2021 Class Registration

The class is at capacity for full participants, but you may sign up to audit. Choose to audit the whole class or a single day. Auditors can attend concerts, lectures, and discussions, and observe masterclass sessions. Register at ben-verdery-2021-hawaii-class.eventbrite.com.

2021 Class Schedule

All times listed are Eastern Daylight Time

Links for each day’s sessions will be emailed to registered participants and auditors daily

Thursday, July 1

 12:00 PM Concert

1:30 PM Ben’s Aloha

2:00 PM Lecture
Laura Snowden: Composing for Guitar 

3:00 PM Lecture
Dennis Koster: ¡ Rasgueado ! — Gypsy Secrets for Classical Guitarists
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Authentic flamenco guitar techniques demonstrated and explained, with special emphasis on a wide variety of rasgueados — how they’re done, and how they can be incorporated into classical guitar repertory. Flamenco tremolo, picado, golpe, thumb techniques, slur/arpeggio combinations, and various flamenco rhythms will all be demonstrated, and hopefully corrupt correct classical interpretations.

4:00 PM Lecture
Janet Agostino: The Colourful World of Phillip Houghton
In this presentation, Janet will discuss Houghton’s influences, his creative process, his synaesthetic approach to composition, with score examples, and give a slice of insight into the extraordinary mind of this unique composer. 

Friday, July 2

12:00 PM Lecture
Clarice Assad: Finding Balance: Writing for Guitar and Large Ensembles

1:00 PM - 4:00 PM Individual lessons (sessions held concurrently with each teacher)

Lessons with Ben Verdery:

• 1:00 PM - Luis Medina - 1 - First movement of Imagenes de Yucatan (Julio Cesar Oliva)

• 1:30 PM - Emilia Diaz Delgado - 1 - Caprice 24 (Niccolò Paganini)

• 2:00 PM - Thatcher Harrison - 1 - Movements 1 through 4 from The Red Fantasy (Kevin Callahan)

• 2:30 PM - Ahhyun Noh - 1 - Gigue and Double from Suite BWV 997 (Johann Sebastian Bach)

• 3:00 PM - Ken Ma - 1 - Fantasia X (Luis Milan)

• 3:30 PM - Reade Park - 1 - Prelude in g minor, Op. 23, No. 5 (Sergei Rachmaninoff, arr. Antoine Fougeray)

Lessons with Laura Snowden:

• 1:00 PM -Trent Park - 2 - Sevilla (Isaac Albéniz)

• 1:30 PM - Rohan Chandran - 2 - Gavottes I & II from Suite BWV 995 (Johann Sebastian Bach)

• 2:00 PM - Andrew Barbuta - 2 - Valse Venezolano No. 3 (Antonio Lauro)

• 2:30 PM - Ashwin Naren - 2 - Caprice No. 2, Op. 20 (Luigi Legnani)

• 3:00 PM - Henrique Carvalho - 2 - Valseana/South Loop (Sérgio Assad)

• 3:30 PM - Aidan Gottdiener-Tan - 2 - Winter Story (Miroslaw Drozdzowski)

Saturday, July 3

12:00 PM Lecture
Richard Savino: How the Guitar Invented Harmony and Became the World’s Most Popular Instrument 

1:00 PM - 4:00 PM Individual lessons (sessions held concurrently with each teacher)

Lessons with Ben Verdery:

• 1:00 PM - Brandon Wong - 1 - Suite BWV 995 (Johann Sebastian Bach)

• 1:30 PM - Arnav Singh - 1 - Movement 2 of Jazz Sonatina (Dusan Bogdanovic)

• 2:00 PM - Tore Sclafani - 1 - Prelude No. 1 (Heitor Villa-Lobos)

• 2:30 PM - David Steinhardt - 1 - Homenaje (Manuel de Falla)

• 3:00 PM - Helen Shi - 1 - Joropo (Jose Luis Merlin)

• 3:30 PM - Kiran Lee -Estudio Sencillo No. 17 (Leo Brouwer)

Lessons with Laura Snowden:

• 1:00 PM - Thatcher Harrison - 2 - Untitled (Thatcher Harrison)

• 1:30 PM - Luis Medina - 2 - Third movement of Imagenes de Yucatan (Julio Cesar Oliva)

• 2:00 PM - Emilia Diaz Delgado - 2 - Prelude from the 6th Cello Suite, BWV 1012 (Johann Sebastian Bach)

• 2:30 PM - Ahhyun Noh - 2 - First movement of Sonata No. 1 (Leo Brouwer)

• 3:00 PM - Ken Ma - 2 - Asturias (Isaac Albeniz)

• 3:30 PM - Reade Park - 2 - Chôro da Saudade (Agustín Barrios)

5:00 PM Concert

Sunday, July 4

12:00 PM Discussion
Ben Verdery and Laura Snowden discuss Benjamin Britten’s Nocturnal and what it has meant to them

1:00 PM - 4:00 PM Individual lessons (sessions held concurrently with each teacher)

Lessons with Ben Verdery:

• 1:00 PM - Ashwin Naren -Prelude from Cello Suite No. 1 (Johann Sebastian Bach)

• 1:30 PM - Rohan Chandran - Estudio I (Fernando Sor)

• 2:00 PM - Aidan Gottdiener-Tan - 1 - Sarabande BWV 1002 (Johann Sebastian Bach)

• 2:30 PM - Andrew Barbuta - 1 - Asturias (Isaac Albéniz)

• 3:00 PM - Trent Park - 1 - Prelude No. 2 (Heitor Villa-Lobos)

• 3:30 PM - Henrique Carvalho - 1 - Fuga from Suite BWV 997 (Johann Sebastian Bach)

Lessons with Laura Snowden:

• 1:00 PM - Helen Shi - 2 - Gran Vals (Francisco Tarrega)

• 1:30 PM - Arnav Singh - 2 - Movement 1 of Jazz Sonatina (Dusan Bogdanovic)

• 2:00 PM - Tore Sclafani - 2 - Tarantella (Johann Kaspar Mertz)

• 2:30 PM - David Steinhardt - 2 - Movement 1 of Sonata for Guitar (Antonio José)

• 3:00 PM - Kiran Lee - 2 - Un Dia de Noviembre (Leo Brouwer)

• 3:30 PM - Brandon Wong - 2 - El Decameron Negro: I. El Arpa Del Guerrero (Leo Brouwer)
  

Monday, July 5

12:00 PM Student Concert

2:00 PM Lecture/discussion
Ben Verdery: Your Guitar Is a Bird!
An exploration of imitating birdsong on our guitars. Each of us will receive two or more birdsongs from the area we reside in. At home, we will choose one or two we like and imitate the birdsong on our guitar as best we can. At the beginning of the session we will each share our birdsongs. We will then do a Zoom free improvisation using our birdsongs; details will be explained. We must not forget how many composers have been inspired by birdsong throughout the history of western music and certainly in many other cultures. Take a moment to look at Wikipedia to read about some of these composers. There are so many pieces inspired by birds, it’s dizzying! John Williams has written a gorgeous piece called From a Bird that is on a CD of the same title. The second movement is available online.

3:00 PM Open discussion/Q&A
Ben Verdery and Laura Snowden