June 14, 2013
Media Advisory -- Guitar Camp
For the first time in more than 30 years, the annual Guitar Camp at Southern Illinois University Carbondale will be “plugged in.”
The camp, which runs Sunday, June 16, through Friday, July 21, is including electric guitar instruction during the previously classical guitar-only session to draw more and diverse guitar players.
Students will still receive classical guitar instruction, but will also explore jazz and rock techniques. The idea, said camp conductor Isaac Lausel, a lecturer in SIU’s School of Music, is to provide instruction in different styles to provide camp attendees the opportunity to strengthen the style with which they may already be familiar and also challenge them with something new.
The move to jazz and rock guitar is also acknowledgement of the legitimacy of jazz and rock guitar instruction at all levels. Jazz is often called “America’s classical music,” while rock and roll “is perhaps our biggest popular music contribution to the world,” Lausel said.
The camp is open to all levels of instruction, from beginner to those with decades of guitar under their belts. Master classes cater to those with advanced skills, and beginners learn the basics, including reading notation and chord structure. All participants may perform in guitar ensembles during the week of camp.
Reporters, photographers and camera crews are welcome to visit the Guitar Camp to meet and interview a whole new class of guitar players. Class sessions are from 9 to 11 a.m. and 2 to 4 p.m. daily in the Old Baptist Foundation building. Contact Lausel at isaac.lausell@siu.edu or the School of Music at 618/536-8742 for more information.