Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Lute love

San Diego Guitar Festival adds another stringed thing

Though he looks heavy metal, the polished and shaped nails on Kevin Hernandez’ fingers out him as a classical guitarist. - Image by Sayra Vasquez
Though he looks heavy metal, the polished and shaped nails on Kevin Hernandez’ fingers out him as a classical guitarist.
Various lutes

“This is the monster-truck version of the lute.” Kyle Patterson grins. “It’s a lot louder than your standard lute.” On his smartphone, he has a photo of a type of lute known as a theorbo propped up against a tree, somewhat dwarfing the man standing next to it. Yes, Patterson owns one. “I get gigs with that in churches,” the 27-year-old University of Oklahoma lutenist says. As quiet and retiring as a standard-sized lute himself, Patterson will be back in San Diego in April for a spotlight performance and to conduct a lute-workshop series during the San Diego Guitar Festival.

Sponsored
Sponsored

“We thought it would be important to add the lute. Otherwise, there’s not a lot of call for it.” ” The multi-stringed guitar-like instrument is known for having entertained royalty during the Renaissance.

The mastermind behind the classical guitar fest is SDSU student Kevin Hernandez. With his shoulder-length black hair, Hernandez looks more like a heavy-metal thrash guitarist than anything, but the polished, shaped fingernails on his right hand out him as a classical guitarist. Tucson, he says, has a vibrant classical guitar scene. Not so much here in San Diego.

“A lot of these [classical guitarists] are performing in cities nearby, but they’re not coming here.” He’s not sure why but suggests that one reason might be the poverty of venues offering such music in San Diego. The U of Tucson transfer hopes this will be the first of many such concert and workshop series. “I’m trying to create sustainability for many years to come,” he says.

Video:

Vladimir Gorbach

Video sample of Vladimir Gorbach's 1st prize winning final round performance in the 2011 Guitar Foundation of America International Concert Artist Competition.

Video sample of Vladimir Gorbach's 1st prize winning final round performance in the 2011 Guitar Foundation of America International Concert Artist Competition.

Hernandez’s vision is being underwritten by a $7900 Student Success program at San Diego State University, a $750 pledge from the downtown Kiwanis Club, as well as support from the Museum of Making Music in Carlsbad and the National Endowment for the Arts. The concerts and workshops (with the exception of the headlining concert at the Museum of Making Music) are free of charge and will be staged over the festival’s three days at venues around the county: the Ocean Beach library, the Coronado library, on campus at SDSU, and more.

“The classical guitarists I’m bringing to the festival are contemporary,” Hernandez says, ticking off names such as Vladimir Gorbach, Irina Kulikova, the Bassett Brothers, and Jorge Caballero. “No one has done anything like this here.”

The San Diego Guitar Festival runs April 22–24. Check the event website for details: sdguitarfest.org.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

2024 continues to impress with yellowfin much closer to San Diego than they should be

New rockfish regulations coming this week as opener approaches
Though he looks heavy metal, the polished and shaped nails on Kevin Hernandez’ fingers out him as a classical guitarist. - Image by Sayra Vasquez
Though he looks heavy metal, the polished and shaped nails on Kevin Hernandez’ fingers out him as a classical guitarist.
Various lutes

“This is the monster-truck version of the lute.” Kyle Patterson grins. “It’s a lot louder than your standard lute.” On his smartphone, he has a photo of a type of lute known as a theorbo propped up against a tree, somewhat dwarfing the man standing next to it. Yes, Patterson owns one. “I get gigs with that in churches,” the 27-year-old University of Oklahoma lutenist says. As quiet and retiring as a standard-sized lute himself, Patterson will be back in San Diego in April for a spotlight performance and to conduct a lute-workshop series during the San Diego Guitar Festival.

Sponsored
Sponsored

“We thought it would be important to add the lute. Otherwise, there’s not a lot of call for it.” ” The multi-stringed guitar-like instrument is known for having entertained royalty during the Renaissance.

The mastermind behind the classical guitar fest is SDSU student Kevin Hernandez. With his shoulder-length black hair, Hernandez looks more like a heavy-metal thrash guitarist than anything, but the polished, shaped fingernails on his right hand out him as a classical guitarist. Tucson, he says, has a vibrant classical guitar scene. Not so much here in San Diego.

“A lot of these [classical guitarists] are performing in cities nearby, but they’re not coming here.” He’s not sure why but suggests that one reason might be the poverty of venues offering such music in San Diego. The U of Tucson transfer hopes this will be the first of many such concert and workshop series. “I’m trying to create sustainability for many years to come,” he says.

Video:

Vladimir Gorbach

Video sample of Vladimir Gorbach's 1st prize winning final round performance in the 2011 Guitar Foundation of America International Concert Artist Competition.

Video sample of Vladimir Gorbach's 1st prize winning final round performance in the 2011 Guitar Foundation of America International Concert Artist Competition.

Hernandez’s vision is being underwritten by a $7900 Student Success program at San Diego State University, a $750 pledge from the downtown Kiwanis Club, as well as support from the Museum of Making Music in Carlsbad and the National Endowment for the Arts. The concerts and workshops (with the exception of the headlining concert at the Museum of Making Music) are free of charge and will be staged over the festival’s three days at venues around the county: the Ocean Beach library, the Coronado library, on campus at SDSU, and more.

“The classical guitarists I’m bringing to the festival are contemporary,” Hernandez says, ticking off names such as Vladimir Gorbach, Irina Kulikova, the Bassett Brothers, and Jorge Caballero. “No one has done anything like this here.”

The San Diego Guitar Festival runs April 22–24. Check the event website for details: sdguitarfest.org.

Comments
Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Nation’s sexy soldiers stage protest at Pendleton in wake of change in Marine uniform policy

Semper WHY?
Next Article

Best Sports Betting Sites - 10 Online Sportsbooks Ranked for 2024

Best Sports Betting Sites (2024) - Reviews of TOP Online Sportsbooks
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.