Classical Guitar Weekend to be held at Bridgewater Hall in Manchester

Jan 6 2011 Chester Chronicle

The Bridgewater Hall in Manchester will pluck all the right strings with its Classical Guitar Weekend on January 15-16.

Australian guitar-guru Craig Ogden will welcome classical legends alongside the stars of tomorrow, and invites guitar lovers everywhere to join a mass playing session in his Big Guitar Jam.

The Bridgewater Hall will hold a packed weekend of classical guitar delights, overseen by the Australian virtuoso Craig Ogden.

Craig opens the weekend on Saturday morning with a recital featuring music from his hit album of 2010 The Guitarist.

He will also lead a Big Guitar Jam, a mass-guitar event which players of all ages can join to learn a piece arranged especially for the occasion.

Jacinto Sanchez will share the secrets of the Spanish guitar-tradition including flamenco techniques in a masterclass, while Xuefei Yang, the first Chinese guitarist to study in the West, will show her spell-binding brilliance in recital.

Composer Andrew Keeling will discuss Riverborn, his new work for guitar and mandolin, commissioned by The Bridgewater Hall, which receives its world première.

Craig Ogden is joined by friends for a showpiece concert featuring Duo Orpheo, the acclaimed guitar and soprano combination from Spain and the RNCM-trained Aquarelle Guitar Quartet.

Craig Ogden is one of the world’s leading classical guitarists.

A busy recitalist and concerto soloist on the international circuit, he is also principal lecturer in guitar at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester.

In 2004 he became the college’s youngest ever instrumentalist to receive an RNCM Fellowship.

His discs for Chandos Records and EMI have won wide critical acclaim, with his most recent CD The Guitarist on the Classic FM label going straight to the number one position in the classical charts.

Full listings of Craig Ogden’s Classical Guitar Weekend at The Bridgewater Hall – including free events and learning activity – can be found at the website: www.bridgewater-hall.co.uk.

Tickets cost from £3 to £15, with a full weekend pass costing £33.75. Ring 0161 907 9000 for further details.