Season Tickets for our 2012 International Concert Series go on sale Oct. 31, 2011 at 10 am
GuitarSarasota announces an exciting series of concerts with international performers of the classical guitar for the 2011-2012 Season.
Saturday, January 21, 2012 - Kithara Duo (Olga Amelkina-Vera and Fernand Vera) - US
Saturday, February 18, 2012 - Martha Masters from US
Saturday, March 17, 2012 - Johannes Möller from Sweden
Saturday, April 14, 2012 - Nigel North
All concerts are held in Fellowship Hall at St. Paul Lutheran Church, 2256 Bahia Vista Street in Sarasota, Florida and begin at 7:30pm. A short meet and greet reception will follow each concert in honor of the performing artist with hors d’oeuvres and refreshments by Mattison’s™.
About our invited artists:
Kithara Duo, Olga Amelkina-Vera & Fernand Vera was formed in 2002. Since then, they have performed in Europe as well as North and South America. They have been invited as guest artists by numerous Texas organizations and festivals, most notably Foundation of Modern Music (Houston), Col Canto (Houston), Voces Intimae (Dallas), “Classical Minds" Guitar Festival at the University of Houston Moores School of Music, Fort Worth Guitar Guild Music Festival, Mesquite Guitar Festival, and live on "The Front Row," a program on Houston's classical radio station KUHF 88.7. They strive to expand the guitar duo repertoire through their many arrangements and original compositions. Kithara Duo are the creators and directors of the annual Guitar Orchestra Workshop in the North Texas area. They currently live in Denton, Texas.
Martha Masters has received critical acclaim as a solo recitalist, as a chamber musician with Duo Erato, and as a soloist with orchestras. Martha's first CD, Serenade, is now in its second printing, and her Naxos recital disc sold over 10,000 copies worldwide in the first year of its release. Her recording of Italian music was released in 2006 on the GSP label, and a recording of early 20th Century Spanish music was released on GSP in 2009. Masters' book, Reaching the Next Level, a method for experienced guitar students, was published in 2010 by Mel Bay, and has received early critical acclaim. In October of 2000 Martha won first prize in the Guitar Foundation of America (GFA) International Solo Competition. In November of 2000, she also won the Andrés Segovia International Guitar Competition in Linares, Spain.
Johannes Möller - The Swedish guitarist and composer Johannes Möller has captivated audiences throughout the world with charismatic and soulful performances. He played his first public concerts when he was 13 years old. Since then he has found time for more than 500 appearances in Europe, Asia, South and North America. In 2010 he was awarded first prize in the GFA Concert Artist Competition, which is often considered the most prestigious guitar competition in the world. As part of this prize, he will perform over 60 concerts throughout the United States, Canada, Mexico, South America, and China, including a Carnegie Hall debut.
Nigel North was initially inspired into music, at age 7, by the early 60's instrumental pop group "The Shadows". Nigel studied classical music through the violin and guitar, eventually discovering his real path in life, the lute, when he was 15. Basically self-taught on the lute, he has (for over 30 years) developed a unique musical life which embraces activities as a teacher, accompanist, soloist, director and writer. Nigel North enjoys accompanying singers and is also an enthusiastic teacher. For over 20 years he was Professor of Lute at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, in London; from 1993-1999 he was Professor at the Hochschule der Künste, Berlin; 2005-2207 he was Lute Professor at the Royal Conservatory in Den Haag, Netherlands, and since January 1999 Nigel North has been Professor of Lute at the Early Music Institute, Indiana University, Bloomington in the USA.
GuitarSarasota is a non-profit organization that promotes the education, appreciation and cultural significance of the classical guitar as a solo and chamber music instrument.