Milford Arts Council to Welcome Harp Guitarist Stephen Bennett, 11/7

Milford Arts Council Presents: A Concert with Harp Guitarist, Stephen Bennett. Date and time: November 7th, 2014 at 7:30 pm. Place: Center for the Arts, 40 Railroad Avenue, Milford, CT. Tickets available at www.sbharpguitar.com.

Stephen Bennett is an extraordinary musician, an acknowledged master of the harp guitar, a challenging teacher, a gifted composer, and a performer of great sensitivity. The Toronto Fingerstyle Guitar Association calls him "the Jedi Master of Fingerstyle Guitar"...

Stephen has regularly performed around the US and abroad, shared the stage with some of the finest guitarists in the world, and created a body of work that is respected (and loved) in many places.

Stephen's work is the product of both mind and heart, intellectually challenging and emotionally satisfying - - and it is deeply personal, even as it is universal. Listeners have a feeling that they "have stepped into the world of the musician, and for a short moment in time, there are only the two of them there". Says one reviewer - "With his ear near the body of the harp guitar, Mr. Bennett gave the impression of a father cradling a newborn baby . . . His performance was imbued with heart and grace." The producer of one music festival writes, "Stephen's music draws the listener in. He has the ability to make you feel as though you are a part of the music he is making. In France, another festival producer writes: "Stephen's compositions are so beautiful, filled with great emotion and great sensitivity. He is one of those musicians who serve the music, and only the music."

"When I first heard him playing a few years ago, I felt like I had been pushed into a different world, where the lost emotions come back to your heart and make it beat in a different way. What Stephen can do, and few artists have this gift, is to speak directly to your heart and to move your best feelings!" Pierpaolo Adda, music journalist and festival promoter, Italy

"The image of Stephen Bennett embracing his harp guitar is the one that tends to linger. The fact that Stephen is only too happy to champion the cause of the harp guitar may inadvertently obscure his abilities on the six-string instrument. No matter the number of strings, he is widely regarded as one of the most original and prolific composers and arrangers for the guitar on the current scene". (S. Rekas, Mel Bay Publications)

Stephen is the founder of the Harp Guitar Gathering, an annual event that will see its thirteenth incarnation in October of 2015, bringing players, luthiers, scholars and fans together for a weekend of performances, workshops and camaraderie.

Whatever guitar he happens to be playing, Stephen Bennett is a musician to experience. In live performance and on recordings, his life-long love affair with the sound of guitar strings is apparent - and contagious!

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