Reviews and News Articles
2005 Stetson International Guitar Workshop - From the participants, faculty, and audience members . . . .
Stephen Robinson's interview in GUITARRA Magazine
14th Annual International Guitar Workshop Articles
Artists' diversity dazzle Stetson guitar workshop
2004 Stetson International Guitar Workshop - From the participants, faculty, and audience members . . .
January 26, 2004 News Release - STEPHEN ROBINSON SELECTED FOR 2004-2006 STATE OF FLORIDA TOURING PROGRAM
Check out the recent newspaper articles on the 13th Annual International Guitar Workshop
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DeLand Beacon (Click to enlarge) |
Daytona Bch News-Journal (Click to enlarge) |
Orlando Sentinel (Florida)
June 6, 2003
CALENDAR
WHY FRET? GUITARISTS STRUM UP A CELEBRATION
By David R. Glerum, Sentinel Correspondent
Stetson International Guitar Workshop doesn't take its "international"
designation lightly. This year's six-day festival celebrating the classical
guitar will feature guests from Brazil to Bosnia in a series of workshops and
concerts.
The workshop, hosted by Stetson University, draws about a dozen international
artists as well as 150 classical guitar students and guitar craftsmen from the
United States, Canada, Europe and South America. Guitarists of every level are
invited to participate in daily master classes, seminars, a luthiers' exhibit
and guitar orchestra.
"I love it too that in that very same classroom, you are just as likely to find
someone in their 60s or 70s who has been playing guitar all their lives just as
a hobby," says founder Stephen Robinson.
At the heart of the 13th annual festival is a concert series featuring recitals
by musicians who are serving as workshop instructors. This year's lineup
includes Scottish guitarist Paul Galbraith, the Gray & Pearl Guitar Duo,
Raphaella Smits and Eduardo Fernandez, among others.
Robinson says he initiated the workshop with a specific attitude and vision in
mind: "You will never find a prima donna at this festival."
That, more than anything else, is what sets this event apart from others.
"I think that the most important thing for this festival is the sense of
camaraderie," he says.
"Winning" for Robinson has more to do with developing an environment where music
is created together and shared than with handing out prizes. It's an atmosphere
that emphasizes learning.
Eight-time participant and faculty artist Julian Gray of the Gray & Pearl Guitar
Duo comes primarily for that reason. Recognized as one of the outstanding
guitarists on the current music scene, Gray is an award-winning teacher at the
Peabody Conservatory in Baltimore.
Gray has performed with Ronald Pearl for more than 20 years. The two joined up
while fellow graduate students at Peabody in part because of their mutual
admiration as musicians and as a result of their shared vision of increasing the
repertoire available to guitarists. Gray is also active as a solo artist and is
in demand as a collaborator.
The enthusiasm, the joy of making music together and hard work are what attract
him to Stetson's workshop.
"It is a lot of work," Gray says. "All participants are teaching and learning
from morning to night, but everyone always comes out of the week feeling
revitalized. It is without question one of the high points of my year."
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Tim Atkinson
Classical Guitar Society of Tallahassee
