Alexandria Guitar Festival - Get The Scoop On Seminars, Master Classes and Vendors

For the second year in a row, the Alexandria Guitar Festival took center stage Aug. 6-9, for classical guitarists in the D.C. metropolitan area and beyond. Each morning began with a seminar by one of the featured performers, followed by master classes after lunch, with more seminars in the afternoon, followed by rehearsals for the guitar orchestra which performed at the festival recital, and ending with filled-to-capacity crowds every evening for the featured performers’ concerts.

The festival is growing in size and in offerings. This year, there were more seminars, more luthiers, more master classes (each performing participant received four), and a guitar orchestra, which brought all the performing artists and students together as one ensemble for a rousing end-of-festival performance. Once again, the Athenaeum in Alexandria demonstrated its excellent acoustics, and its ability to house an event of this nature.

The seminars were exceptionally informative and entertaining for performing students, auditors, and the featured soloists who attended. I found James Piorkowski’s seminar, “Tools for Productive Practicing” very useful. Among his many tips for practicing a new piece:

• Sing the melody
• Separate your hands (play only the left hand; and play only the right)
• Practice “backwards” (practice measures out of context and sequence)
• Vary the rhythms
• Observe (with closed eyes) each hand separately, and together
• Use a mirror
• Record yourself
• Be mindful of your breathing (where you breathe in relation to the phrase)
• Understand where you become tense, and learn to work through it
• Change practice locations
• Perform for family, friends, and other guitarists

Julian Gray’s seminar on “The 10 Principles of Work and Motion” demonstrated the most effective ways to use your own energy when playing. Among his many tips:

• Use the least amount of energy for the task at hand
• Move as slowly as you can to negotiate the necessary distance of a shift within the time available to you
• Work within the mid-range of a joint’s amplitude of motion
• Fluid, rhythmic playing is based upon anticipatory movements, which are themselves based on anticipatory thought.

Ken Meyer conducted a seminar on Leo Brouwer, within the context of his (Meyer’s) previous night’s performance of Brouwer’s La Espiral Eterna. By the way, Ken, you sure were brave to play this in concert. I looked around the audience, and there were many puzzled expressions!

The ever-entertaining Larry Snitzler made the Villa-Lobos Prelude No. 1 come alive with his lecture/demonstration. Entitled, “Why do we love it so?” he explained its historical context, theoretical structure, dynamics, and phrasing. As a student who is beginning to learn this piece, I appreciated Mr. Snitzler’s obvious love for this composition, and his thoughtful analysis of why it evokes such an intense emotion for the player and listener.

Luthiers Tom Rodriguez and Jim Holler (Trinity Guitars) gave informative demonstrations of their master craftsmanship, and discussed trends in guitar making. I was so impressed with the unique sound of the Rodriguez “hybrid” that I bought it. Hey, I can no longer afford to send my son to college, but at least I have a guitar I love! And what’s more important? A college education for your kid, or playing a good guitar? That’s a no brainer!

Mike Kirkpatrick (Kirkpatrick Guitar Studio in Baltimore) was back, and had an excellent display of CDs, guitar music, and the popular travel guitar. I bought one of these last year, and use it all the time. The Soloette model has been upgraded with no real increase in price. I highly recommend these for anyone who doesn’t want to take his/her regular guitar when traveling, but doesn’t want to lose practice time. I also bought a CD of Carlos Barbosa-Lima playing all Jobim and Gershwin. This is one of the most lyrical, uplifting guitar CDs I own. What a great find!

The camaraderie among the students and performers ensured a great time for everyone who attended. The performers not only gave informative master classes, but they all mingled with the students when they were not teaching, and they were all very approachable, obviously happy to be there, and genuinely interested in the students’ development. It was fascinating to observe the different teaching styles. All my master classes were relaxed, cordial, and helpful in my personal development.

The quality of the students’ playing was more advanced than last year. Many of the students were not from the local area, and many were playing technically difficult and advanced pieces. But egos were checked at the door, and players like me (who are still at the “Lagrima” stage) were not only welcome, but made to feel equal to those playing concert pieces.

Congratulations to Nathan Fisher for another successful festival. Nathan plans to keep making this event better and better. I’m looking forward to next year.

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WGS Participates in Alexandria Guitar Festival

The WGS was a strong presence at this year’s festival. Yours truly was a performing student. Hey, somebody had to represent the WGS. I didn’t do too badly on my first three master classes (Satie’s Gymnopedie, Bach’s Bouree in Em, and Jobim’s Corcovado). Having tried them out at the WGS open mic, and playing for friends, I got through them without choking, but that’s about it. Ken Meyer, Risa Carlson, and Larry Snitzler helped me to bring better technique, expression, and interpretation to the pieces. I pretty much bombed on the Villa-Lobos Choros No. 1, but that was going to be my “Hail, Mary” piece anyway. Don’t we all have that piece that’s really too advanced for us, but we love it so much we play it anyway? Fellow WGS member Amy Penchuk teamed up with me to play the Cavatina (from the movie “The Deer Hunter”) Duet at the students’ recital on the last day. Amy, we brought tears to their eyes!

On the last day, fellow WGS members Amy Penchuk, Naim Kocak, Don Sauter, Bill Dykes, and yours truly teamed up to play Guitar Jeopardy with the audience at the lunch hour. What a hoot! Using categories titled, “Guitar History, Guitar Performers, Guitar Theory, and Potpourri (Flamenco, Jazz, Rock, and Folk Guitar),” we challenged the audience to a lively contest. We had some very savvy and knowledgeable contestants in the audience, and some questions evoked a spirited debate. Fortunately, the moderator (again, yours truly) and the Judge, Dr. Glenn Caluda from Shennandoah Conservatory, kept us on track, and we finished in the allotted time. Prizes were awarded to the winner and runner-up, and everyone had a great time. Thank you Amy, Naim, Don, and Bill. Your questions were fun, and informative. We can all feel proud that we represented the WGS at the festival.

-John Politte

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