About the Festival
Festival 2008
Performers at the 16th annual Long Island Guitar Fesitval included Andrew York, Hayley Savage, Gyan Riley, Frederic Hand, Harris Becker and Jennifer Cable, and Boris Gaquere. Master classes and workshops were given by Hayley Savage, Dale Stuckenbruck, Andrew York and Frederic Hand. Other events included two Emerging Artists concerts with Joshua Bavaro & the LaVita-Williams Guitar Duo, a High School Ensemble Workshop, a Look into the Future concert featuring prodigy guitarists from The Juilliard School Pre-College Division directed by Tali Roth, and a Long Island Classical Guitar Society meeting.
The Long Island Guitar Festival is an annual international festival presented by the Department of Music of the School of Visual and Performing Arts at the C.W. Post Campus of Long Island University. The Festival represents the continuing commitment of Long Island University to reach out to the artistic community and continue an established tradition of excellence in guitar performance and pedagogy.
The Long Island Guitar Festival presents master classes, concerts and workshops by the world's most outstanding guitarists and teachers. Workshops have included Computer Music Notation for Guitarists, Composers and Arrangers, High School Guitar Ensemble Workshops, Fingerboard Harmony and Chamber Music Workshops. Special concerts have included the "Legacy of Segovia" with Segovia protegé Michael Lorimer, the U.S. debut of renowned guitarist composer Carlo Domeniconi, C.W. Post alumni concerts and new music concerts including world premieres. The festival has established partnerships with high schools including Greenwich High School and the United Nations International School, as well as local community colleges.
A Special Festival Event
In 2002 the Long Island Guitar Festival celebrated its tenth anniversary. As part of the celebration, Guitar x 2 (Festival Director Harris Becker and Pasquale Bianculli) premiered Long Island Suite, a guitar duo written for them by Carlo Domeniconi to mark the anniversary.
In the past the Long Island Guitar Festival has proudly presented such distinguished guitarists as Carlo Domeniconi (U.S. Debut), Manuel Barrueco, Michael Lorimer, Eduardo Fernández, Howard Alden, David Leisner, Jorge Caballero, Olav Chris Henriksen, Amanda Cook, Dušan Bogdanović, Arthur Kampela, Mark Elf, Eliot Fisk, Ben Moran, Frank Vignola, Chieli Minucci, Jerry Willard, Gene Bertoncini, Howard Morgen, Bucky and John Pizzarelli, Jack Wilkins, Pat O'Brien, Dennis Koster, Harris Becker, Ernesto Tamayo, Kevin Dolen, Pasquale Bianculli, Mark Marino, Curtis High School Guitar Ensemble, Dennis Cinelli, Winslow Browning, Cecilia Siqueira, John Zaccari, David Starobin and Benjamin Verdery.
More recently, the Festival has proudly presented Hayley Savage, Rebecca Bauch, Andrew York, William Kannengiser, John Dearman, Scott Tenant, Adam Holzman, Boris Gaquere, Frederic Hand, Gyan Riley, Rahhaella Smits, Jorge Caballero, Roland Dyens, Cem Duruoz, and Ronn McFarlane.
To learn more about the history of the Long Island Guitar Festival, please visit these Web pages:
Past Festival Web sites: 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004, 2003, 2002, 2001, 2000, 1999, 1998, 1997 and 1996
Festival Poster/Flyers: 1995, 1994 and 1993
Reprint of New York Times Review of Guitar Festival 2001
Last update: October 9, 2016