The Red Guitar Suite
During the winter of 2000 I received an unexpected gift: a 1972 Ramirez 1a Concert Classical Guitar. In the 1970s my uncle, a guitar enthusiast, decided that he would learn how to play; a friend of his was going to Spain and my uncle gave him money to buy a guitar. Years went by and my uncle no longer had the time to play like he once did, so the guitar stayed in a closet for almost two decades until I received it in 2000. Needless to say, I was very excited (still excited) to have this guitar. My guitar heroes at that time were Christopher Parkening and Andres Segovia, both played the Ramirez.
I decided that I would compose a group of pieces specifically designed around this guitar. Every guitar has certain "sweet" spots--notes, or group of notes that seem to come alive. My goal is to compose 40 such pieces. This "suite" will not be meant to be performed in its entirety, but a performer can pick and choose pieces to create a suite.
My favorite guitar pieces are the miniatures by Tarrega and Torroba. It is my intent to create pieces in that tradition. If you are interested in getting updates you can follow me on Facebook or subscribe to my blog.
Here are a few pictures of the guitar:
