Matt Talks with Classical Guitar Alive's Tony Morris - Upcoming CGA! fundraiser 10/29
Classical Guitar Alive! is a global classical guitar radio phenomenon produced right here in Austin by Tony Morris. The show airs in Austin on Fridays at 9PM and again on Sundays at 11am on KMFA, 89.5FM, and each week brings insight, interviews and great music with guests that range from composers and guitar intellectuals to up and coming virtuosi to the classical guitar world’s brightest stars.
Classical Guitar Alive! has a wonderful fundraiser coming up on Saturday, October 29th, one I attend almost every year, and I thought I’d try to snag Tony for a quick conversation about himself, his wife – and fabulous flute player – Renata Green, his show, the fundraiser, and more.
Matthew Hinsley: Tell me how you first got interested in producing Classical Guitar Alive?
Tony Morris: I started doing the Classical Guitar Alive radio program in 1993, shortly after graduation from UT with my Master’s in guitar with Adam Holzman. Like a lot of students nearing graduation, I worried about career options.
Fortunately, during my last semester at UT, Adam told me about a guitar teaching job opening at a college in Houston. I applied for it, and had a successful audition. I remember the dean who auditioned me said that he wanted me to keep in touch with him, because he had a feeling that I “was going places.”
I took that to mean that I was going to get the job, so I prepared for the move to Houston, and began brainstorming about how I could establish myself there. I came up with an idea to do a guitar radio program on one of the local public radio stations there. I was devastated when I learned that I didn’t get the job. They hired a local guitarist instead.
Anyway, I picked myself up and realized that the guitar radio program was still a good idea, and that maybe I could do it here in Austin - even though I had absolutely no Radio-TV-Film training… and in those days was painfully shy and hated public speaking. What was I thinking?!
Nevertheless, I started pestering both KMFA and KUT, and KMFA relented first. Scott Dawes, the program director then, agreed to do a guitar show on a trial basis, and the first CGA show aired on KMFA in October of 1993. The opening and closing theme music back then was a piece that I wrote and recorded. I chose the name “Classical Guitar Alive” because I had read an article in Guitar Player Magazine titled “Is Classical Guitar Dead?” The radio program was and is my rebuttal.
In the beginning, I would go to KMFA, record my commentary on their reel-to-reel tape machine, and then hand them a playlist and stack of CDs. The on-air announcer would play the tape, pause it, and then play a track from the CD according to the playlist. A few months later, I was offered a part-time weekend announcer position at KMFA, and I started doing CGA live. It was terrifying at first, but exciting, too.
MH: I didn’t arrive in town until 1996 – but already Austin was buzzing about the show. I remember one particularly colorful evening after we had presented Bill Kanengiser in concert, and Bill and I came by the KMFA studio so the two of you could do an interview. It was after midnight! The show has certainly grown, Tony, tell me about the growth, what has been most exciting?
TM: The show is now on over 250 radio stations across the US and internationally, which sounds like a lot, but there is still a lot of room to grow. The most exciting thing recently has been that CGA is now finally broadcast in New York City, thanks to the expansion of the WWFM network in New Jersey. I have been trying to get CGA on in NYC for years. We also recently added stations in Philadelphia and Atlanta, both major markets.
MH: Let’s talk about this event coming up for you later this month. I’ve been many times and love it… what is it, and can folks still get tickets?
TM: Yes! Classical Guitar Alive is having its 6th annual fundraiser event on Saturday, Oct. 29th from 3:00pm-7:00pm at the beautiful Wimberley home of Charlie & Taako Parker, at 300 Loma Vista in Wimberley. Charlie and Taako Parker are great supporters of both Classical Guitar Alive and the Austin Classical Guitar Society. We’re very excited to have Susan McDonald back by popular demand as our special musical guest. Proceeds benefit the Classical Guitar Alive nonprofit organization’s internationally-broadcast radio program, and its community outreach program. For reservations, folks can call us at (512) 657-1400 or send an email to [email protected]. You can also purchase tickets online here.
MH: I'd love to hear a bit about Tony Morris the guitarist, and CGA's performance outreach.
TM: Thanks! Flutist Renata Green, my wife, directs CGA’s Community Outreach program. Most arts nonprofits do community outreach, like ACGS’s wonderful educational outreach, but CGA’s outreach program is unique in that we are the only one that sends our musicians to perform in hospitals, children’s shelters, hospices and more.
I’ll never forget, over a year ago, Renata, oboist Jennifer Bernard, and I performed in the lobby of the Dell Children’s Hospital. There was a little boy about 8 years old with severe burns walking with his grandmother. Despite his injuries, he started marching around in time to the music and got very excited, asked us about the instruments. His grandmother was very happy to see him so enthused, and I was so proud of Renata and Jennifer for their professionalism and for how engaging they were with him.
My first performance in Austin was Christmas Eve, 1990. I had just moved here, didn’t know anyone, and didn’t have family or friends here yet, so I was feeling a little lonesome and sorry for myself. I made myself snap out of it and called a local hospice and asked if I could play (pro bono) for their patients. I played at Hospice Austin’s Christopher House for an audience of two people: a bed-ridden patient in the final stages of full-blown AIDS and his nurse. The patient said, “Oh, a classical guitarist. Know any Albeniz?” I started doing volunteer outreach when I was an undergrad student for the performance experience, and just kept doing it.
MH: You and Renata are animal lovers. Tell me about your pets?
TM: We have two dogs, Lucy, Jiggly-Puff, and a 3-legged cat with the unfortunate name of Gimpy (we didn’t name her that). We don’t have kids yet, but if you total our pets’ weight, they’re roughly equivalent to one child, albeit a very smelly and poorly-mannered one!
MH: Thanks so much for taking the time to talk with me today, Tony. It’s tremendous to get an update on your amazing work, and to learn a bit more about your journey here. Is there anything else you'd like to share?
TM: Come on out to CGA’s event in Wimberley on Oct. 29th!
And, there are two big projects in the works, a PBS TV program called American Classical that CGA is developing in conjunction with KLRN, which did the pilot for The Antiques Roadshow. The format is part home tour, part house concert with classical guests and stars from other kinds of music. I told my co-producer that that I was concerned that I had a face made for radio, but he reassured me by saying, “Tony, no one is too ugly for PBS.” Whew! What a relief! He did tell me to drop some weight for the cameras, which I’ve done.
I can’t say more about the second project, other than it is very exciting. I recently had to choose between expanding CGA’s work, doing these two new big projects or continuing my adjunct guitar professor job at Texas Lutheran University in Seguin, TX. I did the unthinkable in the guitar world, which is to voluntarily leave a college teaching job (and on very good terms, I should mention!). CGA’s mission is to promote the love of classical music with the guitar to the widest possible audience in innovative ways which have the deepest impact. The second project is not a CGA project, but it sure does fit its mission.
Tony Morris and Renata Green (with doggie)
ebay auction link: click here to bid on Austin Pictures Paintings
All student paintings are on ebay now. Auctions close on Monday afternoon.
Click here to be taken to the auction page.
There you can click the image of the painting you would like to bid on.
Austin Pictures Top 12!
We’ve had an amazing time putting Austin Pictures together, from selecting the incredible artists, and watching them complete their brilliant paintings, to seeing the many ensemble members learning Joseph Williams’ new Austin-inspired piece, to working with Caballero, Maestro Bay, and the Miró Quartet, to putting the extensive AV together with the Alamo Drafthouse!
The show is this Saturday, and here’s our top-twelve favorite things online so far.
#12 The article in the Oklahoman about the kids from OKC coming down.
#11 Our talk with composer Joseph Williams II about his new piece.
#10 A clip of Caballero… doing the amazing thing he does!
#9 Our talk with the Miró String Quartet.
#8 The wonderful community pictures shared via Facebook.
#7 A conversation with the Alamo’s Tim League.
#6 The great Austin Pictures Article at CultureMap.
#5 This great TV video story about the students from Brownsville.
#3 The Austin Chronicle Article about Austin Pictures.
#2 The incredible video piece by KUT about the artists!
…and…
#1 The 11 commissioned paintings: see them online here!
Saturday Night: Media, Parking, and more…
Here's the latest on Austin Pictures! Love to see that media pick up.
I particularly like the video piece KUT did with the young artists - it opens with them not being able to remember Mussorgsky's name! Funny!
Media: Austin Pictures will be featured live on YNN today at 11am. A full-hour radio story will air at 7PM tonight on Classical Austin on KMFA, 89.5 FM. Friday morning at 8:50am Jorge Caballero will perform live on the Fox 7 Morning News program. A funny and inspiring video story on the artists just came out online on KUT’s Storyboard (whole story here)! And a great event overview article is here at CultureMap.
Also yesterday this great TV Story came out about the students in Brownsville who are busily preparing to come here to be part of the show! It’s a great companion piece to the article in the Oklahoman a few weeks back about the high school students in Oklahoma City who are also preparing like crazy.
Tickets: Are available at (877) 435-9849 or online. Save 15-20% by purchasing ACGS Season Tickets online or at 512-300-2247 (includes Austin Pictures). ACGS Season tickets will be sold only through 5PM tomorrow (Thursday). ACGS Season Tickets will be unavailable Friday or at the door Saturday, though single tickets for Austin Pictures will be available as long as supplies last.
Parking: The best guide for parking at ACL Live is online here. You’ll see 7 nearby options on a map with details below it!
Austin Pictures Insight Videos: Alamo Drafthouse’s Tim League, ASO’s Maestro Peter Bay, Composer Joseph Williams, Miró String Quartet.
Most popular AP blog posts: Artwork has arrived, The Program for Saturday Night, Austin Pictures Top 10, Jorge Caballero.
Austin Pictures Spotlight: Louise Epstein & John Henry McDonald
Louise Epstein and John Henry McDonald are tremendous, long-time, supporters of the Austin Classical Guitar Society, as is the company John Henry founded: Austin Asset Management Company. The Austin Classical Guitar Society has been on a steady growth trend over the course of the last 15 years but there is no doubt in my mind that a new level of transformation occurred with the arrival of John Henry on the ACGS Board of Directors, and the tremendous energy, vision and support that he and Louise brought with them.
Austin Asset Management Company is a presenting sponsor of Austin Pictures. The Louise Epstein and John Henry McDonald Trust is a supporting sponsor of this Saturday evening as well. Both Company and Trust are also lead sponsors of the ACGS Education Gala “Guitars Under the Stars” set for this coming February 11th at One World Theater with superstar guest Eliot Fisk!
Community-based arts programming thrives only with the generous support of individuals like Louise and John Henry, and we sat down with John Henry recently to learn a bit more about them.
Matthew Hinsley: John Henry, we can’t thank you enough for your generous support of Austin Pictures, and your continued support of ACGS. I’d love it if you would tell us a bit about Louise and yourself.
John Henry McDonald: My wife, my business and I are all long time Austinites. My wife, Louise Epstein wins the prize as she was three months old when she and her folks settled here. I've been in Austin since 1976, and Austin Asset Management Company was founded nearly 25 years ago.
Louise has been at the helm of the city itself as City Councilwoman 1990-1993, and most recently she has served as the Entrepreneur in Residence at the McCombs School of Business at the University of Texas here in Austin. She currently serves as CEO of eCampusTutors.com.
I founded and developed the leadership team at Austin Asset Management Company. The CEO is Eric Hehman, and Greg Van Wyk and Jonathan Davidson round out the shareholders of our firm. They are responsible for providing family office services and money management for nearly 300 families worldwide. This includes daily stewardship of over $425 million of our clients’ money.
Our families, our employees, and our businesses all believe that as we focus on serving the community first, the community we serve will pay us back in kind.
MH: What organizations in town that you and Louise are particularly passionate about?
JHM: Austin Classical Guitar Society, One World Theater, First Tee of Austin, Any Baby Can, Capital Idea, and Austin Community College Foundation are all recipients of funding from either Austin Asset Management Company or the Louise Epstein and John Henry McDonald Trust.
MH: What has led you to philanthropy?
JHM: It's said best in the Austin Asset Management credo: "you can't out give a giver."
MH: Well we cannot thank you enough for shining your bright lights on ACGS and Austin Pictures – and we’re looking forward to seeing you both on Saturday night!
Austin Pictures: 2 new news stories today!
Two video news stories came out today on Austin Pictures!
This video was just released by KUT on the Storyboard section of their website, primarily about the young artists who have been making the paintings! See the full story here!
And this video story is currently playing in Brownsville, TX on local news - it's about the UTB guitar students who have been preparing to come here to participate in the Austin Pictures guitar orchestra!
Austin Pictures Spotlight: Carolyn and Marc Seriff
Carolyn and Marc Seriff have been tremendous supporters of the Austin Classical Guitar Society. They are Presenting Sponsors of Austin Pictures. We first met surrounding our multi-award-winning 2010 presentation of the GFA International Convention we called “Austin Goes Classical”, which they also sponsored.
Events in the arts like that simply do not happen without generous sponsors like Carolyn and Marc, and so I asked Marc a few questions recently to learn a bit more about these wonderful civic-minded arts patrons.
Matthew Hinsley: Tell me about you and Carolyn?
Marc Seriff: Carolyn grew up on an Indiana farm while I was actually born and raised in Austin. We met when we both worked for a company called Telenet - one of the pioneers of commercial data communications. Carolyn remained at Telenet until her retirement, while I went on to do several DC-area startups ending up as the founding CTO of AOL. We were married in 1989 and retired to Texas in 1996. We've got two sons - Dan and Jason - both of whom now live in Austin. Jason is married to Elizabeth and has a beautiful 3 year-old daughter. We spend most of our time at our home in Horseshoe Bay, although we now spend 2 or 3 days a week at our condo in downtown Austin. We spend a lot of time attending the performing arts and I'm a huge Longhorn sports fan - especially basketball.
MH: Why do you feel it's important to give back to our community?
MS: We've been incredibly lucky in our lives and do have some belief that giving back is important. In a few instances, that's the driving force behind our giving but, frankly, in most of the cases, we give because we're passionate about the causes and organizations that we give too. There's an amazing feeling when you're able to help solve a problem or create some new solution or work of art. Neither of us is particularly artistic or creative ourselves so this becomes a way we can be part of the process.
MH: You have been tremendous supporters of ACGS. We first met when you generously sponsored “Austin Goes Classical”. Why are you supporting Austin Pictures?
MS: Multiple answers to this one. The obvious answer is to provide support to some beautiful music. Beyond that, frankly, we're really supporting ACGS, rather than just Austin Pictures and there are three great reasons for that. First, collaboration between non-profit organizations is one of our hot-buttons and, first with last year's conference and now with Austin Pictures, nobody is doing a better job of that in Austin than ACGS. Second, we're both big believers in the importance of the arts as part of the educational experience. It's pretty stunning the success that ACGS has had locally with AISD and internationally with the curriculum project. Finally, we both love Austin and ACGS has, in its field, made Austin an international focal point for classical guitar.
MH: What other arts organizations or causes are you passionate about?
MS: When we first got back to Texas, we were both extremely active in non-profits in the Marble Falls area. Carolyn chaired the board of the Family Crisis Center and we both served as board members of the Boys & Girls Club of the Highland Lakes. For about a decade, we ran a small foundation in Marble Falls that assisted area non-profits and created some new organizations like the Family Services Center, the Highland Lakes Health Partnership and the Legacy Fund.
Now, we're both active in the arts. Carolyn, next month, will join the board of Zach Scott Theatre. I serve on the Long Center board and executive committee and the advisory board for UT's Department of Theater and Dance. We also both believe in creating sustainability for non-profits and, for that reason, I serve on the board of Austin Community Foundation and Carolyn, on the Legacy Fund board, a hill-country branch of ACF.
MH: We cannot thank you both enough, Marc. Community-based project like Austin Pictures simply wouldn’t be possible with folks like you in the community. See you there!
Austin Pictures - The Program
Here's the program for Saturday night!
"Austin Pictures" by Joseph Williams II opens the concert. Watch an interview with Joseph now. It’s in five short movements and, similar to how Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition describes ten paintings through music, Williams’ Austin Pictures describes five Austin scenes: The Hill Country, Floating on Lady Bird Lake, The Dance of the Grackles, Violet Crown with Cicadas & Capital City Construction. The piece will be premiered by about 100 guitarists – some from as far away as Albuquerque, Brownsville, and Oklahoma City, with the Miró String Quartet, conducted by Maestro Peter Bay. See an interview with Maestro Peter Bay now.
"Austin Pictures – The Movie" plays immediately following the Williams. Its only 12 minutes long and it’s a gorgeous and inspiring window into the process of the wonderful and talented 11 distinguished young visual artists we commissioned to each paint their own Austin versions of paintings inspired by Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition. See the paintings now. The Alamo Drafthouse has helped us with this, and the extensive preview AV we’ve prepared for the evening – watch an interview now with Alamo founder and CEO Tim League about the project.
"Songs and Dances" by Jorge Morel opens Act 2. It’s a beautiful work in two short movements for guitar and string quartet played by our star guitarist of the evening, Jorge Caballero, and the amazing Miró String Quartet. ACGS commissioned Songs and Dances 3 years ago for Caballero’s Axis Quintet.
"Introduction and Fandango" by Luigi Boccherini will be a rousing finish to what will be a brief second act. A much-loved, well-known fun piece, it will be a terrific way to end the second act, and show off the Miró String Quartet. Watch an interview with the Miró String Quartet now where we discuss the Boccherini and Austin Pictures in general.
"Pictures at an Exhibition" by Modest Mussorgsky is Act 3. In a hard-to-imagine performance, Jorge Caballero will perform the entire work on solo guitar. Jorge’s performance is the inspirational centerpiece for the entire Austin Pictures project, and hearing him play the piece is something we’ve been looking forward to for a long time!
Extras
We held a Facebook Picture Challenge and invited community members to submit their own “Austin Pictures” via Facebook in August and September. Those fabulous pictures, along with some of our feature interviews will make up previews beginning at 7:30PM – and will also run during the two intermissions. KLRU will tape the entire evening for TV release! KMFA will broadcast the concert live on the radio. The eleven paintings will be on display at the concert and will be available by ebay auction (9/26-10/3) with proceeds benefitting the Educational Outreach Program of the Austin Classical Guitar Society.
Austin Pictures top 10!
We’ve had an amazing time putting it together, from selecting the incredible artists, and watching them complete their brilliant paintings, to seeing the many ensemble members learning Joseph Williams’ new Austin-inspired piece. The show is this coming Saturday, and here’s our top-ten favorite things online so far (well…, 9 out of 10 are online, you’ll have to attend in order to see the movie - not to mention the performances!).
#10 The article in the Oklahoman about the kids from OKC coming down.
#9 Our talk with composer Joseph Williams II about his new piece.
#8 A clip of Caballero… doing the amazing thing he does!
#7 Our talk with the Miró String Quartet.
#6 The wonderful community pictures shared via Facebook.
#5 A conversation with the Alamo’s Tim League.
#4 The great Austin Pictures Article at CultureMap.
#2 The fabulous movie about the artists. You have to come to see it!
…and…
#1 The 11 commissioned paintings: see them online here!