{"id":3964,"date":"2016-04-06T11:13:19","date_gmt":"2016-04-06T18:13:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/classicalguitarmagazine.com\/?p=3964"},"modified":"2016-04-18T14:17:09","modified_gmt":"2016-04-18T21:17:09","slug":"second-igrc-conference-is-a-hit-with-academics-and-guitarists","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/classicalguitarmagazine.com\/second-igrc-conference-is-a-hit-with-academics-and-guitarists\/","title":{"rendered":"Second IGRC Conference is a Hit with Academics and Guitarists"},"content":{"rendered":"

A report by Graham Wade<\/strong><\/p>\n

The International Guitar Research Centre <\/a>(IGRC) held its second major conference at the University of Surrey, Guildford, England, March 18\u201323. The conference featured several public concerts, six keynote lectures, and over 60 lecture-recitals and academic papers. Delegates could also explore the recently acquired Maurice Summerfield Archive in the university\u2019s library and try the latest Moog guitars in the project room. A conference shop sold scores, books, and recordings from those presenting work at the conference.<\/p>\n

The five-day conference was masterminded by Professor Steve Goss <\/a>(pictured above)\u00a0and Dr. Milton Mermikades<\/a> from the Surrey music department, assisted by an efficient team of administrators. It was an extremely ambitious project, unlike any (at least to my knowledge), previously attempted over such a length in the UK\u2014a scholarly gathering of guitarists prepared for an intense focus on a wide variety of research topics and performance practice. Under the assured and positive guidance of Goss\u2014a personality of great vision, optimism, and charisma\u2014the IGRC Conference gloriously achieved every objective the organizers had in mind.<\/p>\n

This was not a classical guitar festival in the usual sense, with students and master classes. It was essentially a gathering of professionals; thus the highest standards of research and reflection on guitar matters were the order of the day. The magnetic attractiveness of the concept brought together a truly international accumulation of guitar specialists, with delegates arriving hotfoot from Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia, Japan, the USA, Canada, South America (Argentina, Brazil, Chile), and Europe (Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Ireland, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain and Switzerland), and, of course, from all parts of the British Isles.<\/p>\n

Keynote lectures were given by Jonathan Leathwood (US\/UK), Tilman Hoppstock<\/a> (Germany), Jan de Kloe <\/a>(Belgium), Thomas Heck (USA), the Hibernian Guitar Duo (Ireland), and Professor Christopher Page (UK). Lunchtime concerts were performed by Bradley Johnson (UK), and Michael Partington<\/a> (US\/UK). The full-scale evening recitals featured the Mobius Guitar Trio<\/a> (US), Hoppstock, Laura Snowden and Andrey Lebedev (UK), and the Ant Law Jazz Trio <\/a>(UK).<\/p>\n

\"heckanddekloe\"Keynote lecturers Thomas Heck and Jan de Kloe (Conference photos by Susan Wade)<\/strong><\/p>\n

It\u2019s difficult to categorize the wide variety of the lectures. They ranged from Cambridge University\u2019s Christopher Page\u2019s brilliant exposition of \u201cThe Guitar in England 1550 to 1650\u201d to Oxford University\u2019s David Robert Grimes, who spoke on \u201cString Theory\u2014The Physics of String-bending and Other Electric Guitar Techniques.\u201d Needless to say, it was necessary to cherry-pick the lectures to suit one\u2019s own tastes and schedule.<\/p>\n

Steve Goss\u2019 recurrent fear (eloquently expressed), that the delegates might become \u201cstir-crazy\u201d within a few days if we did not have Tuesday evening free from all activity, fortunately did not materialize. (Or perhaps I was too stir-crazy myself to notice!) In fact, the predominant aspect of the entire conference was the apparently happy and contented mood of all participants. Attendance at lectures did not noticeably diminish as the days went by, nor did the level of convivial extramural discussion, so significant a part of conferences and summer schools.<\/p>\n

\"delegates\"<\/p>\n

We look forward to the next IGRC Conference in 2018. The event constitutes a most memorable week of making new friends and absorbing masses of information about the guitar, whether ancient or contemporary (and everything in between). For the intrepid delegates, distance was clearly no object. The whole experience proved infinitely satisfying and the University of Surrey is an ideal environment for such a conference. Steve Goss and his team are to be congratulated on the organization and fulfillment of a truly global contribution to guitar studies. Through their efforts they have broadened the instrument\u2019s horizons both geographically and intellectually<\/p>\n

As an extra treat, here\u2019s Michael Parrington, who performed at the conference, playing some Scarlatti a few years ago:<\/em><\/p>\n