ACG, we believe in the transformative power of music. We have witnessed firsthand how music can transcend boundaries, touch hearts, and make a positive impact in people’s lives. Over the past decade, we have been privileged to create and sustain Texas’ first and only daily, for-credit performing arts course for young people incarcerated in the Juvenile Justice system. Learn more about ACG Education and our Juvenile Justice programs hereClick here to learn more about supporting ACG.


 

I just left lunch with Hector Aguilar, our Director of Juvenile Justice Education here at ACG. I was so inspired by our conversation that I rushed home to write this letter to you.

Hector runs our programs for court-involved youth in Travis County’s Gardner Betts Detention Center and Juvenile Justice Alternative Education Programs, as well as Williamson County’s Juvenile Services, and Dallas County’s Henry Wade and Medlock facilities. Over lunch he told me a series of amazing stories of young people in difficult circumstances reaching above and beyond through music. My heart was racing.

One story Hector told me was of a conversation he had recently with a young man at one of the facilities. He’s been participating in guitar for several months, finding joy, and improving as a musician. He stopped Hector after their class to ask if it would be possible for his younger brother to get involved in guitar as well.

“I’m worried about him,” the student said. “He’s getting involved in some things he shouldn’t be, and I think guitar could really help him like it’s helped me.”

In all my years in and around education I’ve seen a lot of young people do amazing things with music. But it’s less common, I’ve found, to have awareness around oneself of the broader benefits being developed. As Hector was describing the interaction, I was blown away by the perspective exhibited by this young musician, and his care and hopes for his brother.

Thank you so much for your belief in ACG and in the power of music to help youth in our community.


ACG Top Ten of 2024

Welcome! Each December our team gets together to reminisce and reflect on the amazing adventures we’ve had over the previous twelve months. It’s not easy to come up with the top ten, because there are always so many incredible moments to choose from, but somehow we always manage to narrow it down. 

Don’t see your favorite? Let us know! We’d love to hear from you about the moment that touched your heart, tickled your fancy, or inspired your spirit.

Above all, of course, we’re grateful for you. We’re grateful for your presence in our lives, your kindness in our community, your belief in music, and your friendship. 

Support ACG’s programs here


 

#10 ACG Abroad: Uganda & Nepal

Oh wow. Our hearts expanded this year thanks to the amazing efforts of the teachers and students in our partner programs in Uganda and Nepal.

With assistance from our friends at Free Guitars 4 Kids and Cálido Guitars, we sent 30 guitars and 60 sets of Augustine Strings to Uganda. Seven months later, the guitars arrived, and by June 2024, teacher training had begun. By late August, guitar classes were underway. 

This community’s incredible progress in just three months has left us in awe. Music Coordinator Aidah Nakitto:

“The arrival of the guitars has expanded opportunities for our children to learn new skills, express themselves creatively, and connect with others through music. I am fortunate to witness the transformative power of music in young lives. Our children face numerous challenges, yet through music, cultural arts, and gymnastics, they find a sense of purpose, confidence, and community. It reminds us of the universal role these things can play in building connections and resilience, no matter where we are in the world.”

Read more about our work in Uganda here.

We’ve also been getting the most amazing videos from Kathmandu, Nepal! In the video below, the kids walked from the building where they learn guitar to a nearby temple because they thought it would be a prettier backdrop for the video they wanted to send us. Enjoy!!

#9 Student Artistry

We’re consistently amazed by the artistry and leadership of the young people we work with in our community. Every ACG concert features student performers, and one unforgettable moment was Brandon Kim at The Rosette opening for guitar icon Raphaël Feuillâtre.

Beyond the stage, students like Jianna Zamora exemplified leadership. At Bowie High School, Jianna stepped up to teach her peers, creating a ripple effect of empowerment and growth. Read more about her inspiring journey in our blog post here.

We’re endlessly grateful for these young musicians who not only shine as artists but also lead with heart, contributing to the thriving musical community we all cherish.

#8 Music & Healing: Red Oak Hope

Our Music & Healing program continues to blossom, bringing light and connection through music. Since 2014, ACG’s Music & Healing artists have worked with individuals facing profound challenges, creating opportunities to reflect, share, and express personal experiences through music. 

One partnership that highlights this transformative power is with Red Oak Hope, an organization dedicated to helping survivors of sexual exploitation. Their Austin home provides a safe space where women can heal and rebuild their lives. Through Red Oak Hope’s Restore program, participants discover creative outlets for self-expression as part of their holistic healing journey.

One stunning example of this work is Canción para Maria, a heartfelt song written by ACG Musich & Healing Artist, Michael, in collaboration with participants from Red Oak Hope. You can listen to Michael singing this beautiful song here

We’re deeply grateful for the opportunity to create music that heals and connects, and for the extraordinary individuals and partners who make this work possible.

#7 ACG Originals: Cuatro Elementos

Azul Barrientos and Joseph Palmer’s gorgeous concert Cuatro Elementos kicked off our ACG Originals concert series this season and it was pure magic. 

This extraordinary collaboration was a breathtaking celebration of the elements of life, blending classical and folk music into something transcendent. They shared music from their childhoods growing up in two very different places (Azul in Mexico City and Joseph in Rockwall, TX) and seamlessly connected their worlds. 

Here’s one of our favorites:

#6 Juvenile Justice: Long-Term Engagement

This year, we celebrated a milestone in our Juvenile Justice long-term engagement program. One Sunday afternoon in October, a young man we’ll call Tom performed beautifully at The Rosette. This concert marked the completion of his probation requirements, following his release from the Gardner Betts Juvenile Justice Center about a year earlier.

Our long-term engagement initiative grew from a desire to extend the trust and transformation we see in students during their time with us in detention. Learning and performing music for the first time often sparks incredible growth, and we wanted to create a pathway for music and mentorship to remain an anchor as students reintegrate into the community.

Tom’s story is a testament to this vision. Not only did he captivate the audience with three solos and two duets during his performance, but he also shared his music in court as part of his final hearing, impressing the judge with his progress. Tom has since joined his school’s guitar class and actively seeks new opportunities to play and perform.

To learn more about Tom’s inspiring journey and the impact of this program, read Matt Hinsley’s full reflection letter here.

#5 Ten Years of ACGYO: Spain Tour

This year, we celebrated a major milestone: the 10th anniversary of the ACG Youth Orchestra! 

Since its founding in 2013 under the direction of Joe Williams, ACGYO has brought together advanced young guitarists from across our community. To mark their 10th anniversary, the ACGYO went on a memorable tour in Spain in June. 

The journey included a visit to the renowned Alhambra Guitarra factory, where members borrowed fifteen 4 P Conservatory model guitars for the tour. With these lovely instruments in hand, they performed across Southern Spain, delighting audiences at the Las Torres de Cotillas Flamenco Festival, the Antonio de Torres Museo de la Guitarra and a surprise performance in Granada.

This tour was a celebration of cultural exchange and community with memories that will last a lifetime. Learn more about the tour here.

#4 Great artists at The Rosette: Ana Vidovic 

This year, The Rosette has been graced by an abundance of world-class musicians, including luminaries like David Russell, Raphael Feuillâtre, and the Beijing Duo.

One shining example was the unforgettable concert by Ana Vidovic. Ana’s playing was pure poetry. Her fingers moved with effortless grace, drawing out sounds that seemed to breathe life into the room. Every note carried such depth and beauty that the air felt electric, and for those moments, the world outside disappeared. It was the kind of performance that stays with you long after the last note fades.

We are incredibly proud to have such incredible musicians perform at The Rosette, and grateful to witness how it has become a destination for world-class guitar artistry.

#3 25 Years of ACG Community Guitar 

We’re thrilled to celebrate 25 years of ACG’s Community Ensembles, and what an exciting year it’s been! Our ensembles are growing stronger than ever, with new additions like the South Austin Guitar Ensemble (SAGE) and the Youth Sinfonia.

ACG Community Ensembles are a special place where anyone, regardless of skill level, can come together and express themselves through music. 

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 ensembles have come, and we’re excited for the future. To learn more about our 25th anniversary and the ongoing impact of the Community Ensembles, read our full interview with Tony here

After our Fall finale concerts, all our youth ensemble members and families gathered together to commemorate the moment!
Adult Community Ensembles Winter Concert

#2 Give Quartets with Pepe Romero

This October, we had the privilege of hosting guitar legend–and 2024-25 ACG Artist-in-Residence–Pepe Romero for his first week-long residency with ACG. It was a week filled with heartfelt connections, inspirations, and collaborations. 

The residency brought to life the essence of our season theme, Give. Months of preparation led to this moment: nine incredibly talented students from our programs, guided by our teaching artists, came together to rehearse and perform with Pepe. In three quartets, Pepe joined as the fourth member, performing music composed or arranged by Pepe and his family.

This unique collaboration is building toward our season finale in May, where these quartets will share the stage once again for an electrifying celebration of music and giving. Learn more and see some behind the scenes content here.

#1 Presence 

2024 began with the culmination of a yearlong journey with last season’s Artist-in-Residence and Grammy-nominated composer, Reena Esmail.

Presence was the centerpiece of our 2023-24 season. The performance featured Reena’s stunning compositions, which weaved Indian and Western classical traditions into something utterly unique. 

It brought together an incredible lineup of artists: the extraordinary Mexican guitarist Dieter Hennings Yeomans, Austin’s boundary-pushing vocal ensemble VAMP, and critically acclaimed bassoonist Kristin Wolfe Jensen. These world-renowned performers were joined by a massive guitar orchestra, conducted by ACG Artistic Director Joe Williams, on the stage of the gorgeous AISD Performing Arts Center.

Reena’s work for Presence not only explored the intricate beauty of Indian ragas adapted for guitar but also brought together artists and traditions that rarely intersect. Also, every lyric in this piece was written by a member of the intergenerational guitar orchestra!

We are so grateful to have the opportunity to connect with our community in meaningful ways and create grandiose moments like this together.

BONUS: The ACG Team is Growing! 

Our ACG family is expanding! This year, we’ve welcomed some incredible new team members and celebrated huge milestones within our community.

In the spring Judit Kolics came on board as our new Operations Director. We’re a $2,000,000 organization now, so that means a LOT of operations! Judit has totally transformed the ACG cerebral cortex and done it with kindness, elegance, and big giant smiles. 

Then in the summer, Jordan Sanchez joined us as our new Education Project Manager, bringing her passion and expertise to support our mission. ACG Education is super complex with a dense array of services, programs, training, and curricula available to our global partners alongside deep and direct community-based services here in central Texas. Jordan’s awesome, and now everything is better. 

In the classroom, we’re excited to see our former student (like more than a decade ago at McCallum High School!) Vijay Meunier, teaching full-time at Anderson High School. He’s doing an amazing job (of course!) and the parents and kids love him. Go Vijay!

Our Community Education team has grown too, with the addition of Alex Lew and Rey Rodriguez (both former students, too!!), two fantastic educators who share our dedication to spreading the joy of music.

And let’s not forget our dynamic group of interns: Maddy Coronado, Maddy Moore, and Christina Castro. Their energy, creativity, and hard work are fueling so much of what we do behind the scenes.

We couldn’t be more excited about the future with these amazing individuals on our team. Together, we’re building something truly magical! Here’s our 2024 ACG Holiday photo. Not everyone is in there – about fifteen missing – but you get the idea.

THANK YOU

All of the beautiful things that happen at ACG are possible because of people who believe in what we do and choose to support our work. If you would like to join us, and it’s the right time to give, we invite you to make a year-end gift. We are so grateful to every one of you! 

In the space below, we would like to recognize some individuals and institutions for their exceptional generosity during the past year. We also invite you to view our sponsors here.

 

3M Foundation, Greg & Cindy Abell, Ameriprise Financial Community Relations, Applied Materials Foundation, Arnold Foundation, in honor of Lazan Pargaman, atsec information security, Augustine Foundation, Kelley Bowen, Amon Burton, Megyn Busse, Sarah & Ernest Butler, Bill & Lynne Cariker, Lucy & Bill Farland, Ford Foundation, Free Guitars 4 Kids, Kendal & Ken Gladish, Laura Gutierrez-Witt, H-E-B, Ed & Janet Hess, IBC Bank Austin, Penny Jamrack & Bill DeNigris, Jim & Marion Jirsa, Kaman Foundation, Elaine & Michael Kasper, Sangeeta Kaur & Hai Nguyen, Kodosky Foundation, Karrie & Tim League, Debra Lewis, Long Foundation, Louis & Mary Kay Smith Family Foundation, Richard Mattingly, Louise Epstein & John Henry McDonald, Carson & Michele McKowen, Meadows Foundation, Mockingbird Foundation, Bill Moyer, MFS Fund at the North Georgia Community Foundation, Christa Pandey, Lazan Pargaman, Lloyd & Ferrell Pond, Kerry & Carole Price, David & Kera Race, Mary Raley, Rea Charitable Trust, Robert Reynolds & Kelly Raley, Jacqueline Rixen, Ruth J Rubio, The Ben & Nancy Sander Family, Shanti Foundation for Intercultural Understanding, Jill Smith, Judith Stich, Still Water Foundation, Texas Bar Foundation, Texas Commission on the Arts, The D’Addario Foundation, Russ & Janey Trowbridge, University Area Rotary Club, Brian & Virginia Urban, W.D. Kelley Foundation, Warren Skaaren Charitable Trust, Webber Family Foundation, Maria Wells, Jack & Vanessa Wolfe, Greg Wooldridge & Lynne Dobson, Zack & Whitney Zamora, Tito’s Handmade Vodka, Gruppo Butera, Bawi Agua Fresca, New World Deli, Fairweather Cider, Robert Rodriguez, Flavor Co. Catering + Events, Live Oak Brewing Company.