Virginia and Connecticut, July 19-29

I arrived in Virginia on Tuesday morning (after an overnight flight with no sleep), and went straight into a photo shoot with Risa trying to get a cover shot for our upcoming CD.  My dad did a great job of getting a variety of options for us in the photos, and you'll get to see what we chose when the CD is released in October on GSP (big news!).  After that, I headed to Risa's parents' house in Alexandria, where I spent the rest of the week, while Risa and I were teaching and playing at the Alexandria Guitar Festival.  This is the third year (I believe) for the festival, and each year it has grown a bit.  It's a great festival, small in terms of the number of students, and great in terms of the faculty and the community involvement.  There were about 13 enthusiastic students enrolled in the festival, getting masterclass lessons from the faculty, and also attending various lectures/workshops.  The evening concerts were well attended by the community, and held at the beautiful and historic Old Presbyterian Meeting House in historic Old Town Alexandria.  I wish I had remembered to take more photos - this is a beautiful neighborhood, and an important part of American history.  It was great to be there again.

From Virginia I flew up to Connecticut, unfortunately missing my flight on the way up due to a schedule change that I never knew about...that led to a four hour wait in Dulles airport, and then a 1 1/2 hour wait in Connecticut for my ride since they hadn't planned on picking me up at the later time.  It made for a rather long day!  But I rolled in Sunday evening, and got to work.  I've been involved in the organizational side of the National Guitar Workshop Classical Summit for a few years now, so there was a bit of organizing to do.  Thankfully Nat Gunod, the director, was there that afternoon and was able to pick up my slack.  So things got off to a fine start when all the students arrived Monday.  This was an interesting year because we had a solo competition for the first time.  I was a bit nervous that it would change the dynamic of the workshop - one of a very friendly, cooperative spirit.  But all the competitors had a great attitude, I didn't hear any complaining (at least to me!) about how things ended up, hopefully everyone had a great experience!  The judges were all truly impressed with the level of the competition, and the finals were really amazing.  It's scary how good young guitarists are today.

I got to hang out in CT with old friends, and also got to know a few new ones a bit better.  This was my first time at a festival with Jason Vieaux and Lily Afshar, and second with Nick Goluses and Kevin Gallagher.  It was nice to have time to hang out with each of them.  Then there were more familiar faces to me, people I've spent more time with, including my good friend Marija Temo.  Two of my LMU students also attended, and it was great to see them there getting inspired by everything as well.  The last two days, we had Paul Galbraith as our special guest.  He's a personal hero of mine, so this was a real pleasure.  He gave a beautiful concert, and as always, his masterclass was brilliant - his teaching is on a different plane from where most of us think and live. It's a beautiful place, and I could listen to his ideas all day long. Unfortunately we only had about 2 hours!  The workshop wrapped up for this year on a really high note, with the best ensemble concert I've seen there in my nine year history with the workshop (4 years as faculty, 5 years as a student). 

On the way home, I flew Delta.  Just wanted to put the word out to all you guitarists - Delta seems to be creating a policy about no guitars on board - not even gate check.  They are claiming that it is FAA regulations that guitars must be checked with baggage.  If I get around to it, I'll investigate their claim, but as far as I can tell, that's not true, or else other airlines would be following it, and TSA wouldn't let the instruments past security.  It makes no sense whatsoever.  Anyway, this is the forth incident with a guitarist on Delta that I've personally heard about in the last two months.  I think I'm not flying Delta anymore...

Nat Gtr WrkShop, Los Angeles, July 9-14

This was my third year teaching at the NGW in Los Angeles, and I had the best crop of students to date.  I had 9 fantastic students ranging in age from 13 to forty-something, all with a relatively high level of playing.  It was a great fun week full of masterclasses, discussions, and ensemble.  They did an amazing job in a short time preparing a difficult piece to perform on the ensemble recital at the end of the week, and proved to be a definite highlight of the evening concert - all the other teachers came up to me all night asking how they accomplished that much in only 5 days!  I'd love to take all the credit, but it sure is easier when you have great students. 

We had Andy York in as our special guest for one day (photos), and the students all loved their lessons with him - he's a brilliant teacher, as well as of course a player and composer.  His presence really made the week special.

Michigan and Massachusetts, June 23-30

This trip started with a 3 day stay in Grand Rapids at the Grand Valley State University Guitar Festival, organized by Carlos de la Barrera.  This was my 4th time in Grand Rapids in 4 years (funny how that happens!) but my first time at the festival.  It was extremely well organized, and the students all seemed to have a great time.  The schedule was busy, I played a concert and taught a seminar, in addition to working with an ensemble and teaching masterclasses every day.  The students were mostly from Michigan, and of a wide range of ages.  And I saw some familiar faces from my previous visits to Grand Rapids and Ann Arbor - it's always nice to see people you know!  Speaking of people I know, it also just so happened that one of my very first guitar students from when I was in high school, has now relocated to Grand Rapids.  Maria and her husband came to the concert, and we got a chance to meet up afterwards (photo).  What's really ironic about that is that Maria no longer plays the guitar, and is no way connected to the guitar world.  And yet she managed to hear about the concert, and turn up without me telling her about it!  And even more ironic, the same thing happened with the same person 3 years ago when she was living in Laramie, and I came through to play a concert.  I guess it's a small world if you keep your eyes open - you never know where you'll see a sign for a concert played by an old friend!

From Grand Rapids on to Massachusetts.  I flew into Albany, rented a car, and made the short drive over to Lenox, Massachusetts, home of Tanglewood.  Lenox is a truly charming, tiny old town nestled in the Berkshires.  This time of year it is a very popular tourist destination.  Every other mansion (and I do mean mansion) on the streets is a B&B, and I was lucky enough to be staying in the carriage house to one of these mansions (photo).  I went to Massachusetts to shoot an educational video for Workshoplive (more on that in a moment), and they rented this house for their staff and artists who are coming and going while shooting over the summer.  The place was great, and had a spectacular view from the back porch (though it was too nasty hot to sit out and enjoy it most of the time!).

Workshoplive is a brand new internet lessons company, their website is scheduled to go live in mid October.  They are shooting different teachers, in all styles, at different levels, and putting it all on the internet.  Students pay a $30/mo fee for access to it all - pretty cool concept!  I might just log on to learn a bit about jazz!  Anyway, they just finished building their brand new state of the art studio - it was awesome.  There were 4 cameras to catch my hands at every angle, two camera operators in the studio with me, and 4 people in the control room - a video guy, a sound guy, a teleprompter guy, and my longtime mentor from my days at Peabody, Nat Gunod (photo).  Nat was there to make sure that all the content went smoothly and made sense.  All of this doesn't even mention a staff of people working even more behind the scenes to make it all work, for example the poor engraver who has to suffer through all my handwritten notes!  It was a lot of work preparing for this shoot, but it all paid off.  Now home for a week before starting with the next run of summer festivals!

GFA Grammy party for LAGQ and David Russell, April 10

I got back from Brownsville, TX and went straight to a very cool party to celebrate the recent Grammy wins of the LAGQ and David Russell.  It's not every day you get to do that!  The party was hosted by Carol and Jack Sanders, under the auspices of the GFA, and everyone who's anyone in classical guitar from the area was there.  David Russell had just played a concert the night before, so he and his wife were there, along with the LAGQ, (unfortunately minus Andy York, who had a gig out of town that night), along with most other area guitarists, and even including a visit from Oscar Ghilia, who was in town for the week for teaching and a concert at CSUN.  Carol and Jack put on a great party with delicious food, and it was a night to remember; especially when the Grammy's were officially presented!  None of them had actually gotten their Grammy's before that night, as they had to be engraved.  So this was really the first chance they had to hold them, and you can see from the smiles on their faces, I think it felt pretty good!  What a great night.

Brownsville, Texas, April 7-10

This was my second visit to Brownsville, but the first was so short I can't say I really had a feel for the city.  This trip was for a festival gig with Risa, we both ended up flying in on the same connecting flight out of Houston.  At the Houston airport we also met up with Bill Swick and his quartet from Las Vegas Performing Arts Magnet High School, and had a nice chance to visit while waiting for the flight.  It was hot on arrival, but I suppose that is normal for Southmost Texas, as it is referred to by locals.  Thursday night Risa and I rehearsed, and unfortunately missed the flamenco concert that night.  Friday morning we taught masterclasses, Friday afternoon began the main focus of the festival, ensemble competitions in all age groups (from elementary school to professional, 37 ensembles in all), but Risa and I took the opportunity to check out some local experiences, with a walk across the border for lunch and shopping in Matamoros, Mexico.  Friday night was a concert with Leo Kottke - my first Kottke experience.  He was amazing!  Now I know why my LMU student, Andrew, is such a huge fan. This was a great concert not just in terms of guitar skills, but in terms of musicianship and humanity (I know, sounds like a lofty description, but really, he's a fascinating person).  Saturday Risa and I did some girly shopping bookended by practicing, and capped off with the concert Saturday night.  Was a great evening, afterwards we went to a great dinner (fajitas and beer) with festival director Michael Quantz (photo) and other festival artists. It was a fun weekend, and great to see so many young ensembles.  Risa and I were again on the same connecting flight with Bill Swick and the very cool Vegas kids on our way home, and we said farewell on the tram in the Houston airport.  Until next time!

Lima & Ayacucho, Peru
Mar. 17-23, 2005

This was such a memorable trip, that this will certainly be one of the longest entries in this journal.  I began with a long flight to Lima via Atlanta, where weather made it a longer trip than originally planned.  I left home in Los Angeles at 5:30 am on Wednesday, and arrived in my hotel in Lima at 3:30 am on Thursday.  A long trip to say the least!  I was just grateful that the airport had reopened; earlier in the day, a plane had a crash landing at the Lima airport (fortunately, no one died, but it was serious), and the airport was closed all day.  So I guess arriving at 2:30 in the morning as apposed to earlier in the evening possibly prevented a cancelled flight.  Not that you ever want to hear about plane crashes when flying...

I got a few hours sleep before heading over to the cultural center to teach a masterclass that morning (two very impressive students from the conservatory), then a brief rest after lunch before playing a concert that night.  The International Guitar Festival in Lima is in its 12th year, and is truly an international festival.  There were artists from Sweden, Germany, Norway, Australia, Spain, US (only me), and of course Peru (photo).  Almost all in attendance were from Peru, mostly from Lima. 

Friday afternoon there was an organized tour of the city for all the artists; the plaza mayor (photo) was stunning, as was the vista from the parks along the ocean (photo).  I'm not quite sure was I was expecting, but Lima definitely exceeded my expectations in terms of beauty.  I had heard a great deal to take care in terms of security, but everywhere I went, I felt remarkably safe, no worries.  Granted, we were primarily in Miraflores, one of the nicer parts of town. But all cities have good and bad areas; my impression is that Lima had been given a bad rap.  I was pleasantly surprised.  Saturday was a group rehearsal (there had also been rehearsals Thurs/Fri) for a final performance with all artists on some traditional Peruvian music, arranged for 4 part guitar orchestra.  This festival  was a great opportunity to meet a variety of players I hadn't met before, and the entire trip was a great education in the culture and the music of Peru.  Lots of new friends from the Lima portion of this trip. 

Saturday night I got back to the hotel about 2 am after dinner, and had to get up at 3:30 am for my next flight to Ayacucho.  This city, about 8000 feet high in the mountains near Cuzco, is well known in Peru for two things: one a tragic part of history, and the other a long standing religious tradition.  Ayacucho was the heart of terrorist activity during the 1980's, tens of thousands of people were killed (most completely innocent), many fled, some were exiled.  This went on, I believe, until the early 90's, and though all is very stable and safe now, the area still suffers in many ways from this horrible time.  When asked about what the main "business" is in Ayacucho, the locals said education.  Most Ayacuchans are very well educated.  Unfortunately there are very few jobs available there, and the unemployment rate for these educated citizens is very high.  This is evidenced simply by walking through the beautiful plaza mayor (photo), where at any given time of day one can find a great number of locals just hanging out; far too many people without a place to go to work. 

I was traveling on this part of the trip with new friends David and Romano from the US embassy in Lima (photo).  The embassy had arranged this concert for me, so they accompanied me, which was a blast.  When we arrived bleary eyed Sunday morning, we were greeted at the hotel by the president of the local tour agency (it's good to be in with the embassy...we were treated like royalty the entire time!).  We had probably the most in depth tour of the city possible in one day, first by foot in the city center, then taking a car to some points slightly on the outskirts of town (though not far - it's not a big town).  Ayacucho is known also for its many churches.  33 catholic churches, plus a handful of other denominations.  All old, all beautiful and interesting.  So obviously we saw churches; we were the first to tour the new regional museum; we visited artisans, not just at a market, but in their homes - very special.  Sunday was Palm Sunday, the beginning of holy week.  I mentioned above that Ayacucho is known for two things: tragic terrorism, and Semana Santa (holy week)celebrations.  We were welcomed into an exclusive social club (again, good to be in with the embassy), to watch the processions from a balcony overlooking the plaza mayor (photo).  Each year Ayacucho welcomes thousands of visitors to watch these processions; behind the celebrations in Sevilla, Ayacucho is the most celebrated Semana Santa in the world.  This was a very special afternoon indeed.

Monday began with a masterclass at the local music school, where there was a good level of players.  After that a radio interview, followed by lunch with famous local musicians (don't tell your kids, but I ate guinea pig - I hate to admit that it was completely delicious), mostly of popular music.  They played for us in the restaurant, a private concert of Peruvian traditional songs, very special.  The leading guitarist/singer was one of those exiled during the time of terrorism, for writing songs about the political scene.  It was an honor to meet these men and hear their music.  After this a walk through the large artisans market, where of course I had to buy some souvenirs, and a walk home in the pouring rain, with only 30 minutes to get ready for the concert that night.  But all went well, many local dignitaries turned out, along with local musicians, etc.  At the end of the concert, a beautiful little girl dressed in typical Ayacucho formal wear (I had seen many dressed like this the day before in the city) presented me with flowers and a very sweet tribute (photo).  It was the absolute perfect conclusion to one of the most memorable trips of my life.  Tuesday morning we flew back to Lima, I had to say goodbye to my new friends from the embassy (hope to see them again soon), and spent my last day in Lima, getting a sunburn while walking by the ocean (oops...).  My flight home was again delayed, this time, because the plane we were supposed to go out on had been hit by lightning.  What an adventurous trip this was!  But I guess I was lucky on both ends; delays are far better than crash landings and lightning strikes.  I won't be forgetting any part of this trip any time soon.

Fairfax County, Virginia Mar 11-13

This is the area where my family lives; I went to high school in Fairfax County, my parents and sister still live in the area.  So it was great to be home for a couple of days.  My not quite two year old daughter also came along, and though I hardly saw her except on the plane, she had a great time playing with her grandparents and cousins.  We arrived early Friday morning, and by about 10:30 am I was working with Risa to prepare for our gig the next day.  The gig was the Mid-Atlantic Guitar Festival.  This started out a few years back as a festival for high school guitar ensembles from the mid-Atlantic region, but the number of guitar programs in Fairfax County has grown so dramatically that now it is all ensembles from Fairfax County.  15 ensembles were represented, the largest of which was from my old high school Robinson.  When I walked in that morning, they were on stage warming up, and I could hardly believe my eyes - 73 guitarists on stage (photo).  Amazing!  This was their combined group - their two most advanced ensembles, each approximately 35 members.  Each of their groups played two pieces before playing two pieces as a whole.  What a sound.  I'm just so amazed at how guitar in public schools has grown.  When I was a student, there were 20 students in the advanced ensemble, and the group was not nearly as sophisticated as it is now in so many ways.  We were also one of only two high schools in the county at that time with a guitar program.  Needless to say, much has changed.  The festival was a learning oriented experience.  There were three "adjudicators" - myself, Dominic Frasca, and Kevin Gallagher.  There were performances going on in two rooms, and we took turns listening to, and then working with, each group.  At noon there was a break for a concert, Risa and I played first, followed by Dominic doing some cool inventive, minimalist tapping stuff that was a huge hit with the kids, and then Kevin Gallagher on electric guitar (yes, the same Kevin who won GFA a while back - he's a great electric player!).  Then back to teaching in the afternoon.  This was a great festival, well organized, and a thrill to be a part of.  It's amazing what's happening in high school guitar in Fairfax County.  Congrats to everyone there, especially my old teacher Mr. Mac!

Ashland, OR
Seattle, WA, Jan. 14-16,2005

I flew up to Ashland on Friday, and got a tour of the small charming town. Ashland, though home to only about 20,000 is very active culturally, being the home of a major Shakespeare festival. Joe Thompson (guitarist) and his wife Marci (poet) were my hosts for the day. After the concert, we went back to Jeff and Janice's house (retina doctor and dancer) for a really great reception with several members of the board of directors from the guitar society (photo). This was just a really interesting group of people - a great mix of musicians and non-musicians, but all with a great love for the guitar. A truly cool group. Saturday morning I taught a class, then headed straight for the airport to fly to Seattle that night. My flight was to go through Portland, and unfortunately Portland was being battered by an ice storm. So my fun stay in Ashland was extended! A nice treat. That made my Seattle trip unfortunately short. I arose at 4 am Sunday to get to the airport by 5, arrived in Seattle around 7:30. Had a couple of hours to catch up with friend Michael Partington and his wife Jill at their house, before heading out to the afternoon concert. There were several friendly faces in the crowd, people I've worked with at National Guitar Workshop, and a few friends I've made through other various guitar events. But unfortunately as soon as the concert was over I was straight back in the car and on my way to the airport. This marks a first for me, the first time I've flown in and out of a city in less than twelve hours (while playing a concert in between!). We had just a moment to snap this group photo with some of my Seattle friends before leaving (photo).

Tecate, Mexico, December 10-11

All I knew about Tecate was the beer, I actually didn't even know it was a town until I was invited to play there! But it's actually quite a nice little border town, about 1 hour east of Tijuana. My husband and daughter went with me on this quick trip, we drove down Saturday morning, and had a walk through the town square (photo). It's a much smaller, cleaner and saner version of Tijuana in the center, with a few vendors selling odds and ends, and lots of little places to eat. That evening I played at the university, part of a series organized by Rafael Elizondo (photo with Rafael, Delfino, and Vinnie), who teaches at the university, and after the concert, they treated me to some great traditional food at a restaurant on the town square. I feel like I got a good taste of this charming town, and hope to be able to back soon!

Montreal, Quebec, Canada, October 25-31

I spent this week at the GFA convention in Montreal, directed by Paul Gerrits of Doberman. He is a veteran convention director, it things went accordingly - very smoothly! This is the first time I've attended the entire convention, while not competing. So it was a real pleasure to be there without the pressure of playing. As of this summer, I am Executive Vice President of the GFA, so my purpose in Montreal was to meet with many different parties who do business with GFA, and did I ever meet! Brian Head, president, was also there, and I believe we must have had breakfast, lunch and dinner meetings every day of the week! Not good for the waistline, but very good for business. I think many good things were accomplished, and most importantly, it was a really fun week. If you haven't been to a GFA convention, I highly recommend that you go. The concerts are wonderful, and frequently players you don't know - it's amazing how many great players are still relatively "unknown" to the larger community. There are lectures and masterclasses, and the vendors fair is a wonderful place to see new products, and be tempted by new guitars. And for me one of the highlights is watching the competition finals - a very exciting event indeed. Well, it was a very memorable week indeed, and I'm already looking forward to next year. Photos of a historic UQAM building; with Kate Lewis (LMU faculty, GFA board member, and roommate for the week!); and with fellow GFA winners Dimitri Illarionov and Jeremy Jouve.

St. Louis, MO, October 14-17

Well, I'm writing this so late, it's more like a memoir than a diary! I fell off the horse a bit with my updates, but with the new season upon us, I figured I'd better finish up the summer activities before moving on. This was my third consecutive year teaching at the NGW Classical Summit, and it was a blast as usual. Besides enjoying time with all the great faculty and students, I got to reconnect with a friend of mine from Peabody days, Marija Temo, who was on faculty as the flamenco teacher. Also, Marija's and my former teacher, Manuel Barrueco, was the special guest, so it was a bit of a reunion (photo). That's one of the many great things about this business - the lifelong friendships. I'm already looking forward to next July in CT!

National Guitar Workshop CT, July 25-30

Risa and I arrived Thursday afternoon to freezing cold rain and strong winds in Missouri, coming from warm Los Angeles, it was quite a shock! But we holed up that day to practice anyhow, so the weather outside didn't matter too much. Friday we played two hour long concerts for local schools. The schools were bussed in to the concert hall, so we had a beautiful venue. It's always very rewarding to play for a group of 300 young students, and we were pleasantly surprised by their good concert etiquette! After the school concerts, we headed down to Classic 99, the big classical radio station in town, and did an interview, followed by a quick driving tour of the city. What a really beautiful city, full of historic buildings and homes, and a park larger than Central Park, with a seemingly endless array of activities. I can easily imagine spending a few days vacation here in St. Louis! Saturday we had the day free to practice and relax (we both got haircuts - this is becoming a touring tradition for me, I almost never get my hair cut at home now!), before the concert Saturday night at the Ethical Society. A quick masterclass Sunday, then flights home for both of us. A quick trip, but a very nice one! Bill Ash and his wife Cathy did a great job of making everything so easy for us, including arranging our stay at a really special historic hotel. Very nice. I look forward to another visit to this charming city! Unfortunately I forgot my camera this trip, so you'll have to rely on my word about the charm of the city.

CSU Summer Arts, Fresno, CA, July 19-21

This was the first year the CSU Summer Arts had a guitar workshop in Fresno, and I must admit I was a bit skeptical. Anyone from California knows that Fresno doesn't exactly have a reputation as an exciting place to be, not to mention it can be brutally hot there in July! Well, it was fairly hot (over 100 degrees), but not brutal (I had just missed the 115 degree weather the week before). So that was a pleasant surprise. The students were great to work with, and Steve Thatchuk ran all the details of the workshop very smoothly, especially for a first time festival director! I shared my concert with Nick Goluses (photo), and we all had a blast after the concert at one of the very coolest post-concert parties I've been to! A very kind woman from Greece, who happens to live in Fresno right now, had been coming to the concerts, befriended Steve Thatchuk, and invited us all to her beautiful home (mansion, really) after the concert for an amazing reception. It was low key, and high class. Very nice! Great company made this a very memorable evening. My impression of Fresno was definitely changed on this trip!

National Guitar Workshop LA, June 27-July 2

This is the third year I've taught at this festival, and we had a great group. Nine classical guitar students (the rest of the festival is rock, jazz, blues, etc), and one very special guest artist for the first time, Scott Tennant. Scott came in and taught 3 afternoons, doing some masterclass style lessons, some technique workshops, etc. Our group ranged from an 11 year old with several years experience already under his belt, several teenagers, a recent UCLA graduate, and an adult hobbyist with a real passion for classical guitar. Everyone came with a different background, but all had a great attitude, and I personally really enjoyed the week! Phillip, Claire, Sam, Zach, Stefano, Yates, John, Sara, and Julia all worked hard all week to put together a piece for the ensemble concert Thursday night, and I think they were the hit of the evening! Another really great year at the NGW LA.

After that, a guitar trio from Culiacan, Mexico, came into town and played a few concerts. I joined them for a concerto written by the very romantic Mexican composer Julio Cesar Oliva, a piece for soloist and guitar quartet. Oliva is orchestrating it right now, but it is a wonderful way to have to opportunity to play a concerto without having to find an orchestra! And this is a very beautiful piece. We performed it four times during their visit here, at the American Guitar Society, LA City College, Loyola Marymount University, and at Trilogy Guitars. Their visit was a lot of fun, but no pictures will appear here unless someone sends me some - I've temporarily lost my camera! Next week it's off to Fresno and then Connecticut for more festivals.

Minneapolis, MN, May 27-28, 2004

My last visit to Minneapolis was two years ago as part of the GFA tour, and I was looking forward to returning. This time around, I was visiting to attend the Suzuki International Conference, being held in a downtown hotel. The hotel was just a couple of blocks from where I stayed two years ago, so everything felt quite familiar. I was able to enjoy a bit of time wandering the city streets, and went running along the Mississippi River, the southern end of which I had seen in New Orleans just two months ago.

My concert was one of the first few events at the convention, which really got going after I left town. After the concert, I did a lecture/discussion for the Suzuki guitar teachers on fingering and interpretive ideas in a few pieces that are in their upcoming advanced level repertoire books. I also had the opportunity to talk a bit with these teachers (photo) who are doing such a great job throughout the country of educating children in a very high quality manner. It was a pleasure to be included in this convention. I wasn't raised Suzuki, nor do I teach it, but I have a lot of respect for the method, and have been very impressed multiple times by the results. I look forward to seeing more and more brilliant young guitarists as more and more young professionals decide that Suzuki teaching is the path for them. It was a pleasure to also finally meet the legend, Suzuki guitar guru Frank Longay. (photo)

Omaha, NE, April 4-7

This was a Duo Erato gig, Risa and I met up in Omaha on Sunday evening, and had a nice bit of time to rehearse Monday before teaching a class in the evening. The students at UNO were truly impressive, I didn't quite know what to expect in Nebraska (I guess that's the big city girl snob in me), but I was really blown away. After the class we all went out to the hip part of town (there actually is a hip part of Omaha!) for a bite to eat. We were also thoroughly impressed with the beautiful hall (photo) at UNO - certainly one of the finest if not THE finest I've played in to date. The guitar society who sponsored the Tuesday evening concert is entirely run by students, and they're doing a great job of getting things up and running there. We wish them all the best with the future of their society!

New Orleans, LA, March 26-28

I had been so excited about this trip for so long, I've heard so much about New Orleans, and was looking forward to learning a bit about the city for myself. This was a particularly nice gig, because Tulane University put me up in a downtown hotel for three nights, so I had a bit of extra time to just enjoy the sites. And the food! New Orleans really does have amazing food. The cathedral and square in the French Quarter were beautiful (photo), and the perfect weather added to the charm. Bourbon Street was insane, pretty much no matter what time of day. There was live music everywhere, a party everywhere. Very cool city! The concert Saturday night at Tulane was hosted by Elias Barreiro, and he turned out a great audience. I hope it won't be too long before I head back to New Orleans!

Michigan, March 10-13

I took the overnight flight from LA to Detroit, where I rented a car and drove 2 1/2 hours to Grand Rapids. It was below freezing and snowing almost my entire stay in Michigan, quite a change from the 90 degree weather we had been having in Los Angeles when I left! When I got to the B&B in Grand Rapids at 9:30 am, fortunately my room was ready, and I was able to sleep the rest of the morning. The concert that night was at Grand Rapids Community College, hosted by Brian Morris. It was nice to be back here, I made a quick trip here two years ago on the GFA tour. There were a lot of familiar faces in the audience, which was very nice. I was impressed that anyone was there at all, as the driving conditions were pretty bad that night. Not to mention just stepping outside with the strong winds and snow was brave! From Grand Rapids I went back to the Detroit area. Friday I met up with my Aunt Jill for lunch, she and her friend Norma also came to the concert that night (photo). The concert had a great turnout, the Ann Arbor Guitar Society did a great job of promoting the event. This was the second concert this season where I had a coughing attack while playing. It's so strange, I've been playing concerts for a long time, and this has never happened to me before, now twice in one season! Well, I guess I'm getting good at learning how to play while coughing. The next morning I taught a class to the students of Mary Lou and Brian Roberts, all very impressive, including Mary Lou's son Corey (photo). The sun finally came out on my last morning in Michigan, though as I drove back to the airport, I noticed that the temperature at 1 in afternoon was still only 29 degrees (-1 C) - too cold for me! Michigan was nice, but it's also nice to be going back to LA. When I got home Saturday evening, my guitar majors from Loyola Marymount University were getting ready for their annual spring recital (photo). This concert is always really exciting for me, it's such a thrill to see your students up there playing so well after working so hard. Great job guys!

Culiacan, Mexico, Feb 29-March 4

I flew into Culiacan on Sunday, a day before my concert and before the festival would begin. This made it nice as I had a bit of time to relax and enjoy the trip for a change! Last year when I went to Culiacan, the whole trip was a nightmare, it took almost 24 hours to get there, a million connections...this time, I had a direct flight, and the 2 1/2 hours went by very quickly! When I got there, I went out to lunch at the family ranch of one of the organizers (photo). It was on the outskirts of the city, and had beautiful views of the surrounding area. Monday night was my concert, and the festival really got going on Tuesday with the start of the competition. There were 27 very solid candidates in the first round, and Randy Avers and myself (photo) were on the jury. We narrowed it down to a group of 6 for the finals (photo), and had no problem agreeing on a truly impressive first prize winner. Also participating in the festival that week were the young Culiacan Trio, the virtuoso player/teacher Juan Carlos Laguna, and the beautiful composer/player, Julio Cesar Oliva (photo with Oliva, and organizers Eriberto Soberanes and Erwin Rodriguez). Randy Avers played two concertos with the local orchestra (a great group), but unfortunately I had to leave before that concert (the rehearsals sounded great!). It was an honor to meet some of Mexico's top players at this festival, which was just as much fun as last year.

Los Angeles, CA, Jan 13-16, 2004
On Monday we flew to Los Angeles together, and Tuesday began recording our first duo CD. We recorded at the studio at Loyola Marymount University, with Ryan Ayers as engineer, and Kate Lewis as producer (photo). They were AMAZING, both very positive, with wonderful ears and attention to detail. It was four days of hard work, but I do believe the final product will be great! If you want to sign up for an alert when the CD comes out, send me an e-mail at martha@marthamasters.com, and I'll include you on the update list. During this week, we also had a concert at Santa Monica Methodist Church, where again a nice number of friends turned out. It has been a busy few weeks of duo work! Now back to school, and getting ready for my next run of solo concerts. Happy New Year!

Winchester, VA and Philadelphia, PA, Jan 9-11

The first week of the new year was spent at my parents house outside of Washington, D.C., rehearsing with my duo partner, Risa Carlson. We were getting ready for a few upcoming concerts, and for the recording of our first CD. While there, we also did a photo shoot with my dad. He took some great shots for us, which we'll use on the CD. Friday night amidst some nasty cold weather, Risa and I drove out to Shenandoah Conservatory in Winchester for a concert. We had lots of friends and family come out which was so nice. Saturday we drove to Columbia, MD to spend the night at Risa's house, making it a shorter drive to Philadelphia for the afternoon concert on Sunday. They had a great turnout, especially considering that our concert overlapped with the start of the Eagles playoff game against Green Bay. Philly has been kind to me in the past, and this was no exception, the audience is very warm here. Both audiences were very patient with my cold this weekend, Friday I sniffed my way through the whole concert, and Sunday I had a nasty coughing attack during the most beautiful, delicate movement of the program. Of course it culminated in a passage where I have to play artificial harmonics! It was interesting...

Houston, TX, Nov 7-9

This was the first gig of the season for Duo Erato, and my third time playing in Houston in four years. It's starting to feel like a second home! Lots of old friends there at Guitar Houston. We arrived Thursday evening and had a couple of hours to rehearse before jumping into outreach concerts Friday at Houston public schools. The morning was spent with a few hundred elementary students, K-6, who all study guitar once a week in school. They were a very cute and amazingly well-behaved audience. In the afternoon, we went to a local high school with a huge guitar program. They employ two full-time guitar teachers, and have (I believe) about 250 guitar students! That is a pretty big group of high school students to get to sit and listen, but they did a pretty great job too. Just a bit rowdier than the young ones! Saturday night was the concert at a Frank Lloyd Wright designed church, and Sunday afternoon a masterclass before heading home Sunday night.

Houston was a very busy town with guitar activity this weekend. As I was getting off my plane arriving in Houston, I was waiting for my guitar to come up from the gate check. I noticed a man in front of me collecting a guitar, and when I looked closer I realized it was Marc Teicholz! Small world. He was in town to play a concert with a singer Sunday. I hear that Tali Roth and Richard Savino were also in town for other gigs this weekend, unfortunately time didn't permit catching up with either of them. Sure seems like Houston has a lot going on!

Gambier, OH, October 24

This was a quick trip, but a very nice one. Kenyon College in Gambier celebrated the installation of a new president with many festivities this weekend, a very diverse guitar concert being one of the events. Friday night, I shared the program with an African guitar duo playing their native music, and legendary thumb picker Eddie Pennington. What an evening! The hall was packed with about 650 people, some of the students were sitting in the aisles, the energy and excitement was very cool. The African duo began the evening, unfortunately I was only able to hear bits backstage as I was to play second. After intermission, a very attentive audience (it was a long concert) was wowed by Eddie Pennington. If you ever get the chance to hear him, by all means, go! I didn't stop smiling the whole time he played - just really fun music, done exceptionally well. What a night.

Los Angeles, CA, Sept 13-14

Well it's not exactly "From the Road" if I don't leave town, but it was an interesting guitar weekend anyway, so I thought I'd share a bit about it! Saturday night was the first event on the LMU Guitar Concert and Masterclass series, and this was a particularly special event, as all the revenue generated by ticket sales went to Camp Ronald McDonald for Good Times, a camp for children with cancer. Four of us each played 20 minutes sets, and I was very honored to be on the program with Scott Tennant, Bill Kanengiser, and to broaden our horizons a bit, an all our rock star, Andy Summers from the Police. Aside from my solo set, I did a couple of duos with Scott, and we finished up the evening with Andy York's arrangement of Spain, by Chick Corea. What an experience! Afterwards, there was a fabulous reception at Trilogy Guitars in Playa del Rey for those concert goers who were able to donate even more to the camp. A memorable evening to say the least. Sunday wasn't exactly a concert but a nice guitar day. I played at a luncheon celebrating the 80th anniversary of the American Guitar Society. This group does such a nice job in providing an outlet for people who want to play at monthly meetings, and also have a wonderful concert series. Happy 80th! Next trip is to Ohio in October.

National Guitar Workshop, Connecticut, July 20-26

Last week I was in New Milford, CT for the National Guitar Workshop Classical Summit, my second year in a row. I love this place! I used to attend as a student, and being back as faculty is very cool. The other faculty this year included Nathaniel Gunod, Julian Gray, Adam Holzman, Dale Kavanagh, Andrew Leonard, Adam del Monte, Dick Provost, and Bill Yelverton (photo). Luthier Tom Humphrey was there two days as well, showing off some very interesting new instruments. And the highlight of the week was the masterclass and phenomenal concert given Friday night by Pepe Romero (photo with Nat and me after the concert). There were some great students there, and some very nice people. Everyone is already looking forward to next year...

National Guitar Workshop, Los Angeles, July 7-12

Well, this isn't exactly "From the Road" since I didn't leave town,
but a fun festival nonetheless. This is the second summer I've taught at this workshop, where all styles of guitar are represented. We had four classical "majors" this year (photo with Stan, Joe, Olajide, and Barry), all of a good level of playing. The week flew by, lots of lessons and interactive discussion, it was a blast. Besides us classical guys, the workshop brought in two huge rock artists which had the rest of the workshop (and some of the classical guys as well!) going a bit crazy. Joe Satriani and Steve Vai were there, it was interesting to hear a bit of their views on making music (we share more common ground with the world of rock than I would have imagined) and watch them play. Very cool week. Next week I'm off to Connecticut for the Classical Guitar Summit in Connecticut, where the classical folk try to outnumber the rock guys.

Culiacan and Mazatlan, Mexico, March 10-16

After freezing and drowning in the weather in Cheyenne and Portland, the climate of Culiacan was a welcome change! Culiacan is a pretty big city, about 2 hours from Mazatlan, and was the host city for their 3rd annual guitar festival and competition. The organizers, a group of 5 guitarists, 4 of whom are in their mid 20’s (very young for such a big job!), did a great job of running an international festival. The jury for the competition consisted of Ricardo Cobo, Eduardo Isaac, and myself (photo with us and the organizers after a concert); the top prize winners were all very impressive. The week was very busy between the competition, lots of masterclasses, and concerts every evening. I didn’t play a solo concert here, but rather played a concerto with the Culiacan orchestra on the last night of the festival. Young Mexican guitarist Pablo Garibay (fabulous player) also played with the orchestra, and the two of us were lucky enough to extend our “vacation” by going to Mazatlan to do the same program the next night. It was interesting to travel by tour bus with the orchestra to Mazatlan, and see how they function – much more on time than we guitarists usually are! Pablo and I had to be on our best behavior to fit in with the orchestra. We all stayed in a beautiful resort on the beach (photo of the view from my room, of the pool area overlooking the ocean, and of me with Pablo, and organizers Erwin and Rodolfo), and had about 2 hours to enjoy the beach before heading off to the concert that night in the charming historical theater in Mazatlan (photo from the concert that night). I had just enough time in Mazatlan to know that more time there would be really nice…

Cheyenne, WY and Portland, OR, March 2-9

This was my second visit to Cheyenne (photo of state capitol), it was nice to see friends I had met last year on the GFA tour. I stayed at the home of Russ and Barbara Williams (owners of the beautiful hawk – remember from last year?). This visit I actually got to put on the handling glove and feed the amazing bird, which was pretty cool! I also was treated to my first elk burger, which was delicious. The first day I did an outreach concert at the local YMCA, played for a group of about 25 kindergartners, then about 40 elementary school kids. They managed to ask some very interesting questions about the classical guitar! The next morning I woke up to a beautiful snow storm, but the concert that night for the Cheyenne Symphony Hausmusik program went off without a hitch, as did my flight to Portland the next morning. This was my fourth visit to Portland, I’m starting to feel like a local! Maybe not quite….I’m still not equipped to handle all of that rain. But this time I was there for the Portland Guitar festival, run beautifully by Bryan Johanson. It was a fun few days. In addition to the daily concerts and competition, all invited artists (including Michael Partington, the Alexandria Guitar Trio, and Eric Benzant-Feldra and Mike Kudirka) played a concerto with the PSU orchestra on the final night – 5 guitar concertos on one program! My solo concert was on Friday, and I had my first shot at performing the Aranjuez on Saturday night (photo). What an experience! Hope I get to do that again soon. The orchestra was good, and the conductor (Keith Clarke) was great, which made the experience that much more pleasurable. Sunday morning I flew home to Los Angeles, and had a few hours to catch up before taking off first thing Monday for Mexico.

Ohio, February 7-10, 2003

I was really looking forward to this trip, since I was born in Ohio and have lots of family there. I flew into Pittsburgh, and started in the northwestern Ohio city of Youngstown. Actually, I had never been to Youngstown before, so it was a nice experience. I did a class at the state university on Friday afternoon, then played a concert that night. After the concert, I went to eat with a group of students, as well as my mother-in-law who came to the concert, and YSU faculty members Jim Boyce, and Gabriel Palmer (photo). My sister had come to meet me in Youngstown, and Saturday we drove south to Cincinnati, stopping first in Dayton to visit my father’s side of the family (and made a drive by of one of my childhood homes, always fun to go back!). Sunday afternoon, I played a concert in Cincinnati at Xavier University, followed by a huge gathering (orchestrated by my sister, definitely the organized one of the two of us!) of family and friends at a local restaurant (photo with part of the group), 35 people in total! It was a great afternoon/evening. Monday afternoon Clare Callahan at University of Cincinnati’s CCM, where they have a wonderful guitar program, had invited me for a masterclass before I had to get back home.

Paraguay and Dallas/Ft. Worth, November 9-16

My last trip of the fall began in Paraguay. After a very long flight with multiple connections, I arrived in Asuncion, the capitol of Paraguay. Luz Maria Bobadilla and Tania Ramos greeted me at the airport, and ran an incredible two day festival featuring all women guitarists, to benefit a women’s advocacy group in Paraguay (photo with group outside their headquarters). Besides being a very worthy cause, it was cool to be amongst so many great (and very kind) female players, there aren’t that many women guitarists out there! The busy schedule and brevity of the trip didn’t allow for any sight-seeing, but I did get a good impression of the system of driving in Paraguay – it seems to be a complete free for all! Very interesting…

The day of my concert, Badi Assad and I did 3 radio interviews together (note: always a good idea to play BEFORE Badi!), and we were treated to some delicious typical Paraguayan food. The first night, I shared a concert with Tania Ramos, who played a beautiful program of traditional Paraguayan music, and Badi Assad, who worked her magic and defied categorization, as usual (photo with Badi after the concert). What a diverse evening of guitar! Unfortunately I had to miss the next night’s concert (featuring Luz Maria Bobadilla playing a contemporary program, along with Consuelo Bolio from Mexico, who is also a composer, and Isabelle Villey from France on the Baroque guitar), as I had to get to Texas to meet up with Risa Carlson (Duo Erato). We both arrived in Dallas early Wednesday morning, and had a day to rest up and practice before our concerts Thursday night in Ft. Worth and Friday night in Dallas. Host Chris McGuire runs a tight ship there in Texas, and everything went smoothly for both concerts, as well as the masterclass Saturday (photo of Risa working with one of the students). The hall in Ft. Worth is beautiful! And they have a great music-loving audience there, which is always nice. Risa and I had a blast, and look forward to more gigs together in the future.

Now some time at home to finish up the semester at school, and relax. Just one gig on a chamber music concert in December, nothing else solo until 2003 – so happy holidays!

Denmark, Puerto Rico, Miami, & Knoxville; Oct. 11-22

This was a whirlwind trip, I felt a bit like I was on the GFA tour again! Basically I had two nights everyplace I went, and a fabulous but exhausting trip all around. First I flew to Denmark, for the 2nd annual guitar festival in Aarhus. I was assuming this was a small town, little did I know it is the second largest city in Denmark, about 250,000 people. Peter Stromgren (photo) organized a huge and wonderful festival with a great roster of artists, it was an honor to be included. The concert was in a beautiful old hall from the early 1800's, lots of atmosphere there. Unfortunately I was pretty sick on my free day, and saw nothing except the inside of my hotel room…

From very cold Denmark I went to very hot Puerto Rico, which was beautiful! This was for a 3 day festival honoring the wonderful guitarist/composer Ernesto Cordero, and I arrived after a 24 hour trip just in time to see the last half of Carlos Perez' concert, which was wonderful. I had one day free there as well, and thankfully with the flu behind me I was able to get out and enjoy the beautiful beach that was just 2 blocks from my hotel (photo). The concert that night was the official celebration in honor of Mr. Cordero, and there was a great reception afterwards (photo with Carlos Perez and Ernesto Cordero).

Next stop Miami, this was more for fun than anything else. I had a couple of free days before I had to be in Knoxville, and what better way to spend them than by a quick visit to the GFA convention. It was great fun to see old friends (photo with Manuel Barrueco and with Johan Fostier), and meet lots of new ones as always. And congratulations to my friend Dimitri Illarionov, winner of this year's competition! He's a beautiful player, I'm sure he'll please many on his tour next year.

Knoxville was the site of the filming of the Mel Bay video, Doug Witherspoon was there to represent the company. Mel Bay really knows how to treat the artist! They put me up in a fabulous hotel, treated me to fine food, and were very kind through the recording process. It was as low-pressure an experience as that sort of thing can be. I've already gotten a peak at the product, which they are hoping to have ready for distribution by late January, which is much quicker than I would have imagined.

One last trip to come this fall, more news shortly…

A Look Back at the GFA Tour

My GFA tour began on September 15 in California, and ended April 28 in North Carolina. I played 56 concerts, covering 24 states, 11 state capitols, three Canadian provinces, and one stop in Mexico. Yes, I accumulated many frequent flyer miles! Out of about 80 flights, I only had to check my guitar 3 times, & airport personnel were generally very accommodating. Unfortunately one of the three times, they also lost it (to be found later…), but amazingly this was the only instance of lost or late baggage on the entire trip! Pretty good luck. I only missed two connecting flights, neither of which was of big consequence. There were several cancelled flights last fall due to schedule consolidations, but everything always worked out pretty nicely. There were a few difficult moments here and there with travel, but I think overall I was about as fortunate as possible. I only left behind one little tube of bath gel in a shower, and only forgot to pack undergarments once – not too bad! The flu only caught up with me a couple of times, pretty amazing considering the extreme climates I traversed (the cause of my guitar cracking…) and the number of nights I only got 3 or 4 hours of sleep! I met so many wonderful guitarists and guitar lovers at every stop, people who treated me with such great care. Every time I arrived at the airport, the local host was there waiting – never a moment of concern about any local logistics, which made my travels much easier. I played for audiences large and small, but always kind. I got to see family and friends in 18 different locations, and reacquainted with some long lost friends. And I made many new friends I hope to see again. I learned a lot about myself as a musician and person – this has definitely been a life-changing experience. Though the sheer volume of concerts can have its difficult moments (I can hardly imagine how the few artists that keep that type of schedule year on end manage…), I would not trade it for anything. The GFA does a great thing by offering this opportunity for a young guitarist every year. It was my honor to be the fortunate one this year. Thanks for traveling along with me, and check back next fall for some more updates!

Monterrey, Mexico; Mar. 1 - 5

It's a pity that this was my only concert in Mexico, because it was such a great trip. If my experiences with the people in Monterrey were indicative of the spirit of Mexico, I hope to return soon and often. Although I was only in Monterrey for one concert, I also taught 2 full days of masterclasses, with a free day in between. The students who played (I think about 20!) were mostly from Monterrey and Saltillo, and played very well prepared and at a high level. Dr. Febronio Chavarría and his wife Teresa entertained me on my day off, by taking me to a museum of Mexican History, and showing me a bit of how the Mexican people live. Febronio works full time as an engineer, but does an amazing job organizing guitar concerts. We did numerous radio appearances, the newspapers were full of ads for the concert, and it paid off - more than 500 people came to the concert, and that was a Tuesday night! The hotel I stayed in is apparently the oldest in Monterrey, and the lobby witnessed a piece of Mexican history when Poncho Villa rode his horse up the grand staircase during the Mexican Revolution.

Monterrey is a beautiful city currounded by steep mountains (photo, view from Universidad de Nueva León), with many interesting sights in the city center. My hotel was within a few blocks of all these beautiful sights - the cathedral, the Park of Heroes with beautiful statues, and the federal building (photos) were some of my favorites. During my visit I also had a nice meal with a promising young quartet and one of the guitar faculty members at U.N.L., Eduardo (photo); met a local guitar builder; did 4 radio appearances (photo with Febronio Chavarría and radio host Javier Castillo); it was a busy few days! I arrived at the airport with lots of time to spare, and was even provided with entertainment here - in the form of a bat flying around my gate area for about 30 minutes. It was interesting to watch at first as a few workers tired to show him a way out, then as more and more women began to scream (I must confess to a small peep when I ducked as it flew where my head had been), a crew of 10 came in with large blankets to trap it. This visit was entertaining to the last minute! Truly, the people made this a trip worth remembering - the guitar is alive and well at a high level in Monterrey.

Potsdam, NY; Chevy Chase, MD; Feb. 17 - 23

After a busy week at home, I headed off to Upstate NY for a concert and class at SUNY Potsdam (not officially part of the GFA tour). The drive from Syracuse was beautiful, it was so nice to be out in the country. There's nothing to compare to the beautiful simplicity of a red barn and silo in the middle of a snowy field (photo). I also saw eagles every few minutes along the drive, which isn't an every day occurence in Los Angeles! From Potsdam I went down to the Washington, D.C. area for a concert in Chevy Chase, MD. My family lives in Northern Virginia, so I was really happy to be home for a couple of days. We had a nice family dinner, play time with my adorable niece and nephews (photo), and some nice quality time all around. The concert Friday was part of the John Marlow Guitar Series in Chevy Chase, and the audience was full of friends from high school and college, as well as my parents (I have the ultimate "guitar dad"), which made it really special. My guitar teachers from high school were both there, and Mr. Mac brought a group of his students (photo) from the guitar ensemble class (they have an amazingly well-developed guitar program at Robinson Secondary School in Fairfax, VA.) The whole evening was like a