Next Meeting: Gary Ryan Master Class Sep 18th 2010

Hi Folks

We look forward to seeing as many members as possible this Saturday, as we are running another Guitar Master Class with Gary Ryan. This will be the third class Gary has conducted and, judging on past form, it should be an extremely informative and entertaining evening for guitarists and non guitarists alike.

On the program for the Class are

• Jenny Wormald (Siciliana by A. Meissonnier)

• Rob Sellery (Usher Waltz by Nikita Koshkin)

• Dave Hampton (Sonata K123 by Scarlatti)

• Danny Kim (Evocacion Jose Luis Merlin)

The Master Class Sessions will commence at 8:00pm.

Please note that, in accordance with the last AGM Minutes, there will be a discretionary charge of £3 per audience member and £10 per delegate performer.

Ensemble practice for BGS Members will still take place at 6:30pm.

Gary Ryan Master Class

The BGS Society Meeting hosted their first (and hopefully not the last) Masterclass led by Guitar Virtuoso (and BGS Member) Gary Ryan. We had a noticeably larger than usual audience for tonight's program and they weren't disappointed.

Gary Ryan provided a highly entertaining and educational class for the participants and the audience. Whether you were an experienced classical guitarist or a novice, there was something there for everyone. Normally the type of Masterclasses, I have attended in the past can be rather stuffy, cold and formal with great emphasis on technique and style. Gary's approach was engaging and encouraging, peppered with humour that put his 'pupils' and audience at ease.

Gary also provided some great tips including the importance of not being 'fixated with the music stand' - try to build your aural memory of the piece. He suggested singing part of the piece when practicing which is good advice (although in my case I think this would be a step too far for the tolerance of my family.) None the less, singing while you practice can relax your playing patterns leading to a more flowing performance.

He also mentioned the importance of being aware of the pressure that can be put on the left hand when performing a run of notes and that as a guitarist one needs to alternate between 'hold and release' to take some of the pressure off.

And we couldn't let Gary go without a couple of what Denis refers to as 'blinders' including his composition Rondo Rodeo


On behalf of the BGS I would like to thank Gary for his input into what was a great evening for all. I would also like to thank our Masterclass pupils for putting themselves forward to be 'scrutinised' (in the nicest possible way) for our entertainment and education. It takes a lot of courage to do that in front of an audience and I commend them for it. I would also like to thank our chair Denis for his organisation of the event and once more, the ever reliable Trevor Pike for doing a splendid job in the refreshments department.

I would also like to assure those BGS members who missed out on the Masterclass selection that we will be endeavouring to organise another one in the not too distant future.

BGS Masterclass Program

As promised in the last newsletter, we now have a program ready for the Gary Ryan Masterclass scheduled for Saturday 17th January. 

We were pleased to have had so many applications for places from BGS members but as there was a limit of  up to six places we had to make some choices which will please many but may cause disappointment to others. After consultation with our honorary President and Treasurer, the following delegates have been included. They are

Tom Rimmer (Sarabande by Poulenc)

Jenny Wormald (Marcia and Trio by Johann Kasper Mertz)

Tom Page (Rondo Rodeo by Gary Ryan)

Mike Gerrard (Fantasia by Mudarra)

William Punter (Koyonbaba 1  by Domeniconi)

Miles Roberts (El Arpedel Guerrero by Brouwer)

Congratulations to those selected and commiserations to those who missed out. 

The Masterclass will commence next Saturday at St Marks Church in Bromley. The starting time is 6:30pm. The Masterclass will conclude with a virtuoso performance by Gary Ryan

Performing delegates are reminded to bring along copies of their music.  A time of twenty minutes will be given for each delegate by Gary who will analyse their pieces and male suggestions on performance technique.

Contrary to what was added on the last message, the BGS will make a charge of £1 entry fee to delegates and audience attending the Masterclass. Non BGS members will be charged £3 per entry.   

Gary Ryan Master Class in January

As you are no doubt aware we have a very exciting program taking place in January with the Master Class program run by Gary Ryan.

This event is going to be a little different to previous meetings in that we need to have a firm program in place prior to the session.

The Master Class will be offered to six participants (in twenty minute sessions). We hope to offer a program that ranges broadly from introductory to advanced.

It would assist us greatly in making the evening a success if we could receive prior notification of your intent to participate. Therefore could you please assist us by b completing the form below and posting it back to the address marked above by January 10th ? (Or you can send an email)

Applications will be taken in order that they are received so the sooner you post your reply the greater the chance that you or your student will be able to participate. Please note that participants wil be required to bring along a copy of the sheet music for their performance.

Admission to the Masterclass evening is free for all BGS members. Non Members will be charged an admission of £3.00 (unless they take out membership on the evening)
Successful participants will be listed on the BGS Blog Site

Click here for a copy of the application.