USU Guitar Ensembles in Fall Concert

Utah State University’s Guitar Ensembles — two acoustic and two electric — are featured in a fall semester concert Monday, Nov. 17, at 7:30 p.m. in the Performance Hall (approximately 1090 E. 675 North, Logan).

The concert promises the widest variety of music ever performed by the USU guitar ensembles, according to Mike Christiansen, director of USU’s guitar studies program.

 

Directors for the USU Guitar Ensembles include the father-son Christiansen team — Mike and Corey Christiansen.

 

“This is Corey’s first year as a member of the USU music faculty,” Mike said. “We are thrilled to have him here. He is doing a tremendous job and is bringing a wealth of information and experience to share with our guitar students.”

 

Admission to the concert is $5, and free for USU students with valid ID. Concert evening, tickets are available at the door. Advance tickets are available at the Caine School of the Arts Box Office online (http//boxoffice.usu.edu), by phone, (435) 797-8022, or in person at the Tippetts Gallery in the Chase Fine Arts Center on campus.

 

The first acoustic guitar ensemble to perform includes 20 guitarists, and the group has been affectionately nicknamed “Guitarmagedon,” Christiansen said.

 

“I recently was a guest conductor at a guitar ensemble festival in Canada where I conducted an ensemble with 60 members,” he said. “The audience enjoyed the sound so much I decided to put together a larger ensemble at USU this year. I’m sure the audience will like what it hears.”

 

Selections by the large ensemble include several classical pieces, including Tourdion, Bouree (Mozart) and Gymnopedie No. 3 by Erik Satie. Also included is a wonderful arrangement by J. Hickerson of Heart of the Heartland, a work with a distinctive Irish flavor, Christiansen said. The ensemble concludes with an arrangement of Lennon and McCartney’s Eleanor Rigby.

 

The second acoustic ensemble will perform the Latin piece Milonga triste by Erik Marchelie, Quartet in D by G.P. Telemann, Pavane by Gabriel Faure and Message in a Bottle by Andy Summers (guitarist in the group The Police). This acoustic ensemble will perform in Las Vegas later this year, Christiansen said.

 

Turn on the amps, the electric ensembles are next, and perform music written for five electric guitars, bass and drums. The ensembles, too, will play a wide variety of music, ranging from the blues to swing to funk. The first ensemble will play two standards, Blue Monk by Thelonius Monk and Satin Doll by Duke Ellington. The second ensemble will play Four Brothers by Jimmy Giuffe, Perdido by Juan Tizol, Angel Eyes by Matt Denis and Slop (a funk tune written by Dallas, Texas, based guitarist Lee Robinson).

 

Christiansen notes the previous support shown by USU students and members of the community for the guitar program. He expects a large, enthusiastic crowd.

 

“The students are excited about this concert and are ready to play,” he said. “They are well prepared. With the quality of playing and the variety of repertoire, they are sure to please everyone.”

 

 

Contact: Mike Christiansen (435) 797-3011, mike.christiansen@usu.edu
Contact: Corey Christiansen (435) 797-8840, corey.christiansen@usu.edu
Source: Music Department