Guitars are just the beginning of this year's spring strings
Radford University will present its 25th International Guitar Festival on April 10 and 11, featuring internationally acclaimed performers, exotic instruments, free public concerts and educational masterclasses on the main campus.
This annual celebration of the world’s most popular stringed instrument began with an observation by Robert Trent, director of Radford’s Guitar Ensemble. Trent believes international travel is highly valuable for both personal and artistic development, but it is not always possible.
“I’ve long urged students to include some study abroad in their education,” he said. “But I found that many simply could not afford to do so.
“So, I thought, why not bring international artists to campus for two days?”
With this in mind, Trent set about overcoming formidable financial and logistical obstacles.
An event like this requires adequate funding to support artist fees, hotels, food and other expenses. There is also significant paperwork involved in the immigration process, including securing proper documentation and visas.
But the payoff is significant for both students and the local guitar community.
“We have brought Grammy Award-winning performers and renowned teachers from Asia, Europe, Latin America and North America to campus,” Trent said.
Each year also features a variety of programming and workshops.
“For example, one year we featured artists from Latin America, a poet, a scholar of Venezuelan music, a Brazilian specialist and a specialist in Mexican music, all on the same festival program,” Trent said.
This year’s featured performers include Hao Yang, an international prizewinner who has appeared at Carnegie Hall; noted composer and performer James Piorkowski; Duo Chinoiserie — Bin Hu and Jing Xia — known for blending guzheng and guitar; and Christopher Wilke of the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music.
There will be four concerts. Piorkowski and Wilke will perform April 10, and Yang and Duo Chinoiserie will perform April 11.
The concerts and other programming are distinctive.
For example, Duo Chinoiserie offers a rare sonic architecture, pairing instruments seldom heard together in Western concert halls. Though both the guitar and the guzheng are plucked strings, their fusion creates a rich, multidimensional soundscape that feels both ethereal and high-energy, Hu said.
“We often describe our dynamic as Yin and Yang,” Hu said. “The instruments complement each other to create something far greater than the sum of their parts.”
“Our work is rooted in a deep, active co-learning process with composers from around the world,” he said, noting that the duo concentrates on themes of resilience, heritage and shared humanity to create inspiring and socially relevant music.
Programming also features master classes and discussions led by all the artists, offering students and community members a chance to observe instruction and performance techniques up close.
Duo Chinoiserie will host a discussion about blending guitar and guzheng at 2 p.m. Saturday. The event is open to the public.
Hu said participants will gain both technical and personal insights they can carry with them professionally and philosophically.
“We aim to ignite the artistic imagination by demonstrating the limitless potential of intercultural collaboration and encourage students to go beyond their own traditions and explore new musical possibilities,” Hu said.
“We hope they leave empowered to use their craft to build bridges, celebrate diversity and find a unique voice in our globalized world.”
Additionally, a community guitar orchestra made up of Suzuki guitar students ages 8 and older will perform with Radford University students in a collaboration designed to engage the local community.
Trent said the best part is that the two-day event is completely free, open to the public and requires no registration.
All festival activities will take place in the Davis Performance Hall in the Covington Center for the Arts on Radford University’s main campus. Parking is free. For a full schedule, performer biographies and additional details, visit radford.edu/igf.