News Release

Guitar Festival celebrating first decade with performances throughout April


Contact: Christina Chapple

3/27/09


Click on thumbnail for high resolution photo

(1) Lily Afshar (2) David and Jessica Bryan (3) Southeastern Guitar Quartet

(1) Lily Afshar, (2) David and Jessica Bryan, (3) Southeastern Guitar Quartet

     HAMMOND --
 Southeastern Louisiana University is marking the tenth anniversary of its popular Southeastern Guitar Festival, which encompasses six concerts throughout April showcasing a variety of styles and presentations of guitar music.

     The festival opens April 7 with a performance by the Southeastern Guitar Quartet, and will also include guest artist Lily Afshar; the husband-wife duo of guitarist David Bryan and soprano Jessica Bryan, the Southeastern Guitar Ensemble, and another installment of “All Styles Night on the Circle.”

     “Ten years – not bad!,” said Festival Director Patrick Kerber of Southeastern’s Department of Music and Dramatic Arts. “Our formula of scheduling Southeastern guitarists, local performers, and a prominent guest artist on various dates throughout April has proven to be a successful vehicle for presenting outstanding guitar concerts in a very accessible manner.

     “The guitar remains a very popular instrument in our culture, and by combining different styles of guitar music within an open schedule, the festival has become increasingly successful locally, and continues to draw audiences from Lafayette to Mobile,” he said.

     All Southeastern Guitar Festival events are free.

     The Southeastern Guitar Quartet’s opening concert on April 7 is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. at the Pottle Music Building Auditorium. Kerber said the group will perform traditional music arranged by members of the quartet, including music from German Baroque, Spanish/Italian Classical, French Impressionistic, and American and Spanish Romantic composers.

     The quartet combines faculty members Kerber and Bryan and students Matthew Aguilar of Walker and Matthew Spears of Shreveport.

     On April 8, the popular “All Styles Night on the Circle” will feature a wide range of musical styles presented by an equally wide range of performers, including music and non-music students, local performers, and, Kerber said, “One of my favorite facets of the night – non-music faculty. They’re not just math and English professors! Students and the community alike are encouraged to come out and be surprised.”

     The moonlit concert of jazz, classical, blues, bluegrass, Celtic, and popular folk styles will be presented at 7:30 p.m. at the Performance Circle adjacent to the Pottle Music Building on Friendship Circle.

     “Guitars and crickets sound great together!” Kerber said.

     The festival’s guest artist, Iranian-born Lily Afshar, professor of guitar at the University of Memphis. will perform April 21, 7:30 p.m., at the Pottle Auditorium. Afshar’s international career includes numerous critically acclaimed recordings and awards such as the Gibson Award for Best Female Guitarist. Afshar is a champion of new music written for the guitar, and her concerts often feature music from a variety of cultures. She will also teach a masterclass for Southeastern students at 11 a.m.

     Southeastern graduates David Bryan and Jessica Davis Bryan will present a recital of music for voice and guitar and solo guitar concert on April 28. The program will include South American folk songs, Spanish art songs and solos by Joaquin Rodrigo, arrangements of Italian parlor songs, and songs and solos by Kerber. The husband and wife duo will perform at 7:30 p.m. in Pottle Auditorium.

     The festival will close on April 29 with the spring concert by the 20-member Southeastern Guitar Ensemble. Directed by Kerber, the program will include music for guitar duo, trio, quartet, guitar with violin, and the full ensemble. The guitarists will perform music from the German Renaissance, and Spanish music from the classical, romantic, modern, and folk repertoire. The concert will take place in Pottle Auditorium at 7:30 p.m.

     The 2009 Southeastern Guitar Festival is sponsored by the Student Government Association, the Arts and Lectures Committee, and the Southeastern Guitar Club. For more info, contact Kerber, 985-549-2886, pkerber@selu.edu.  



More News...

 CONTACT USCAMPUS MAPSEARCH & DIRECTORIESBLACKBOARDLEONETWEBMAIL