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Rochester Classical Guitar is proud to present our 4th guitar festival, featuring international performers & local guitarists!We will present 3 nights of music starring Gohar Vardanyan, ArcoStrum, and local artists!
Festival website:
https://thelittle.org/rochester-guitar-festival-2025-apr-5-7/
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Rochester Guitar Festival Day #1 of 3
Gohar Vardanyan in Concert Saturday, April 5, 7pm
First Universalist Church (150 S. Clinton Ave. in Rochester, New York)
Tickets: $15/students, $20 general admission.
Tickets available at doors
Artist website: https://www.goharvardanyan.com/
Gohar Vardanyan (b. 1984) is an acclaimed Armenian-American classical guitarist recognized for her technical mastery, artistic expression, and passionate performances. She has captivated audiences across the United States and internationally, appearing at prestigious venues such as Alice Tully Hall at Lincoln Center and the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC. She has performed for major guitar societies in Seattle, San Francisco, Houston, Miami, and New York City, among others, and has been featured on National Public Radio (USA) and Radio Nacional (Argentina).
Ms. Vardanyan has collaborated with the Juilliard Opera Center and has appeared as a soloist with the Great Lakes Chamber Orchestra, Island Symphony Orchestra, and the Panama Na-tional Symphony Orchestra. She has also been a featured artist at international guitar festivals in Sweden, Italy, Panama, Canada, and Mexico. Her artistry has been recognized on the cover of Classical Guitar Magazine, and Guitar International Magazine has praised her as “the complete package” with “a musicality and emotional quality beyond her years,” highlighting both her compelling interpretations and virtuosic technical ability.
Beyond her performing career, Ms. Vardanyan is a dedicated educator and recording artist. She has released two albums, her debut album Paisajes and her more recent - Grand Solos. She is also the author of four instructional books published by Mel Bay Publications and has an exten-sive collection of instructional and performance videos available on both her YouTube channel and the Strings by Mail channel. She maintains a private teaching studio in New York City and regularly conducts master classes and technique workshops during her concert tours.
Born in Armenia, Ms. Vardanyan began studying guitar at the age of five under the guidance of her father, Vardan Vardanyan. By eight, she had already made her public debut and appeared on Armenian National Television. She was a first-prize winner in the Armenian National Music Contest Amadeus and was selected for the prestigious “New Names” program for exceptional young musicians. Her early performances took place at renowned venues such as Komitas Chamber Music Hall and the Small Philharmonic Hall in Armenia. She continued her studies with Antigoni Goni at Juilliard’s Pre-College Division (New York) before attending the Interlochen Arts Academy (Michigan) under the mentorship of John Wunsch. She later earned the Young Artist’s Certificate from Interlochen Center for the Arts and received the Harold Randolph Prize in Performance from the Peabody Conservatory.
Ms. Vardanyan holds a Master of Music degree from The Juilliard School, where she studied with Sharon Isbin, and a Bachelor of Music degree from the Peabody Conservatory, where she trained under Manuel Barrueco. She is also an alumna of the Aspen Music Festival and School.
Gohar Vardanyan is proudly sponsored by Strings by Mail.
Guitar: 2012 Jean Rompré
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Rochester Guitar Festival Day #2 of 3
Classical Guitar Night, Sunday April 6, 7pm
Little Cafe, free admission
This month, we will be presenting a fundraising concert with the theme, “Dance-inspired Guitar Music”, featuring local guitarists.
All donations from this performance will be used to support Rochester Guitar Festival 2025.
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Rochester Guitar Festival Day #3 of 3
TY Zhang Master Class, Monday, April 7, 1:30-4:30pm
Ciminelli Lounge (in Eastman Student Living Center, 100 Gibbs St., Rochester, NY 14605)
TY Zhang will be sharing his insights and working with guitar students from the Eastman School of Music.
This event is free and open to the public.
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Rochester Guitar Festival Day #3 of 3
Arcostrum in Concert, Monday, April 7, 7pm
Little Theatre, Theatre L1 (240 East Ave, Rochester, NY 14604)
Tickets: $15/students, $20 general admission.
Tickets available at doors
Artist website: https://arcostrum.com/home
Lauded as a winner – and Audience Prize recipient – of the 2023 Concert Artists Guild (CAG) Victor Elmaleh Competition in New York and the first-ever violin-guitar duo to win the competition in its 70+ year history, ArcoStrum consists of three-time international First Prize-winning violinist Strauss Shi and TY Zhang, the Grand Prize winner of the Guitar Foundation of America-International Concert Artist Competition (GFA-ICAC).
Upcoming highlights of ArcoStrum’s 2024-2025 season include debuts at Merkin Hall, Krannert Center, University of Nevada-Las Vegas, Howland Chamber Music Circle, Rancho La Puerta, and Harry Jacobs Chamber Music Society. Recent seasons have featured performances at Carnegie Hall Citywide, Strings Music Festival, Omni Foundation for the Performing Arts, Festival Cultural Zacatecas (Mexico), National Sawdust, Austin Chamber Music Festival, and Caramoor.
ArcoStrum captures the hearts of audiences through Strauss and TY’s charisma, dazzling virtuosity, and onstage chemistry. The duo champions unique concert programming through original transcriptions of beloved classical repertoire and traditional Chinese instrumental music infused with modern instrumentations, as well as virtuosic non-classical instrumental progressive rock. The group’s name is a portmanteau fusing a bowing technique for the violin and the motion used to create sound on a guitar.
TY and Strauss met at The Juilliard School and soon discovered their chemistry not only as friends but in music-making. ArcoStrum is committed to pushing boundaries and redefining the 21st-century violin-guitar art form, presenting a new chamber music that is mixed-genre, multi-cultural, and cross-era.
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Rochester Guitar Festival is made possible through the generous support of our sponsors: Bernunzio Uptown Music, Eastman Community Music School, Fret and Bow, Penfield Guitar School, Pollok Studios, and the Rochester Mandolin Orchestra.
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Event Venue & Nearby Stays
The Little Theatre, 240 East Ave, Rochester, NY 14604-2637, United States,Rochester, New York
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