tory of Music, Hamburg, Germany. At a time when the US had a total of 3 schools where you could major in guitar, Hamburg had 4 full-time professors of guitar AND a guitar curriculum that con- sisted of: 4 semesters of guitar pedagogy; ensemble/orchestra every semester; guitar history for 2 semesters; guitar literature for 4 se- mesters; 2 semesters of practicum; all semesters performance class; chamber music classes; private lessons; and, last but not least— for those of us who made it through the week—Friday night beer night at a local bar. When in Germany, do as the Germans! And of course, all of our other music subjects. Orchestra was my favorite.


What were some obstacles you faced when you first formed


or inherited your Guitar Ensemble at your school? From a faculty or administration standpoint, I didn’t have any


problems. From a reality standpoint, I had a whole program to build—create the kind of numbers and quality that I could go to faculty and upper administration and say “hey, these 30 plus ma- jors don’t need chorus, band, collegium, etc. as their performance group. They need guitar ensemble/orchestra.” Of course, it didn’t hurt that as many as 40 guitar majors weekly visited the office of our Arts and Humanities Dean asking for orches- tra. (He and I were good friends. He would periodically tell me to have my students knock it off. I would tell him I’d be glad to do so when he approved the course and fund the needed instruments. It took about ½ year, but the rest is history.)


What Guitar Ensemble published collections do you like to


work from? My own. The instrumentation of my guitar orchestra editions


are Octave I & II, Alto, Guitar I & II and bass guitar. Nobody else writes for those voices, because no-one else has gotten there yet. I have a huge library. Try to find a publisher.


What arrangement or transcription that you or a student


did that you are most proud of? Great question. There have been so many over the years, but


hands down Quartet on an Intrada from the 16th Century, for re- corder brace, published by Schott. The piece was written by Hans Georg Lotz, my ear training professor at the Hamburg Conservatory and, after we got over the German formal thing, dear friends. Like I said, the Quartet was written for 4 recorder parts


(SATB). Forget about anything you have ever known about recorder music. While very melodic, harmonic, rhythmically accessible, this piece is simply out there. Very percussive—which makes it ideal for guitar orchestra. Anyway, in 1982 before our first international tour, I asked him if he would mind me transcribing the Quartet for or- chestra—from 4 parts to 6, which was a “piece of cake.” He agreed. I did, and we carried it around the world with us, record- ing it at Radio 1 Hong Kong. A year or so later he heard the re- cording and simply said, “Why did I waste time writing this for recorders? I just should have written for you.” Dropped me.


Your thoughts on finger-style rest strokes or the use of gui- tar pick (plectrum) within your groups?


First of all, the most essential ‘sound’ concept is uniformity: ei- ther all fingers or all picks. Rest strokes vs. free strokes? You use them all in different musical ways, i.e. it is the music that dictates which you use. Plectrum has the least variety in sound without VERY specialized techniques. Using fingers, especially with fingernails al- lows you to be as tonally creative as your imagination will take you.


What are some performing opportunity highlights that your groups participated in?


This is again a tough one. How much time do we have? Let’s just say that the Orchestra played all over the world; did numer- ous TV/Radio broadcasts; played for numerous international gui- tar conferences; MENC and ASTA; national and regional confer- ences; programs for companies like AT&T; numerous colleges and universities; All-State Music Festivals in a number of states; as well as our typical local performances, workshops and obligations.


What kind of thought do you put into setting up/seating


your students in chairs for the Guitar Ensemble Performance or during rehearsals?


Both always the same. After a few years of experimenting with


various seating plans, and having finally solidified our instrumenta- tion, I settled on this configuration. First Row, left to right: Octave guitar I, classical bass guitars, Octaves II. Back row, left to right: Alto guitars (or guitar I), Guitar I (II) and Guitar II (III). There are numerous explanations for this format: blend and balance; clarity of individual voices; ability to easily present authentically various styles of music (Renaissance/Baroque); and how parts relate, etc.


Do you have any special rehearsal techniques or exercises that you would like to share with readers?


This is again an impossible question to answer in this format— just too much info. Again, a separate workshop—with guitars! If you are aware of any “History of the Guitar Ensemble in


the United States” that you are willing to share? I am aware that Mandolin and Guitar Orchestras existed but perhaps one of you is privy to some obscure info.


MARCH 2017 47 TEMPO


Your thoughts of “classical guitar seating position” or “right


knee” for your groups? Sitting position is not determined by ‘classical, steel string,


etc.’ concepts or whatever, but rather by the physical character- istics of any guitar. Now that presumes the most practical, ef- ficient, physically most accessible means of doing so. Without going into the details, left foot up is most appropriate for classi- cal guitars and no foot up for acoustic, although the current trend among those very virtuoso steel string players is using a strap to hold the guitar in a position very similar to the classical way.


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68