Arts and Culture

Los Angeles Guitar Quartet to perform eclectic repertoire Jan. 31

Anyone who loves the guitar should see the Los Angeles Guitar Quartet perform on Saturday, Jan. 31, at 7:30 p.m. in the June Swaner Gates Concert Hall, says Stephen Seifert, executive director of the Newman Center.

The quartet has performed for 27 years, recorded over a dozen albums and won the 2005 Grammy Award for Best Classical Crossover for their album Guitar Heroes.

The quartet’s most recent album, Brazil, released in September 2007, demonstrates how their penchant for musical exploration results in a unique synthesis of world-music and American forms such as jazz, blues and funk.

The repertoire for their upcoming performance will include a transcription of Manuel de Falla’s “El Amor Brujo,” selected pieces of Brazilian jazz and transcriptions of American tunes by John Philip Sousa, Aaron Copland and Count Basie.

When the Los Angeles Guitar Quarter formed nearly three decades ago, such eclecticism was groundbreaking, Seifert says.

“Here were world-class musicians joining together not just to play the standard repertoire handed down for decades, but to explore how jazz and world music could find happy homes in the chamber music setting too,” says Seifert. “By doing so, they opened up the possibility of chamber music ensembles reaching broader audiences.”

On Saturday from 1:00 – 4:00 p.m. the quartet will give a master class to students of the Lamont School of Music. At 6:30 p.m., Ricardo Iznaola, professor of guitar at Lamont, will give a “Behind the Scenes” lecture.

Tickets for the event, on sale now, are $52 for orchestra and parterre, $38 for mezzanine and $28 for balcony; ticket prices include parking.

Tickets can be purchased through Newman Center, Ritchie Center and Ticketmaster box offices. For more information, call the Newman Center at 303-871-7720.

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