Hope College will host five West Michigan guitarist and composers performing original works on Thursday, April 11, at 7:30 p.m. in Wichers Auditorium of Nykerk Hall of Music.
The public is invited. Admission is free.
Paul Vondiziano, Jonathan Marshall, Brian Morris, Andrew Bergeron (with Carmen Maret, flute) and Robert Lunn will perform individual, original works for the concert.
Paul Vondiziano has performed at Hope several times. Vondiziano was born in Larnaca, Cyprus, where he began his study of the guitar at the age of eight. He has premiered works for guitar such as his own “Memories of Inner Time and Triptych,” as well as Will Bottje’s “Lighter Strings for Guitar and Harpsichord” and “Greetings Suite” for solo guitar. In 2011, he released “Paul Vondiziano Plays Paul Vondiziano, Four Diverse Works for Guitar.” He has collaborated with various musicians and ensembles (such as two guitars, flute-guitar, cello-guitar, voice-guitar, piano-guitar, string quartet-guitar and choir-guitar) and has performed as concerto soloist with ensembles such as the Cyprus National Chamber Orchestra, the Boise Philharmonic, Kalamazoo Symphony, Plymouth Symphony, and various university-related orchestras. He has also participated in ensembles such as Opera Grand Rapids (in productions of “The Fall of the House of Usher” by Philip Glass) and Greek Music Groups.
Jonathan Marshall is a Michigan-born classical guitarist/composer who currently teaches at Grand Rapids Community College and Cornerstone University. Marshall has studied under the classical guitarist and vocalist Brian Morris at Grand Rapids Community College and Carlos De La Barrera at Grand Valley State University, and completed his master’s degree at the College-Conservatory of Music, University of Cincinnati under Professor Clare Callahan. Marshall teaches and composes in a wide variety of styles, from classical, to jazz and pop. His recent performances include various classical guitar concerts, performances with The Brass Band of Battle Creek, and weddings throughout Michigan.
Brian Morris is in his 19th year as a member of the Grand Rapids Community College music faculty. An associate of the Michigan Arts and Humanities Touring Program, Morris maintains an active performing schedule, performing both as a soloist and with the Grand Rapids Guitar Quartet. He has performed with the West Shore Symphony and the Grand Rapids Symphony, and at the College Music Society’s Regional Conference in Madison, Wis., and the Kennedy Center, and has twice been featured as a presenter of Latin American Music at the Kellogg Institute for International Studies on the campus of Notre Dame University. He was the director of the 2010 Mid America Guitar Ensemble Festival, and has taught a number of master classes and workshops in addition to being a faculty member and ensemble director for the Interlochen Summer Guitar Workshop. His recent concerts include performances both in the United States and Canada. Morris is the director of the GRCC International Guitar Series and has been a concert organizer for more than 20 years. Morris earned music degrees from both Florida State University and Montana State University, and his past teachers include Christopher Parkening and Bruce Holzman. He has participated in master classes with Manuel Barrueco and David Russell.
Robert Lunn, who is a 1996 Hope graduate, most recently performed at the college in March 2012. He received a BA from Hope and a master’s in music theory and composition from The Pennsylvania State University, and received his Doctorate of Musical Arts from The Ohio State University in June 2010. Winner of the 2008 Ruth Friscoe Award for his “Sonata for Guitar,” Lunn was a three-time recipient of the Donald and Marilyn Harris Scholarship at Ohio State. From the fall of 2000 to the spring of 2007 he was on the faculty at Hope and Lake Michigan College, teaching guitar, composition and music theory. Lunn studied guitar with Larry Malfroid at Hope and participated in a master class with Christopher Parkening in Montana during the summer of 1997. Composition teachers include Marc Ainger, Paul Barsom, Will Gay Bottje, Russell Floyd, Donald Harris, Jan Radzynski and Thomas Wells. Lunn is currently adjunct professor of music at Lake Michigan College, teaching theory and aural skills.
Andrew Bergeron is a member of the Grand Rapids Guitar Quartet and will be accompanied by his wife, Carmen Maret, flute. Bergeron is an instructor of guitar and music theory at Grand Rapids Community College, Grand Valley State University and Aquinas College. He is the founder of the Suzuki guitar program at Grand Rapids Community College, where he has taught since 2002. Bergeron also performs with Folias, a nationally touring flute and guitar duo that specializes in original compositions and Latin American music that he co-founded with Maret. Bergeron is a founding performer and composer with the Grand Rapids Guitar Quartet, which performs his new works and arrangements throughout West Michigan. Bergeron received his Bachelor of Arts in music and philosophy from Grand Valley State University in Allendale, with a focus on guitar performance, music composition and Chinese philosophy. He received his Master of Music in composition at Michigan State University School of Music, where he received the “Paul Harder Composition Scholarship.” Bergeron’s main guitar teacher was Brian Morris at Grand Valley State University.
Recordings by the various artists will be sold at the concert.
Nykerk Hall of Music is located in the central Hope campus at the former 127 E. 12th Street between College and Columbia avenues.