June 03, 2009

28th annual Summer Guitar Seminar is June 8-12

by Andrea Hahn

CARBONDALE, Ill. -- Southern Illinois University Carbondale’s School of Music goes unplugged this summer with the 28th annual Summer Guitar Seminar.

The seminar is June 8-12, with sessions running from 9 to 11 a.m. and again from 2 to 4 p.m. daily. A performance, free and open to the public, featuring advanced students in the class, is set for 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, June 11, at the Old Baptist Foundation Recital Hall. That is also the site for the guitar seminar.

The acoustic, classical guitar seminar is open to all ages, with two levels of instruction. Performer I is for advanced guitarists who already have a substantial performance repertoire. Registration is $200.

Performer II is appropriate for beginning guitar players who want to build a strong technique and improve their musicianship. Performer II participants also receive an extra session, from 11 to 11:30 a.m. Registration is $150.

Joseph Breznikar, professor of guitar at SIUC, established the camp to promote classical guitar playing and to provide a support structure as well as in-depth, professional instruction for classical guitar enthusiasts. A tireless proponent of his students’ hard work, Breznikar is a distinguished recording artist and composer. His performance venue credits include the John F. Kennedy Center for Performing Arts, the White House, Yale University, and other locations in New York City and in Europe.

Breznikar advances new compositions for classical guitar as well as teaching a deep repertoire of works from the golden age of classical guitar. His recordings include “Twelve American Etudes for Guitar,” “Cascade: A Rhapsody for Guitar and Chamber Orchestra,” and “George Harrison Remembered: A Touch of Class.” For more information, visit www.breznikar.com.

To register for the camp, contact Kaylyn Gimber at klyn44@siu.edu.