November 10, 2015
SIU Guitar Festival runs Thursday-Saturday
CARBONDALE, Ill. – The School of Music at Southern Illinois University Carbondale welcomes the second SIU Guitar Festival to campus this weekend.
Isaac Lausell, artistic director of the festival and assistant professor of guitar, noted that the roster of guest artists features a variety of guitar music styles. The festival runs Thursday-Saturday, Nov. 12-14.
Here’s what’s happening:
Performances
Thursday
• The opening gala begins at 7:30 p.m. in the Old Baptist Foundation Recital Hall, and features Chicago jazz guitarist Steve Jacobson. Phil Brown, professor of double bass and jazz studies at SIU, and alumnus and local musician and instructor Jimmy Beers, join him on bass and drums respectively. Jacobson and Brown collaborate in the jazz duo FourOnSix. Jacobson is also active in several other jazz ensembles, and has performed in the rock, blues, rhythm and blues, country and musical theater.
Friday
• Iktus, a chamber music ensemble from New York City featuring electric guitar, piano, percussion and saxophone, performs at 11 a.m. in Altgeld Hall, room 110. The group blends classical music and rock forms to produce its own engaging and exciting sound.
• Ali Behjatian presents a recital for Persian setar beginning at 2:35 p.m. in Altgeld Hall, room 110. The Persian setar is a member of the lute family, and Behjatian is a member of the SIU family; he is a mechanical engineering student from Iran.
• The Isaac Lausell Jazz Guitar Trio performs a CD release concert beginning at 7:30 p.m. in Altgeld Hall, room 110, to celebrate the release of “Homegrown Devices.” The trio includes Cuban drummer Fidel Morales and bass guitarist Gabriel Rodriguez. A CD signing immediately follows the performance.
Saturday
• The SIU Guitar Ensembles Concert, also known as the “guitarchestra,” is at 2:35 p.m. in the Old Baptist Foundation Recital Hall. The ensemble is the performing arm of the SIU guitar program.
• The final concert features international award-winning guitarist Moacyr Teixeira Neto, visiting from the Acordes Centro de Música e Artes and at Faculdade de Música do Espirito Santo in Brazil. The concert begins at 7:30 p.m. in the Old Baptist Foundation Recital Hall.
Master classes
Thursday
• Maria Johnson, associate professor in the School of Music, lectures on “Women in the Blues,” beginning at 6 p.m. in Altgeld Hall, room 119.
Friday
• Steve Jacobson jazz guitar masterclass, 1 p.m., Altgeld Hall, room 112.
• Gabriel Rodriguez master class with Isaac Lausell and Fidel Morales, 3:40 p.m., Altgeld Hall, room 112.
Saturday
• Moacyr Teixeira Neto classical guitar master class, 10 a.m., Old Baptist Foundation.
• José Guzmán Borrero master class “arranging for solo jazz guitar,” 1:30 p.m., Old Baptist Foundation.
All events are free for SIU School of Music students, faculty and staff. Others may purchase an inclusive two-pass for $62 or a one day pass for $25. Tickets for single events – master class, lecture or performance – are $12, $6 for SIU students with a valid student I.D. Look here for more information.
The Moacyr Teixeira Neto class and performance are free to all SIU students, faculty and staff regardless of major, and is an SIU Fine Arts Activity Fee-funded event.
Other sponsors for the festival include the Hispanic/Latino Resource Center, SIU Center for Undergraduate Research and Creative Activity, SIU Latino and Latin American Studies program, I.L. Music Productions and Mike’s Music in Carbondale.