Sacramento Guitar Society Presents Alex De Grassi And Andrew York on St. Patrick's Day

Performing mostly original compositions that synthesize the traditions of classic, popular, and ethnic music, renowned guitarists Andrew York and Alex de Grassi will take the stage for the Sacramento Guitar Society's (SGS) second major concert of the season.

To celebrate St. Patrick's Day, Alex will perform his arrangement of the "Sí bheag Sí mhór" [also spelled Sheebeg and Sheemore and pronounced-[she-beg-she-more] attributed to the legendary Irish harpist Turlough O'Carolan (1670-1738), and Andrew will perform his composition "Home," an homage to Irish music.

addition to the St. Patrick's Day solo fare, Alex and Andrew will perform many duets, including "Zero Gravity," inspired by Alex's live face-time call with astronaut Dr. Thomas Marshburn during his tenure on the International Space Station, and Andrew's composition "Sanzen-in," inspired by his visit to the famous temple in Kyoto Japan. Other duets will include Andrew's "DissFunkShun" and "McCoy," Alex's tribute to the great jazz pianist McCoy Tyner.

Sacramento Guitar Society presents An Evening With Alex de Grassi & Andrew York on Saturday, March 17, 2018 at 7:30 PM in the 200-seat City Studio Theater, Harris Center, Folsom Lake College. Tickets are $28-$32; Premium $39. Discounts are available for students with ID, seniors 65+ and children 12 and under. Tickets are available online at www.harriscenter.net or from Harris Center Ticket Office at 916-608-6888 from 12 noon to 6 pm, Monday through Saturday, and two hours before show time. Parking is included in the price of the ticket. The Harris Center is located on the west side of Folsom Lake College campus in Folsom, CA, facing East Bidwell Street.

"We are in the Golden Age of acoustic guitar - for both steel-string and nylon-string instruments - and as such, the level of playing and the new compositions are amazing," notes Sacramento Guitar Society's Artistic Director Daniel Roest. "In programming concerts for SGS, I look for great playing and great communication with the audience, and I was thrilled to bring Alex de Grassi and Andrew York to Harris Center for our concert on St. Patrick's Day."

Indeed, both Alex de Grassi and Andrew York are leading innovators of guitar, and for their Harris Center performance, they will weave the sounds and traditions of steel and nylon into a unique program for two guitars. Having begun their respective careers in seemingly different genres - Alex as a largely self-taught folk and jazz musician and Andrew as a trained classical guitarist - a mutual passion for exploring all types of music has brought these two acclaimed composers/performers to a crossroads where steel-string and classical guitars interact seamlessly. Encompassing original compositions, improvisation, and arrangements of standards and traditionals, their concert program presents an astonishingly diverse musical landscape.

Both guitarists have toured extensively throughout the world and have made numerous recordings.

The Wall Street Journal has called Alex de Grassi's performance "flawless" and Down Beat magazine says "His touch is as exquisite as his lyricism...". His early solo recordings for Windham Hill and his GRAMMY nominated 1998 recording The Water Garden are considered classics of the genre. He has been commissioned by String Letter Publishing to compose for steel-string guitar and string orchestra, and twice by the New York Guitar Festival for their Silent Films Live Guitars series.

Andrew York has won GRAMMY awards both as a member of the renowned Los Angeles Guitar Quartet, and for his part in the recording of the Osvaldo Golijov opera Ainadamar with the Atlanta Symphony. Guitar Player magazine says "Andrew York's eclectic writing and playing constitute one of the hippest styles in American classical guitar...", and indeed his compositions have been recorded by such guitar luminaries as John Williams, Christopher Parkening, and Japanese pianist Mitsouko Kado. Both guitarists have published their compositions in numerous magazines and collections of guitar music.

The Sacramento Guitar Society (SGS) is a non-profit educational and arts service organization that has existed in one form or another since at least 1961. Now Sacramento boasts one of the more active and successful guitar societies in the country, with "unbelievably good" international touring artists appearing in an ideal listening environment - the Harris Center for the Arts at Folsom Lake College and the new Sofia Tsakopoulos Center for the Arts in Midtown Sacramento. Other programs of SGS include extensive school and other educational outreach, a community Guitar Orchestra, guitar camps available to low-income youth, guitar donations and many more.

To post a comment, you must register and login.