The Ananda Center for the Arts will present String on Friday and Saturday, November 2, and 3, at the Massillon Museum.
At 7:30 p.m. on Friday, Les Frères Méduses will take the stage. The classical guitar duo is composed of Benoît Albert, a native of France, and Randall Avers a Massillon native who lives in Norway.
The preeminent guitar festival in Northeast Ohio, the String festival of guitars assembles premier players and technicians from two continents for a two-day musical journey. The weekend includes two live concert evenings in the Massillon Museum’s main gallery and a full schedule of workshops and seminars offering a variety of learning levels and experiences.
On Friday, November 2, at 6:30 p.m., Dieter Hennings will perform. Dieter Hennings’s musical endeavors encompass styles from new music on guitar to early music for lute, baroque guitar, and theorbo (a plucked string instrument).
At 7:30 p.m. on Friday, Les Frères Méduses will take the stage. The classical guitar duo is composed of Benoît Albert, a native of France, and Randall Avers a Massillon native who lives in Norway.
On Saturday, November 3, at 6:30 p.m., the AronBerkner Duo will perform. Described by the New York Times as “cultivated and musical,” Stephen Aron has established himself at the center of the American classical guitar scene. Jane Berkner has been on the Ohio Touring Artist’s Roster since 1992, performing on recital series and for school concerts across the state.
Richard Smith will headline the event at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday. Smith, a native of England, has toured the world, showcasing a repertoire spanning musical styles from country, bluegrass, mainstream jazz, and modern pop and rock, to classical guitar. He plays several of John Phillip Souza’s marches, sounding almost like an entire marching band—drums and all.
Stephen Aron will offer a Friday master class from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. in the Fred F. Silk Community Room of the Massillon Museum. Richard Smith’s master class will immediately follow it from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m.
On Saturday, Benoît Albert will present Classical Technique and Randall Avers will teach Technique for All in the Silk Community Room from 10:00 to 11:00 a.m. From 11:00 a.m. to noon, Jeffrey Rodgers will present a workshop on Digital and Recording Techniques. Albert will offer a master class from 1:30 to 2:30 p.m., followed by a lecture by Randall Avers on Ralph Towner (renowned musician in the genres of jazz, classical music, folk music, and world music) from 2:30 to 3:30 p.m. The final workshop, from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. will be a master class by Dieter Hennings.
Tickets for each evening’s performances (both concerts) will be $25 per person. A package price of $40 will provide admission for all four Friday and Saturday night concerts. Students with school ID may attend concerts for $15 per night.
The fee for each daytime workshop will be $12.50 per person. A pass for all seven workshops may be purchased for $70. Students with school ID are eligible to attend for $8 per workshop.
A weekend pass allowing attendance at all concerts and workshops is available for $110. Ananda Center members are entitled to a 20% discount on single concert and workshop admissions. New members are welcome at any time; applications are available in the Ananda office and online at TheAnandaCenter.org.
Concert and workshop tickets may be purchased in The Ananda Center for the Arts office at 115 David Canary Drive Southwest in Massillon. Because office hours are limited, purchasers should call in advance: 330.809.0174. Tickets will be available online at StringFestival.org; at Backlist Books, 39 Lincoln Way East in downtown Massillon (330.880.0334); and at the Massillon Museum, 121 Lincoln Way East, also in downtown Massillon (330.833.4061). Walk-ins will be welcome at the door as space permits.
The Massillon Museum—the location for all String components this year—is located at 121 Lincoln Way East in downtown Massillon. Free parking is available on adjacent streets and in nearby city lots.
For more information about String, visit StringFestival.org or call Bates at 330.833.5830 or The Ananda Center at 330.809.0174.
Kathy Gray is a Social Media Strategist for Pole Position Marketing in Canton, Ohio. Originally from the rural flat lands of Northwest Ohio, she enjoys exploring the rolling hills of Stark County with her husband Aaron and two kids, Andy and Marybeth. They're always on the lookout for their next big Stark County adventure! You can find Kathy on Twitter at @kagray.
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