GSSO Announces New Mission and Vision!
Dear Guitar Fans:
At the August Paschal meeting, we announced that GSSO had expanded its mission to include outreach to our wonderful community in southern Oregon, with particular focus on youth and on community members who are underrepresented or disconnected from the transformative power of music. See our new mission and vision here: GSSO’s New Mission.
What does this look like in practice? GSSO’s first community partnership is with the Ashland Senior Center, and on August 30th Grant Ruiz presented a free program of Flamenco songs, stories, and history to a large and appreciative crowd. We received the following message from the director of the Senior Center:
“Dear Grant and fellow members of GSSO,
Thank you so much for offering an amazing classical flamenco guitar concert at Ashland Senior Center yesterday! Grant’s playing and singing was so beautiful and moving. It was so wonderful to bring such joy to everyone at the Senior Center yesterday.”
Grant Ruiz performing at Ashland Senior Center
We have also partnered with Britt Music & Arts Festival to provide music education in local schools. Our first joint artist in 2023 was Jâca, to be followed by Rene Izquierdo in November and Boyd Meets Girl next March.
New in 2024, GSSO is exploring additional opportunities to assist with guitar education for at risk youth in Rogue Valley, as well discussing opportunities to play acoustic guitar for hospice patients and their families. We also plan to provide a series of free guitar music performances at rural Jackson County Library branches.
In addition to our outreach efforts, we will continue to celebrate the acoustic guitar through our monthly open-mic meetings at Paschal Winery, as well as offer world-class guitar concerts in our region.
Look for future announcements regarding adding new board member positions and collaboration with new partners in the region. We are actively pursuing grants to support our new mission, and we are excited to take this journey with you, our members and supporters.
Respectfully submitted,
The Board of the Guitar Society of Southern Oregon
Matt Dorris, President
Grant Ruiz, Secretary
Jennifer Babineaux, Treasurer
Peter Jespersen
Ryan Alexander
