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.
We hope to see you there!