15th Annual Celebration of the Guitar – Sunday, March 3, 2024
A daylong celebration of the guitar featuring classes and performances for guitar students of all ages and experience levels. Classes and workshops will be offered for both classical and popular styles and include topics such as technique, composition, and improvisation as well as classical guitar construction and care. Performances will feature guest artists and ensembles.
Registration
Fret Fest Workshops and Concerts
Tuition includes all workshops, observation of all master classes, admission to ensemble concerts and/or Youth showcase as well as tickets to Guest Artist Concert. For performance spots in master classes, please see below.
Tuition includes admission to all workshops and concerts, a morning coaching with a Fret Fest faculty member, and a performance opportunity in the 2:00 pm Ensemble concert in Griswold Hall. All participating students in the ensemble must register individually.
Master class with Thomas Viloteau for Pre-College classical guitarists, or with Zane Forshee for Adult classical guitar students. Performers are pre-selected, please use the button below to apply. Open to observers. Please complete application by February 25, 2024.
Fret Fest Ensemble and Workshops and Concerts registrations include two tickets to the Guest Artist Concert. No additional ticket purchase is necessary.
For those who need more than two tickets or do not wish to register for the full Fret Fest participation, a la carte tickets are available in advance or at the door at the self service kiosk, outside Griswold Hall for $20 each.
2024 Guest Artists
Thomas Flippin
Thomas Flippin is an original and versatile voice in the world of contemporary music. Whether premiering new works with his pioneering classical guitar ensemble, Duo Noire; performing avant-garde art songs on the theorbo as part of Alicia Hall Moran’s Motown Project; playing otherworldly electric guitar in Heartbeat Opera’s The Extinctionist; or plucking the banjo in the American Repertory Theater’s The Black Clown, Flippin’s playing has been hailed as "lovely" (New York Times), and "spectacularly precise" (St. Louis Post-Dispatch).
Benjamin Verdery
Hailed for his innovative and eclectic musical career, Benjamin Verdery tours regularly throughout the US, Canada, Europe and Asia, performing at venues and festivals including Ottawa ChamberFest, 92Y Kaufmann Auditorium, Verona Guitar Festival, Guitar Festival of Belgrade, International Festival Internacional de Guitarra de Taxco (Mexico), Theatre Carré (Amsterdam), the International Guitar Festival in Havana, Wigmore Hall (London), and Metropolitan Opera in New York.
Michiko Yurko
Michiko is the owner of Music Mind Games, LLC and is the author of “Music Mind Games” (Warner Bros. Pub., Inc 1992), Musopoly, “No H in Snake: Music Theory for Children" (Alfred 1979), the Puppy Packet, the Panda Packs, and the joint author of Teaching Suzuki Piano: Ten Teacher’s Viewpoints.
Youth Workshop Track
(recommended for students 12 and under with some experience playing the guitar)
Classical Guitar Workshops (recommended for students 12 to adult with some experience plying classical guitar)
Contemporary Guitar Workshops
8:30 am ET
Registered Ensemble check in – Arcade
9:00 am ET
Ensemble Coachings For groups who have pre-registered as ensembles, your group’s coaching will be from 9:00 – 9:50
9:30 am ET
Workshops and Concerts check in All individuals who have registered for Fret Fest Workshops and Concerts (including master classes) that are not part of an ensemble scheduled for a 9:00 coaching may check in at this time
10:00 am ET*
Mind Music Games with Michiko Yurko (C206)
Electric Guitar Lab with Sean Brennan, Young Ik Jang, and Thomas Creek (Joe Byrd)
Improvisation for classical and steel string guitars with Leonard Ranallo (C202)
Picking Workshop with Jacob Kohlhas (Cohen-Davison)
11:00 am ET
10:00 am sessions continue until 12:00 pm
Exploring Brazilian Traditional Rhythms in the Solo Guitar Repertoire – a hands on guitar workshop with Felipe Silva (Cohen Davison)
Acoustic Fingerstyle with Sean Brennan (C202)
12:00 pm ET
Lunch
1:00 pm ET
Youth Solo Showcase Concert (Goodwin)
*12:45 pm*
Adult Guitar Master Class with Zane Forshee (Cohen Davison) (Open to all observers. Performers will be pre-selected; apply above)
Recording Gear and Techniques with Thomas Creek (C202)
Jazz Student Guitar Demonstration with Jacob Kohlhas (Joe Byrd)
2:00 pm ET
Faculty Artist Concert: Thomas Viloteau (Griswold)
