Guitoberfest: An Online Festival of Classical Guitar

Guitoberfest is an online classical guitar festival that began in 2014. Its inception was a live event in New York City, but all subsequent events have taken place online. The name, a mishmash of “Guitar Festival” and “October” was coined by the inimitable guitarist Colin Davin.

The event includes teacher performances, workshops, lectures, student Open Mics, masterclasses, and a lot of camaraderie. Those of you who have attended the CGC Summer School will know that Guitoberfest is like an online miniature version of that. It is a wonderful time together.

Guest Artists

At CGC we are lucky to have built up a family of friends from the classical guitar world who have made themselves available to share their expertise and wisdom with members of CGC Academy.

Each year we have featured different guest artists, including the following:

  • Ben Verdery
  • Gohar Vardanyan
  • Kevin Gallagher
  • Colin Davin
  • Dr. Noa Kageyama
  • Frederic Hand
  • Thomas Flippin and Chris Mallett of Duo Noire
  • Connie Sheu
  • Richard Savino
  • Gary Lee
  • Richard Charlton
  • David Leisner
  • …and members of the CGC Team, including:
    • Sanja Plohl
    • James Erickson
    • Niki Todesco
    • Dave Belcher
    • Simon Powis
Guitoberfest 2020 banner featuring guest artists.

How it works

Overview

Guitoberfest takes place over the course of 2-3 days and is an intensive classical guitar-saturated time. All sessions take place on Zoom and are completely free to members of CGC Academy. We have offered free tickets to members of the public, so join our Mailing List for the chance of getting an email invitation in the future!

Workshop and Lectures

Each guest artist brings a different set of skills and topics to share with us. Here are just some of the past workshops and lecture topics:

  • Composing for the Guitar
  • Your Body and the Guitar
  • Effective Practice
  • Dealing with Performance Anxiety
  • Articulation on the Guitar
  • How to Listen to a Piece of Music
  • Guitar Care and Maintenance
  • String Stopping
  • Interpreting Early Music on Guitar
  • What is Music?
  • Exploring Renaissance Music
  • The History of the Guitar in Spain
  • Fretboard Knowledge
  • Intervals on the Guitar
  • Practical Approach to the Circle of Fifths
  • Sight Reading
  • A Nail Clinic
  • Repertoire, including
    • Lesley’s Song by Fred Hand
    • Let Go from 11 Etudes by Ben Verdery
    • El Testament d’Amelia and Canco del Lladre arr. Llobet, with Kevin Gallagher
    • Sevillanas by Turina, with Gohar Vardanyan

Camaraderie

During each session, students are constantly chatting with questions for the guests, supporting one another in masterclass performances and Open Mics, and just being friendly. Many attendees have talked about how surprised they were that the online environment created such a feeling of camraderie among students.

Open Mics

One of the most special parts of Guitoberfest is our closing Open Mic performances. Students have performed works solo, in duos, with partners and friends, and even with other instruments. Each Open Mic includes an International Round of Applause and encouraging words from fellow students and teachers in the chat. If you’ve never heard 50-60 amateur guitarists sharing all of their hard work and art with their peers, you’re missing out! It’s a truly special thing.