Monthly Meeting Recap and News for March 2025

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Greetings guitar fans,

Welcome to this month’s newsletter. Read below for a recap of our last meeting and upcoming guitar-related events.

The Monthly Meeting

Last Thursday we had a very full evening with a packed house and a visit by Australian luthier Adam Richardson, who currently resides in Bend.

PROGRAM

John Swinnerton – Sunset, Paschal Boogie (originals)

DJ Edmonds – Castles in the Air by Don Mclean, Can’t Find My Way Home by Steve Winwood

Steve Bismarck – A Prayer For You by Maria Linneman, Waters of March by Antonio Carlos Jobim

Art Baden – House on Pooh Corner by Kenny Loggins, Make You Feel My Love by Bob Dylan

Francesco Bard – Sleepers Awake by J.S. Bach, Capricho Árabe by Francisco Tárrega

~ Intermission ~

Brian Parris – Dark Eyed Cajun Woman by the Doobie Brothers, Gypsy Soul by Van Morrison, Turn the Page by Bob Seger

Neil and Elizabeth Holland – Moving On, John Prine’s Last Dance (originals)

Mark Turnbull – Veranda, Not So Much, Mademoiselle (originals)

Matt Dorris – Celeste y Blanco by Hector Ayala

Grant Ruiz (playing guitars by Adam Richardson) – Prelude No. 1 by Heitor Villa-Lobos, Soleares (trad. flamenco), Bulerías by Diego del Gastor

Monthly Meeting Recap and News for February 2025

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Greetings guitar fans,

Welcome to this month’s newsletter. Read below for a recap of our last meeting and upcoming guitar-related events.

The Monthly Meeting

Last Thursday saw a full evening of music with about 32 folks in attendance.

PROGRAM

John Swinnerton – Sunset (original)

Peter Bland – Paper Moon by Harold Alden, See What Sixty Brings (original)

Art Baden – Daddy Don’t Live in That NYC by Steely Dan, Just The Way You Are by Billy Joel, Shower The People by James Taylor

DJ Edmonds – Harvest Moon, Castles in the Air

Grant Stoner – Study in E minor by Francisco Terrega, Blinding Light Show by Rik Emmett

Neil Holland – For Elizabeth, Chanson Triste (originals)

Neil & Elizabeth Holland – Cascadia (original) 

~ Intermission ~

Brian Parris – Runaway by Del Shannon; Long, Long Time by Gary White; Someone I Used To Know by Jack Clement

Mark Turnbull – Water, The Willow By the Well (originals)

Arturo Ville – Suite Española by Gaspar Sanz

Announcements

The Gypsy jazz concert with guitarist Jimmy Grant and violinist Tim Kliphuis on February 28 at 7 P.M. is sold out. If you wish to be on the waitlist, please contact Jennifer Babineaux at jlbabineaux@comcast.net.

Grant Ruiz and Dan Fellman (Canto Sol) will play at the Paschal Winery wine club weekend on Sunday, March 2 from 3:30 to 5:30 PM and at Liquid Lounge in Ashland on Friday, March 7 from 7:00 to 9:00 PM.

The Austin Guitar Society provides livestream concerts by remarkable guitarists, typically classical. For example, they recently presented a concert by William Kanengiser of the LA Guitar Quartet. You can subscribe to their newsletter to hear about upcoming concerts.

Membership News

Due to increasing professional obligations, Jennifer Babineaux has stepped down from the board and as president. We thank Jennifer for her service and all the energy she has put into the society.

Fortunately, three new board members stepped forward to help lead the organization: John Swinnerton, Steve Bismarck, and Neil Holland. John has been kind enough to take the role of president and will emcee future meetings. Neil Holland will be our treasurer, and Grant Ruiz will continue to be the secretary.

We are looking for volunteers who are willing to host featured artists at future monthly meetings. If are you are interested in providing a room for a feature artist to stay overnight (typically the night of their performance at the guitar society meeting), please respond to this message, which will go to the board of directors.
 


 

Monthly Meeting Recap and News for January 2025

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Greetings guitar fans,

Welcome to the New Year and this month’s newsletter. Read below for a recap of our last meeting and upcoming guitar-related events.


 


The Monthly Meeting

We had a very full evening of music and camaraderie with about 40 folks in attendance.

PROGRAM

John Swinnerton – Phoenix Rising (original)

DJ the Troubadour – Crazy (Willie Nelson)

Francesco Bard – C’est La Vie, The Sage (Greg Lake)
 
Randall Walker – Dangling Conversation, April (Paul Simon)

Brian Parris – The Heart That You Own (Dwight Yoakum), Tenderly Calling (John Denver), Into The Mystic (Van Morrison)

Mark Turnbull – The Good Sport, Ask (originals)

Matt Dorris – Elegy (J.K. Mertz)

~ Intermission ~

Aaron Haas (pictured above), our featured performer from Seattle, played a set of beautiful music:

Improvisation

Passacaille by Alexandre Tansman

Suite of Aaron’s arrangements of Yumi Kimura’s music from movies by Hayao Miyazaki:
• One Summer’s Day from Spirited Away
• The Legend of Ashitaka from Princess Mononoke
• Princess Mononoke’s Theme from Princess Mononoke
• Merry-Go-Round of Life from Howl’s Moving Castle

Prelude, Fugue, and Allegro by J.S. Bach, BWV 998
 


Announcements

Gypsy jazz guitarist Jimmy Grant and violin virtuoso Tim Kliphuis will play a small, intimate concert sponsored by the guitar society at Paschal Winery on Friday, February 28 at 7 P.M. Tickets and information will be available soon, with guitar society members (see below under “Membership News”) getting first access to tickets. They last time they played a house concert in Ashland to 60 people, the concert sold out in about 10 days!

Grant Ruiz and Dan Fellman (Canto Sol) play Sunday, January 19 from 3:30-5:30 P.M. at Paschal Winery, and on Sunday, January 26 from 5-7 P.M. at Belle Fiore Winery in Ashland. They will also play on Friday, February 14 (Valentines Day) from 7-9 P.M. at Liquid Lounge in Ashland.

Membership News

Thanks to a number of very generous donors, we raised $1,365 during our first fundraising drive, as well as $1,000 matched by the board! This will go a long way in helping the guitar society continue its mission

Since we are in a new year, it’s time to renew your membership or become a new member. Dues are the same as last year ($25 for a single membership, $40 for a family), but we’ve added some benefits. Click the button below to sign up and read more:

Become a member

We are now looking for new board members to help guide the guitar society through another exciting year of performances and community outreach activities.

Please respond to this message if you’re interested.

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A follow-up to last month’s PSA

Last month Grant described a potential scam that he experienced. It turns out that Matt Dorris, Jimmy Grant, and Bob Bath were also targeted by the scammer in the same way. Fortunately, everybody at some point became wary and backed away. Grant also learned that the scammer managed to procure legitimate paper stock used to print cashiers checks, which show the word void when scanned (above).