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BSU Guitar Society jazzing up the semester
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Robert Leedy, the new president of Boise State’s Guitar Society, is looking for new talent to boost their club membership.
The group currently has about twenty members, most of them are music majors with classical influences, but Leedy’s ideal is to create a group with “different spins on the guitar world.”
“You don’t have to be a music major at all. And I don’t believe there’s any fee,” Leedy said.
He says that student involvement, sparks a common interest, which keeps the members posted on events they could otherwise miss such as festivals and competitions.
“There are lots of festivals and competitions in the Northwest area that most people don’t know about,” Leedy said. He wants to change all that.
The first society-sponsored concert is Friday, Sept. 21, at 7:30 p.m. in the Morrison Center. David Santistevan is a solo guitarist who has studied with some of the Boise State music professors, and now instructs students at the College of Southern Idaho.
Santistevan mostly plays blues and jazz with an old-fashioned finger style and does play some electric guitar as well. His style has been compared to Eric Johnson and Carlos Santana in addition to some of his new fusion jazz influences such as Robin Ford and Steve Morse. Santistevan also covers old rock classics.
Other events and seminars promoted by the Guitar Society this semester are master classes and luthiers. A master class is a setting in which five or six players hold a performance for a guest professional in which they receive advice about their techniques and style.
Luthiers are actual guitar builders who hand-make their instruments and show students what to look for in quality, craftsmanship, and price. The society also holds recitals at remote locations such as Border’s Books.
Leedy is taking a proactive approach to liven up the club that has seemed to fallen “comatose” over the last few years. He is hoping to start weekly meetings by the semester’s end.
Another goal for the Guitar Society is to create a repertoire of work by individuals who are interested in performing for competition.
“It’s a pretty important thing to get noticed in a classical competition,” Leedy said,
Leedy is hoping to compete in the Guitar Foundation of America’s “Voices of the Guitar” competition in La Jolla, California being held Oct. 1-6.
This international competition features over 20 concerts and an awards ceremony. Cash prizes and instruments will be awarded to the winners.
Leedy is a junior majoring in guitar performance. He has studied with Dwayne Langston and Paul Grove for the last five years. He is currently studying under Joe Baldassarre.
“Exposure is a great way to help with this kind of career. I’m hoping to get people more geared towards that,” Leedy said.
He also states the benefits of being in a guitar club.
“It’s a great way to meet and greet professional players,” Leedy said.
Tickets for Friday’s event are $5 at the door and $3 for students. For more information about Boise State’s Guitar Society, send Leedy an email at Wrw52780@cs.com or call 854-0759.
Wendy Venable