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Guitars Under the Stars at the Mexican American Cultural Center
Socially and organizationally, the Austin Classical Guitar Society belongs in a class with Conspirare and Austin Chamber Music Center. Each group has taken a sometimes ignored subset of the classical repertoire and made it essential for Austin audiences. The growing groups have been rewarded with a deeper, broader impact on the city’s social life.
Rachel Feit and Heather McKissick
ACGS’s Matthew Hinsley thus joins earthshakers such as Craig Hella Johnson and Michelle Schumann, the leaders of Conspirare and ACMC. I recall when Matthew was but a University of Texas student, a fresh-faced guitarist and singer with a promising, self-promoted CD.
Leah Nelson and Thomas Echols
Now, his group stages a summer festival that crams 60 events into six days. It books the finest classical guitar artists from around the world and commissions new pieces, such as Graham Reynolds’ “Power Man,” which will be performed by hundreds of guitarists at the fest.
Amy Houghton and Trevor Hunt
Saturday’s mini-gala, Guitars Under the Stars, at the Mexican American Cultural Center raised money and awareness for ACGS’s student programs, which reach hundreds of aspiring artists in dozens of schools. After nibbling and chatting with the likes of Leadership Austin’s Heather McKissick, Alamo Drafthouse’s Karrie and Tim League, Austin Chronicle’s Rachel Feit, West Austin News’ Alana Mallard, former Austin City Council Member Louise Epstein, returning Austin musicians Leah Nelson and Thomas Echols (back from a Southern California sojourn), Hinsley and others, I heard two of the sampled pieces.
Alana Mallard and Zach Mallard
Young virtuoso Vincent Turner cascaded through the gigue from Bach’s Violin Partita No. 2. Then eight students from McCallum High School performed a preview of Reynold’s insistent “Power Man.” The music and the socializing suggested that ACGS is headed to the stars.
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