Upcoming Performance, Recent Studies . . .

Summer is all but behind us now, and I am glad to say I made the most of it. The Ali Akbar College of Music (AACM) in San Rafael, CA, USA awarded me a scholarship to attend a weekly class with sarod player Alam Khan. Many thanks to the wonderful people at AACM for this chance at professional development and enrichment.

Practicing Indian raga is beginning to inform my playing on Western-derived guitars. My upcoming performance at the Petaluma Arts Center’s September-22 fundraising event will undoubtedly showcase some of the ways in which raga is becoming part of the natural growth of my music. The link to tickets for this event can be found in the Performance Schedule section of my website.

On the research front, I am forming ideas on how to revise the history(ies) of the guitar that relies on the arrival of the oval-bodied lute in Spain and subsequent formation of the figure-eight–shaped body of the guitar. It is important to note two recent additions to my bookshelf: The Guitar: In History and Performance Practice by Anthony LeRoy Glise and Manual of Guitar Technology: The History and Technology of Plucked String Instruments by Franz Jahnel. The former, published in 2016, is intended to be used as a university textbook. The latter is an almost impossible-to-acquire treasure trove of information on instrument building both ancient and modern. The contentions that arise from these two tomes are at the heart of my latest research. I hope to share more on this soon!

For now, please enjoy my new video sample:

#textualchordophonics
#casamontalvoguitars
​#thomastikinfeldstrings