Private universities, premier arts high schools and other community colleges will unite for EC’s first guitar festival. Feauturing master classes and a discussion panel exploring career opportunities for music majors, it will provide a venue for musicians to network.
The festival kicks off Friday with a performance by the Grammy-winning Los Angeles Guitar Quartet at Marsee Auditorium, beginning at 8 p.m. Tickets are $20 and $16 with an ASB sticker.
“Music schools teach you theory and the instrument, but when students graduate, it’s like, now what? Instead of telling students to never become musicians because they’ll be poor for the rest of their lives, we’re having professionals come in to teach them practical tools,” guitar instructor Chris Mello said.
Mello, who also teaches guitar classes at Cerritos College, organized a similar event there last year and thought that it would be a great idea to reproduce something similar here.
Planning since last September, Mello said it has taken time to send out invitations to the surrounding colleges, universities and high schools. Mello credits Fine Arts Dean Constance Fitzsimons, faculty coordinator Leslie Back and fellow guitar instructor Jon Minei as being instrumental in making the event come together.
“I think the guitar festival will open my mind to a lot of new things, different people, different music styles and different guitars,” Eloy Delgadillo, 19, ceramics major, said.
The free portion of the event begins at 10 a.m. on Saturday with a classical guitar master class led by California State University, Northridge department chair man Steve Thatchuk. All sessions will take place in the choir room of the Music Building, Room 134. Mello’s colleague and fellow USC alumni will provide students with a wealth of knowledge on the subject matter as well as what CSUN’s music program has to offer for students planning on transferring.
“With EC having a reputation for being such a great school for music, it is a great opportunity to have local colleges and universities come down for a day of guitar networking in Southern California for everyone,” Mello said.
The second master class, led by Mello, begins at 1 p.m. on studio electric guitar. Fellow studio musicians from the Los Angeles studio scene who compose music for television and film will also join Mello for the class.
Beginning at 3 p.m., the music industry career discussion panel will be discussing “Careers in Music for the 21st Century.” Department directors from all of the schools invited as well as representatives from record and publishing companies will be present for students to ask questions about their career paths. Also discussed will be steps to take in order to make a living with a music degree.
“I’m really proud of this panel because we didn’t have anything like that when I was going to school. For some reason, in music school they just teach you the nuts and bolts and send you out the door. Hopefully this panel will provide some ground work for students,” Mello said.
Closing out the event will be the ensemble concert titled, “Guitar Frenzy” at 6:30 p.m. in the Campus Theatre. Showcasing a variety of styles, 15 to 20 groups from colleges, universities and high schools including EC’s own guitar ensemble, will display various guitar styles. The free concert is scheduled to last about two hours.
“I wanted a nice, diverse representation. I’ve seen festivals in the past hosted by other colleges and it always focuses on classical music. The thing that I enjoy about this is it’s all styles are represented. We are celebrating the guitar in various styles of music.”
Some acts scheduled to play in the ensemble concert include four groups from USC which will perform with electric guitars, which specializes in music for films and soundtracks, rock and heavy metal, classical music and jazz. California State University, Fullerton will perform bluegrass music selections.
The El Camino Guitar Ensemble, an unofficial class made up of students volunteering their time, will also be featured in the closing concert. The ensemble includes Lucas Duberow, 26, who is enrolled in Mello’s intermediate guitar class.
“It betters us as musicians and it is a great opportunity to play live. This will help me learn to deal with pressure,” Duberow said.
Putting in at least 12 hours a day this week as he puts the final touches on the event, Mello said he is looking forward to the event. If there is a good enough turnout, Mello said, it can continue to be a free, annual event with participation from larger organizations such as the Guitar Foundation of America along with adding a third day.
“I hope it goes really well and that students outside of the music department come as well as guitar enthusiasts to show their support. We have a great program and a great school,” Mello said.