Guitar Festival offer a variety of workshops and performances
Hudson Valley will host musicians from all over the Capital Region for the first ever Guitar Festival, which will take place on Friday, Apr. 4 and Saturday Apr. 5 in the Siek Campus Center rooms 150 and 204, while performances will take place in the Maureen Stapleton Theatre.
The festival will feature a multitude of styles such as rhythm and blues, gypsy, and jazz.
Maria Zemantauski, coordinator of Cultural Affairs, put the festival together with ideas from professors Mark Peterson and Mary Ann Gulyas. Zemantauski, who has been playing guitar since 16, is a world renowned musician who specializes in flamenco guitar.
“The idea was to have a guitar festival that is hands on,” said Zemantauski.
“A lot of festivals have people just watching and we wanted people to have guitars in their hands. We have workshops going on [all day] that are an hour long and many styles. The best known musicians in the Capital Region will be doing the workshops with a ten minute demo,” said Zemantauski.
Local performing bands such as Super 400 will be inviting attendees to play with them.
Mirk, another local band, will play with Hudson Valley student James Rock. Rock, who has been playing with the band for a year, first started with Mirk after he interned for the lead singer.
“It’s going to be a fantastic experience, definitely a different venue for us. I think it’s going to be a really casual, relaxed environment with us playing in the campus center. I hope we can cultivate a great environment for the students,”said Rock.
There will be an open mic hosted by Caroline MotherJudge, a local singer and songwriter.
The final performance will be by the Finger Lakes Quitar Quartet.
“Guitarists from all over applied, but we wanted to draw from our own creativity and that’s why we kept it local,” said Zemantauski
Students interested in learning to play the guitar can also attend the festival.
“Even just sitting in on the workshops and holding the guitar quietly and watching the instruction while following along with your hands will help build that experience needed to play the instrument,” said Zemantuaski.
Parkway Music Store will be available to provide some “light accessories” such as strings, picks and other items for purchase.
“HVCC understands the importance of the arts and promotes the arts while other places struggle to offer art programs. I think that is what really sets HVCC apart from other schools,” said Zemantuaski.
All students, staff and faculty may obtain one free ticket with a valid Hudson Valley ID in GUN 267. Additional tickets will be $20 for non students. Tickets can be purchased at $20 for a two day pass, which includes access to all events and workshops, or $10 for admission into the Finger Lakes Quartet performance on Saturday only. All workshops will be offered on a first-come, first-served basis.