Dear Friends,

The guitar is a beautiful instrument. It sings, it strums, it expresses what no other instrument can. One of the most wonderful things about the guitar is how versatile it is. Six strings can be seen on a concert stage, in a bar, on college dorm steps, in Spain, Korea, America, and everywhere between.

With such versatility, it's only natural that performers would start mixing styles. This season's issue includes an interview with William Kanengiser, who has taken an influential role by leading the way with adventurous repertoire throughout his career both as a soloist and as a member of the Los Angeles Guitar Quartet. I still remember the first time I heard his album Echos of the Old World- It played over and over in my CD player, dazzling my ears with the new sounds that emerged from the guitar. Years later, Bill's new album, Classical Cool, sits in my CD player as he continues to stretch boundaries with jazz-inspired music that is just as capturing, spell binding and magical.

But Kanengiser's not the only one pushing the limits. This season, NYCCGS has already presented two outstanding concerts that fall outside of the usual classical repertoire. In January, a "Flamenco Festival" brought guitar, percussion, flute, and dancers to the stage for a firey performance. This past weekend, Tali Roth brought three of her friends- a violinist, bass player, and singer- to join her for a marvelous concert of tango music. Coming in April, Rene Izquierdo will mix Bach with Cuban danzas, and one of the artists on the conservatory Concert confides that he plays in a bluegrass chamber ensemble. And it certainly doesn't end there, by any means- Just witness Dominic Frasca on his multi-stringed instrument or Kevin Gallagher playing Avro Part on his electric.

Classical-jazz-tango-cuban-bluegrass-flamenco-rock? Sounds like a new flavor at Ben and Jerry's. To some, it will be a desert to avoid, others will embrace it with enthusiasm. As with all adventurous art, it will produce a few remarkable masterpieces and probably a lot of crap. Only time will tell what lasts. In the mean time, I'm going to sit back and enjoy the show.

In guitar,
J. Andrew Dickenson