2019-2020 International Guitar Series Season Grand Finale

U.S. Classic Guitar President William Jenks is excited to announce the Grand Finale of the 2019-2020 Portland, Los Angeles, and Hawaii International Guitar Series sponsored by the Augustine Foundation, Guitar Salon International, Darren Hippner Guitars, All Classical 89.9 FM, Willamette Week, and Hawaii Public Radio.

Because of the current covid-19 pandemic situation, the board of U.S. Classic Guitar has made the decision to finish out the 2019-2020 Portland, Los Angeles, and Hawaii International Guitar Series virtually online through Zoom bringing you the finest in sound and video quality right to your living room hosted by U.S. Classic Guitar President William Jenks. Not only is this going to be the safest option for everyone, we believe it will also be a lot of fun and a great way for us all to connect during this difficult time. Zoom is quite easy to use and it has a lot of great features such as the ability for the audience to interact with the performers after the concert or ask a question during a master class.  William Jenks will give you more information on how to use Zoom and he will schedule a practice Zoom meeting before the first event if you need to familiarize yourself with this platform. 

Most importantly the show must go on, and this will provide a way to bring a revenue stream back to our organization so we can continue to bring you top notch performances and guitar related education for years to come. Our organization has seen a 95 percent drop in revenue since the pandemic hit in March and we obviously will not be able to sustain this without your support and the continuation of our programming.  Also, the majority of the ticket sales for these concerts will go directly to the artists who have also seen a huge drop in their income since the pandemic hit back in March. We are kindly asking you to help out this situation by accepting the online series for the remainder of your 2019-2020 season ticket, transferring your individual tickets to the online ticket, or donating the remaining value of your individual or season tickets for a tax deductible donation. Also, please encourage your friends and family to purchase online tickets and if you can, please consider making an additional tax deductible donation to help keep this organization going strong.

First, on Saturday, August 29 at 1 PM (PST) will be a virtual master class for Grammy-winner Jason Vieaux followed by a solo concert on Sunday, August 30 at 4 PM (PST) from his home in Cleveland. If you got the pleasure in seeing him perform in Portland back in October of 2019, you won’t want to miss this because he will be playing an entirely new program including works by Bach, Albeniz, Ponce, several of his own new compositions, and more. Jason Vieaux, “among the elite of today's classical guitarists” (Gramophone), is the guitarist that goes beyond the classical. His most recent solo album, Play, won the 2015 Grammy Award for Best Classical Instrumental Solo. In 2011, he co-founded the guitar department at the Curtis Institute of Music, and in 2015 was invited to inaugurate the guitar program at the Eastern Music Festival. Vieaux has taught at the Cleveland Institute of Music since 1997, heading the guitar department since 2001. He has received a Naumburg Foundation top prize, a Cleveland Institute of Music Distinguished Alumni Award, and first prize in the Guitar Foundation of America International Guitar Competition.

Next, on Saturday, October 3 at 1 PM (PST) will be a virtual master class for the legendary guitarist Eliot Fisk followed by a concert on Sunday, October 4 at 4 PM (PST) (these are rescheduled dates due to the Oregon wildfires). Eliot Fisk will perform solos and duets with his lovely wife Zaira Meneses from their home in Boston presenting an entirely different and exclusive program including works by Chopin, Brouwer, Bach, Barrios, and more.

Eliot Fisk is known worldwide as a charismatic performer famed for his adventurous and virtuosic repertoire. After nearly 50 years before the public he remains as his mentor Andres Segovia once wrote, “at the top line of our artistic world.” Eliot Fisk was the last direct pupil of Andres Segovia and also studied interpretation with the legendary harpsichordist Ralph Kirkpatrick at Yale University, from which he graduated “summa cum laude” in 1976, and where, directly following his own graduation in 1977, he founded the guitar department at the Yale School of Music.

Zaira Meneses is hailed by the New York Times as:  "a captivating edge full of colors and feelings" and is recognized as the first female Mexican classical guitarist with a successful career as a soloist, teacher, and director in the USA. She was also the first female guitarist to record a new 45-minute album of J.S. BACH compositions where she includes her own guitar transcription of the well-known Partita No.2 in D minor.

The final concert of the 2019-2020 U.S. International Guitar Series grand finale presented by U.S. Classic Guitar will be brought to you aloha style from the Big Island of Hawaii on Sunday, November 15 at 4 PM (Pacific Time) where U.S. Classic Guitar President William Jenks will perform with Hawaii based guitarist Ian O’Sullivan.