CAMBRIDGE GUITAR WEEKEND – COURSE
OVERVIEW
(All photos can
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on them)
The Course
The
Cambridge Guitar Weekend is an annual event on the first weekend in
October. It offers a weekend of ensemble playing for
classical guitarists of all ages and abilities. It is however, not
suitable for complete beginners. A focal point of the weekend will be
the guitar orchestra but there will also be coaching for smaller
ensembles such as guitar duo and trio. For applicants without a playing
partner there will be an opportunity to form a duo etc and suitable
pairings can be organised in advanced of the course. The weekend
culminates with a students’ concert on Sunday afternoon.
Full details of this year's course are here: http://www.cgo.org.uk/cgw-details.php
.
Orchestra Rehearsal
All music required for the orchestra and small ensembles
(where requested) will be made available one month before the course
allowing some advance preparation to be made. Existing duo partnerships
(or larger groups) attending the course may offer their own repertoire.
The course fee also includes admission to the concert on Saturday
evening.
Musical Director and Tutors
Valérie Hartzell and the Two Peters (Peter Nuttall is seated on the
left, Peter
Rueffer on the right)
Valérie Hartzell is Musical Diretor of the CGW,
as well as being one of the Tutors.
Valérie is of course also Musical Director of the Cambridge Guitar
Orchestra and you can read more about her here: http://cgo.org.uk/home/our-musical-director/.
Apart from her work with CGW and CGO, she teaches and performs widely,
and directs the Classical Minds guitar festival in the USA. (For
full
details, visit her web site: http://www.valeriehartzell.co.uk/
)
Peter Rueffer has a wide experience
in the field of guitar ensemble ranging from duo partnerships with
guitarists Jason Carter, Nick Hunt, Jeff Rodrigues and Gerard Cousins
to being a member
of ensembles such as the London Guitar Orchestra and the contemporary
music group Omega. He is best known however, through his work with the
Pro Arte Guitar Trio, a group he co-founded in 1987. With the trio he
has recorded five CDs, undertaken several European tours and performed
throughout the UK including many recitals at London’s Purcell Room and
Wigmore Hall.
His work as an arranger is well known and his settings
for guitar orchestra were awarded the arranger's prize at the biennial
National Guitar Orchestra Competition on three successive occasions in
1998, 2000 and 2002.
He is the founder and director of the Dillington Guitar
Summer School & Festival, an event devoted entirely to the guitar
ensemble and which is now in it’s 15th year. He was musical
director of the Cambridge Guitar Orchestra from 1996 until 2017, when
he handed over to Valérie.
Peter Nuttall is an experienced teacher and a
well-known composer of guitar music for students. He gained an open
scholarship to Oxford University in 1968, and after graduating with
honours he trained as a secondary school teacher. He moved to
Northampton to work as a peripatetic guitarist for the education
authority, and then as a private guitar teacher.
At that time there was a scarcity of attractive and
accessible music for students. This led Peter to begin composing music
that his students found enjoyable and playable even with a limited
technique. Peter wrote and published the first versions of what
eventually became “The Guitarist’s Way” series. At that time they were
just called “The Peter Nuttall guitar books” (five volumes). Later John
Whitworth worked with him to transform them into the very
popular“Guitarist’s Way” series in four volumes.
It is Peter’s ability to take simple material and create
attractive and accessible “guitaristic” gems that has made his music so
popular with students around the world. His music has been recorded and
is often used in festivals and competitions.
Recently he worked on the jury of the Bad Nauheim GOFI
(Guitar Orchestra Festival International) contest.
Buckden Towers
The Main Building
Buckden Towers is of considerable architectural and
historical interest being first mentioned in the Domesday Survey of
1086 when it was described as a manor belonging to the Bishop of
Lincoln. Between the 12th and 15th centuries the site was further
developed and while several buildings from this period, including the
Great Tower and the Inner Gate House have survived, most of estate
dates from the 1870s and is the work of the fashionable Victorian
architect Col. Sir Robert Edis.
The Old Gatehouse
Located in the lovely village of Buckden close to the A1
and just south of the interchange with the A14, Buckden Towers is
easily accessible from East Anglia, the Midlands and South Yorkshire
and is approximately one hour from North London and the M25. The House
is in the village centre and there are Georgian Inns within 150 metres.
Visit The
Claret Centre for further information on Buckden Towers.
Saturday Concert
Valérie Hartzell will perform a solo programme on
Saturday, Sept 30 at 8pm with works by Dumigan, Houghton, Ponce,
Tarrega, Ibbotson, and Dyens. At the end of the programme, the CGW Trio
(Valérie & the 2 Peters) will perform a Brian Wilson arrangement of
"The warmth of the sun"
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Course
Overview
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