Minnesota Guitar Society Mission Statement Promote the guitar in all its stylistic and cultural diversity through sponsorship of public forums, concerts, and workshops. Serve as an educational and social link between the community G u i t a r i s t and amateur and professional guitarists of all ages. The Minnesota Guitar Society PO Box 14986 / Minneapolis MN 55414 Vol. 35 No. 4 / Summer Issue 2019 Announcing Our 2019—20 Sundin Music Hall Concert Series Pictured (clockwise from upper left): Levante Guitar Duo, Rovshan Mamedkuliev, Bokyung Byun, Mak Grgic, Austin Wahl, Raphaël Feuillâtre, and Andrea Gonzalez Caballero. The Season At-A-Glance In this issue… Sept. 27, Friday – Levante Guitar Duo Preview of the upcoming concert season...page 2 Oct. 19, Saturday - Rovshan Mamedkuliev Nov. 16, Saturday– Bokyung Byun Letter to the Members and MGS news…….page 5 Dec. 7, Saturday - Mak Grgic Other Guitaristic News and Notes…………...page 6 Jan. 18, Saturday – Acoustic Guitarathon Feb. 15, Saturday – Andrea Gonzalez Caballero Updates on the Showcase Concerts series Mar. 14, Saturday – Austin Wahl and Guitar In Our Schools program...……...page 7 April 24, Friday – Raphaël Feuillâtre May 16, Saturday – Classical Guitarathon SUNDIN MUSIC HALL CONCERT SERIES ur upcoming series of concerts at Sundin Mu- season, came after winning the Guitar Foundation of sic Hall promises to be something very special. America International Concert Artist Competition, as part Six soloists, one duo, seven countries of origin, of a solo tour in which he gave 51 concerts, as well as mas- O plus two guitarathon events presenting estab- terclasses, throughout the US, Canada, Mexico, and lished, emerging, and advanced student guitarists. All in Brazil. As a soloist, Mamedkuliev has performed with en- one of the finest concert venues anywhere in the world. sembles and orchestras throughout Europe. Get your tickets now! The virtual box office is open at Rovshan Mamedkuliev was born in 1986 in Baku, <www.mnguitar.org>. Let’s meet this season’s artists. Azerbaijan. Not long after, he and his family moved to Nizhny Novgorod (Russia) where, at age 11, he started September 27 / Levante Guitar Duo taking guitar lessons. From the beginning he showed an The Levante Guitar Duo (Aleksandra Ivanovic-Lazarevic exceptional musical talent. In 2004, he was accepted at and Vojislav Ivanović) from Serbia has performed all over the Nizhny Novgorod Conservatoire. He completed his Europe. Their concert for our series will be part of their studies with honors in 2009 and was invited to stay and debut tour of the US. teach at the Conservatoire. In 2014, he became a profes- The music of composer Vojislav Ivanovic combines sor in the classical guitar department at the Maimonides elements of jazz with traditional and contemporary classi- Academy in Moscow. cal music. As both a guitarist and a composer he has won Mamedkuliev has premiered many new works for national and international prizes. As a soloist, and in col- classical guitar. He also performs his own arrangements. laboration with various artists and orchestras, he has per- He has published a book of his arrangements of music by formed in the countries of the former Yugoslavia, in Rus- Russian composers (Masters of Russian Composition: sia, and elsewhere in Europe. His diverse compositional Alexander Borodin and Anatoly Lyadov) and an arrange- output includes music for solo instruments, chamber mu- ment of music by the Azerbaijani composer Fikret Amirov sic, concertos, choral and orchestral works, and music for (6 Miniatures). film, theatre, and TV. Both as a composer and a perform- He has recorded four CDs: Con Anima (Nizhny Nov- er, he has worked and recorded with such internationally gorod, Russia); a Guitar Recital CD in the Laureate Series renowned artists as Arild Andersen, Paolo Fresu, Paul on the Naxos label (Toronto, Canada); a solo CD, Semi- Wertico, and Milos Petrovic. Awake, Semi-Dream, on Contrastes Records (Sevilla, Since 2008, he has performed in the Levante Guitar Spain); and a second CD for Naxos in 2016. Duo with his wife Aleksandra Ivanovic-Lazarevic, playing his original music and his arrangements for guitar duo. November 16 / Bokyung Byun Aleksandra Ivanovic-Lazarevic started playing piano Korean guitarist Bokyung Byun enjoys a reputation as at the age of six and later studied jazz singing for a time, one of the most sought-after artists in the world, sparked before turning to classical guitar. She earned her under- by her successes in international competitions and prov- graduate and graduate degrees in guitar at the Belgrade en by her many performances across Asia and North Music Academy. She has won prizes at national and inter- America. A true trailblazer, Byun is the first female win- national competitions, including the Niksic International ner of the prestigious JoAnn Falletta International Guitar Guitar Festival and Guitar-Art summer festival in Herceg Concerto Competition. Other prizes include first-prize Novi. She has been noted by audiences and critics alike finishes at the Frances Walton Competition, the Montreal for her delicate and emotional performing. International Classical Guitar Competition, and the Phila- delphia Classical Guitar Competition, second prize at the October 19 / Rovshan Mamedkuliev 2018 Guitar Foundation of America International Artists Rovshan Mamedkuliev has performed in major cities around the world. His first visit here, during the 2013–14 Sundin Season continued on page 3 MGS BOARD OF DIRECTORS NEWSLETTER Officers Production Editor Paul Hintz Copyeditor President Joe Haus Annett Richter Fox Ridge Printing Vice-President Annett Richter Treasurer Douglas Whorton WEBSITE Design and Maintenance Ann Wempner Secretary Dan Lehn Artistic Director Joe Hagedorn Guitar In Our Schools Managing Director Paul Hintz Program Coordinator Milena Petković Members Jerry Bannach Mary Ellison OpenStage Coordinator Douglas Whorton 2 g u I t a r I s t SUNDIN MUSIC HALL CONCERT SERIES Sundin Season continued from page 2 Competition, and fourth place at the 2019 Parkening Inter- averages 85 performances a year as soloist and collabora- national Guitar Competition. tor. In 2009, Grgic made his debut in Russia, performing Byun’s concert programs often feature contemporary Rodrigo’s Concerto de Aranjuez with the St. Petersburg music alongside traditional repertoire. Her skill at navi- Symphony Orchestra. The following year, he toured the US gating both has led to solo performances with orchestras for the first time, as a member of the Zagreb Guitar Quar- and performances within orchestras as an ensemble mem- tet, and also appeared at the Lancaster Festival in Ohio. ber. She actively contributes to the music community in Since that time, he has toured throughout Europe, Asia, many ways. She has given solo recitals and masterclasses and the US. for festivals, workshops, and guitar societies around the An active entrepreneur and educator, Grgic is director world. She has taught at the Aspen Music Festival in Colo- of EuroStrings, a consortium of 17 guitar festivals in Eu- rado, The Juilliard School, and in California as a primary- rope, the European Guitar Festival Collaborative, the Za- school guitar instructor. greb Guitar Festival, the Roots & Notes Interactive Music Born in Seoul, Korea, Byun began playing guitar at age Festival in Croatia, and Music@Rush Hour in Los Angeles. six. At 11, she took the stage for her first full-length solo He serves as director of Elemental Guitar in Santa Monica, recital, leading in her teen years to concert tours across a program for youth, and is an adjunct faculty member at Korea, millions of views on YouTube, and first-prize finish- Mount St. Mary’s University in Los Angeles. es in three competitions: the Korea Guitar Association, the Grgic’s recordings explore the world of guitar and its Music Association of Korea, and the Guitar Foundation of possibilities. His latest, Balkanisms and MAKrotonal, cov- America International Youth Competition. She came to the er ethnic music, microtonal, new music, and early music on US, briefly studying in Los Angeles before moving to New re-fretted instruments such as a “zig-zag fretted Bach pro- York City and enrolling at The Juilliard School at age six- totype guitar.” teen. She holds Bachelor and Master of Music degrees from Born in Ljubljana, Slovenia, in 1987, Grgic studied gui- The Juilliard School, and is now pursuing a doctorate at tar in Zagreb at the Elly Basic Music Academy. By age 14, the University of Southern California as a recipient of the he was balancing his world champion status in karate with prestigious International Artist Fellowship. his love for the guitar. Throughout high school, he concer- tized in Ljubljana and Zagreb while competing in profes- December 7 / Mak Grgic sional martial arts contests across Europe and Asia. After Mak Grgic’s career is fueled by curiosity, imagination, and an injury to his left thumb, he decided to focus solely on a boundless energy. His repertoire reflects his versatility and career in music, completing a bachelor’s degree at the Uni- wide-ranging interests—from the Renaissance and Baroque versity for Music and Performing Arts in Vienna. Pursuing to music of the cinema, from ethnic music of his native Bal- advanced studies in the US, Grgic was one of the first stu- kans to extreme avant-garde and microtonal music. He Sundin Season continued on page 4 This activity is made possible by the Information for all voters of Minnesota through a grant Concerts at from the Metropolitan Regional Arts Sundin Music Hall Council, thanks to a legislative appro- Tickets can be purchased in advance priation from the arts and cultural through our website <www.mnguitar.org> or heritage fund. call our reservation line 612-677-1111. Box office opens at 7:00 pm. Free parking for all Sundin Music Hall con- certs is available in the lot 1/2 block east of the Hall, and in Lot E at the southeast corner of the campus (2 blocks from the Hall).