Guitar and Other Strings Series
The Guitar and Other Strings Series, held every July, features all styles of music — jazz, bluegrass, folk, Celtic, flamenco, classical and blues.
Begun in 1992, the series has presented nationally and internationally acclaimed artists in concerts and workshops. Artists who have performed on this series include Leo Kottke, Mark O’Connor, John Hartford, John Jackson, the Washington Guitar Quintet, Charlie Byrd, the Tony Rice Unit, the Del McCoury Band, the Nashville Bluegrass Band, Pierre Bensusan and Stephen Bennett. The VCU Community Guitar Ensemble also performs annually on this series.
2009 Guitar and Other Strings Series – 17th season
Maggie Sansone and friends: A Celtic Fair
Friday, July 10
7:30 p.m.
General admission: $10
Web site: www.maggiesansone.com
Innovation meets tradition as Maggie Sansone and friends spin a magical tapestry of sound with music from the ancient Celtic lands. Joining Sansone are Belgian musician Paul Oorts on harp-guitar, mandolin and musette accordion, Rob Greenway on Irish flute and guitar, and Matt Bell on Bodhran — an Irish frame drum.
“Maggie Sansone is one of the most exciting and innovative hammered dulcimer players recording today and with a fire and passion to her playing.” – Dirty Linen Folk and World Magazine
America’s premier hammered dulcimer player and recording artist, Maggie Sansone’s music and pioneering artistry has brought the ringing beauty of her music to hundreds of thousands of music lovers around the world. Sansone has been featured on CBS-TV Sunday Morning, NPR’s All Things Considered, Performance Today and The Thistle and Shamrock. As producer and performer, Sansone has performed at the Kennedy Center Concert Hall, National Geographic Grossover Hall and many other venues; from the large stage to small town fairs, Renaissance and folk festivals; special events and weddings.
“Steeped in tradition yet often wed to the contemporary, with rhythmic vitality and a venturesome spirit, few musicians span the gap of generations so perfectly.” – The Washington Post
Sansone brings her unique vision and virtuosity to music of the ancient Celtic lands and her hammered dulcimer has been praised as the perfect music for Renaissance weddings and special events. Recent awards include the WAMMIE award for best Irish/Celtic instrumentalist from the Washington Area Music Association (D.C.’s answer to the Grammies) and the Annie Award for Performing Arts from the Anne Arundel Country Cultural Arts Foundation. Sansone is the author of hammered dulcimer music books published by Mel Bay Publications. Mel Bay included her in their Hammered dulcimer Anthology Series featuring America’s finest performers and teachers. Sansone is founder and CEO of Maggie’s Music record label. The label, which features more than 50 albums distributed worldwide, is an eight time WAMMIE winner for “Record Label of the Year.” Sansone’s recordings include: Mystic Dance: A Celtic Celebration; Celtic Meditations: Into the Light; A Traveler’s Dream; Dance Upon the Shore; Mist and Stone (AFIM INDIE winner); Traditions; and her Holiday recordings: A Scottish Christmas (WAMMIE winner, “Celtic Recording”) Ancient Noels (AFIM INDIE winner); Sounds of the Season and Sounds of the Season II (AFIM INDIE nominee). Sansone is also featured on the DVD: A Scottish Christmas.
Stephen Bennett, master of the guitar, harp guitar and steel resonator guitar
Friday, July 17
7:30 p.m.
General admission: $10
Web site: www.harpguitar.com
Stephen Bennett was born in Oregon, grew up in New York and has lived in Virginia for the last three decades. Since his 1987 first-place win at the National Flatpicking Championship at the Walnut Valley Festival, in Winfield, Kan., he has become known as a versatile guitarist who consistently garners critical praise and audience enthusiasm for his compositions and live performances.
“Whether playing his great-grandfather’s harp guitar, his 1930 National Steel or a standard 6-string, Stephen Bennett is a guitarist to hear. His playing has won awards and critical praise. In live performance and on record, his diverse musical influences and interests are joined with a lifelong love affair with the sound of guitar strings.”
With his stellar musicianship, a relaxed stage presence and quick wit, Bennett has performed throughout the U.S. and Europe, as well as in Canada, Australia and Japan. With a pile of CDs, as well as some DVDs, already released into the world, a new SB recording is in the works.
Aside from his work on the six-string guitar, Bennett is also one of the world’s premiere performers on the Harp Guitar, an instrument he indirectly inherited from his great-grandfather. As a composer and arranger, he has created an enduring repertoire and a significant body of recorded work for this instrument.
Additionally, he is the Founder of the Harp Guitar Gathering, an event that has occurred for five consecutive years — as of October 2007. The HGG seeks to celebrate all things harp guitar as it brings players, luthiers, scholars and fans together for a weekend of performances, workshops and camaraderie.
Slide guitar work on his 1930 national resophonic steel guitar is also an important part of Bennett’s instrumental diversity.
“Bennett engages his audiences with an entertaining show of first-rate musicianship.”
However, the image of Bennett embracing his harp guitar is the one that tends to linger. The fact that he is only too happy to champion the cause of the harp guitar may inadvertently obscure his abilities on the six-string instrument. In what is becoming known as the Golden Age of Guitar Luthiery, it’s easy to overlook the fact that this is also the Golden Age of Guitar Playing. With six strings or more, as one of the most original and prolific composers and arrangers for the guitar on the current scene, Bennett is clearly a part of the latter heritage.
Bennett will also give a guitar workshop on Saturday, July 18, at 10 a.m. in the Singleton Center for the Performing Arts, Room B-15. The general admission is $25.
Quatro na Bossa, Brazilian music from samba to bossa nova
Friday, July 24
7:30 p.m.
General admission: $10
Web site: quatronabossa.tripod.com
Quatro na Bossa, Richmond’s favorite bossa nova band, has been performing Brazilian standards, obscurities, and original material all over Virginia since 2003. Drawing from Brazil’s most popular composers and performers, Quatro na Bossa includes familiar classics as well as esoteric gems in their vast repertoire and some original material in the bossa nova style. Quatro na Bossa has performed for private functions, film and cultural festivals, bars and restaurants. Quatro na Bossa comprises some of the region’s most prominent musicians, including vocalist Laura Ann Boyd and Kevin Harding on guitar.
“…they recreate the energy of a Carnival festival.”
The unique format of the quartet allows the band to exhibit creativity as they recreate the energy of a carnival festival. Quatro na Bossa also prides itself on the subtleties and nuances of the Brazilian tradition, creating a dynamic environment at once vivacious and introspective.
The VCU Community Guitar Ensemble 25-member guitar orchestra with guest artists
Directed by John Patykula
Sunday, July 26
4 p.m.
Free admission
The VCU Community Guitar Ensemble consists of 25 talented, non-professional, classical guitarists from Central Virginia. Established in 1986 by John Patykula, this ensemble has performed as part of the Richmond International Music Festival and Richmond’s Big Gig summer festival. It is the resident ensemble for VCU’s Guitar and Other Strings Series. The VCU Community Guitar Ensemble has been featured on local television and on WCVE-FM’s “An Hour with the Guitar.” The theme for the July 26 concert will be Music from Spain, and will feature popular, classical and flamenco selections.
All of the VCU Guitar and Other Strings Series concerts take place in the Sonia Vlahcevic Concert Hall in the W.E. Singleton Center for the Performing Arts at 922 Park Ave. VCU students, faculty and staff are admitted free with a valid VCU ID. For ticket information, please call the VCU Department of Music at (804) 828-1166. Tickets go on sale June 22.
