Fall 2021 Oberlin Guitar Ensemble
We had a robust performance to cap the semester’s work on chamber music this Fall. Everyone in the studio played in two works, yielding eight separate multi-movement pieces on the concert. As a special highlight, one of the studio members, Suvan Agarwal, created his own original four-guitar arrangement of a substantive Bach work which saw its first performance. This was our first ensemble performance at Oberlin since the pandemic began with a live audience, and it was fantastic to have real, live people to play for again. We got a terrific crowd, and they responded with what might have been partly pent-up enthusiasm. I’ll offer some photos from the evening and present the full program at the end of the post. Special thanks to all the non-guitarists who participated, and to the guitar studio, bravo on a performance of distinction!
To begin, flutist Ben Smith played most of Piazzolla’s L’Histoire du Tango with guitarist, Caeli Massey.
Next, Ava Paul, soprano and Josefina Stone presented three lieder of Giuliani.
Flutist Jonah Ordower followed with a set of impressionistic works by Desportes, presented with guitarist Rio Manzanares.
Our first half concluded with Suvan Agarwal’s guitar quartet version of a Bach Organ Concerto, actually itself, Bach’s arrangement of a Vivaldi double violin concerto. The guitarists were, left-to-right, Suvan Agarwal, Caeli Massey, Nik Divall and Josefina Stone.
Following our intermission, we opened with the classic guitar duet, Micro Piezas of Brouwer, as played by Damian Goggins and Rio Manzanares.
Next, Nik Divall, guitar, and Isabelle Hoyou, soprano, performed songs from the de Falla Siete Canciones Populaires Espanolas.
Damian Goggins then returned to the stage for a presentation of Brazilian choros by Machado with flutist Jonathan Yuan.
Our concert concluded with a performance of two movements from Brouwer’s guitar concerto, Tres Danzas Concertantes, with Suvan Agarwal as soloist and Ishan Loomba covering the orchestral reduction at the piano.
This was a tremendously entertaining and impressive concert, with a wide range of styles and instrumental combinations. Several of the students had played little mixed chamber music before this, so it was a great first time out in mixed ensembles. Again, congratulations to all!
