Southeastern schedules annual Guitar Fest
Friday, February 28, 2014 
by: Tonya Lowentritt
GUITAR ENSEMBLE - Southeastern Louisiana University hosts the 15th annual Guitar Festival with programs scheduled in March and April. The Southeastern Guitar Ensemble will close out the festival on April 14 featuring music from Baroque to Contemporary. All events are free and open to the public.
HAMMOND – Music from a variety of cultures and historical eras, as well as music from Louisiana composers, will be the focus of the 15th annual Southeastern Louisiana University Guitar Festival.
"It is a testament to the university's mission that we have been able to present this festival for 15 consecutive years," said Patrick Kerber, guitar instructor and festival coordinator. "The goal is to offer students and the community a venue which showcases the guitar's versatility and scope in our diverse modern music culture."
Sponsored by the Southeastern Arts and Lectures Committee, the Southeastern Guitar Club, Dr. Ted's Musician's Center of Hammond, and Jody Mayeux's Music Shop of Walker, the festival will launch March 10 with a performance by an acclaimed flamenco ensemble and will run through April 14. All events are free and open to the public.
On March 10 at 7:30 p.m. in Pottle Auditorium the exciting flamenco nuevo group Ven Pa Ca Flamenco Ensemble returns for its fourth engagement at the festival. The centuries' old quintessential Spanish folk art is married to the modern with a program featuring guitar, cajon (percussion), saxophone, and dance.
Kerber will present a traditional solo recital featuring Spanish music written specifically for the guitar and its predecessors, the vihuela, and the Baroque guitar on March 17. Scheduled in Pottle Auditorium at 7:30 p.m., the program will span four centuries of the rich, unique Spanish guitar repertoire, Kerber said.
The High School Guitar Symposium is slated for March 22 from 9 a.m. to noon in Pottle Recital Hall. Area high school students will be offered instruction in guitar technique, fretboard theory, and the history of the guitar in an informal class setting. Interested students should contact Kerber at pkerber@southeastern.edu or at 985-549-2886.
All Styles Night on the Circle is scheduled for April 7. Students and local musicians will perform a diverse program of guitar music under the April stars on the Pottle Performance Circle at 7:30 p.m. Kerber said the eclectic program will feature solos and groups performing jazz, classical, folk, bluegrass, and original music on classical, folk and electric guitars. Included will be banjos, singers, and other instrumentalists as well. In the case of inclement weather, the program will move to the Pottle Recital Hall.
The festival will close on April 14 with the Southeastern Guitar Ensemble. Featuring music from Baroque to Contemporary for guitar and violin, two, three, four and 10 guitars, the concert is scheduled at 7:30 p.m. in Pottle Auditorium.
The program will feature music by Vivaldi, Granados, Malats, and Turina, including arrangements by Southeastern students, Kerber said. Guest artist Constanta Lungu, violinist, and guitarist Hristo Balev will be featured.
For further information contact Kerber at 985-549-2886, or pkerber@southeastern.edu.
