With guest artists Frederic Hand, Jorge Morel and Dennis Koster
Hosted by Scott Jackson Wiley

Saturday, May 3, 2008 at 8:00 pm

Engelman Recital Hall
Baruch College Performing Arts Center
55 Lexington Avenue
New York City (see map)

Ticket information
Tickets are $25 each, $20 for students, seniors and NYCCGS members. Tickets for this concert can be ordered online at Theatermania.com or by calling 866-811-4111.

Engelman Recital Hall location and directions
Engelman Recital Hall is located at 55 Lexington Avenue, with access available on East 25th Street between Lexington Avenue and Third Avenue (see map). By subway, take the 6 to the 23rd Street station at Park Avenue South, or take the R or the W to the 23rd Street station at Broadway, or take the 1 to the 23rd Street station at Sixth Avenue. There are several parking lots located near the hall. One garage is on 24th Street, between Lexington and Third Avenue; three garages are on 24th Street between Third and Second Avenues.

Gene Bertoncini, often referred to as "the Segovia of jazz," will appear in concert on Saturday, May 3, at 8:00 pm, at Engelman Recital Hall at Baruch Performing Arts Center. The program will also feature several guest artists, including Frederic Hand, guitarist and composer; Jorge Morel, guitarist and composer; and classical and flamenco master Dennis Koster. Mr. Bertoncini will perform solo jazz selections, and the guests will perform works in a variety of genres, some solo and some in duets with Mr. Bertoncini, and chosen to illuminate aspects of his musical influences. Among them will be Mr. Hand's world premiere performance of his composition "A Waltz for Gene Bertoncini."

The concert is sponsored by the New York City Classical Guitar Society as part of its 2008 concert series, and is a tribute in recognition of Mr. Bertoncini's unique contribution to the instrument.

Mr. Bertoncini has been performing on the concert stage, on television, in jazz clubs, and in the recording studio for over five decades, regularly topping international critic and listener polls. He has been cited by The New Yorker as "an affecting, highly original guitarist who moves easily back and forth between classical and jazz guitar." He is among the very few guitarists to perform equally effectively on the classical and electric forms of the instrument, and his repertoire runs the gamut from standards to harmonically rich arrangements of classical works and operatic arias. He has performed with the Metropolitan Opera orchestra, the Benny Goodman Sextet, and singers and jazz instrumentalists including Tony Bennett, Lena Horne, Buddy Rich, and Wayne Shorter.

Note: Due to a family emergency, Benjamin Verdery, who was previously announced as an artist on this program, will be unable to participate.

Photo by Michael G. Stewart